Richard Baraniuk at a TED talk discusses ideas around the notion of open source methods applied in the area of education. Here are some quick notes from the talk:
Create, rip, mix, burn ideals has resulted in a vibrant sharing, innovating music community. Crisis in schools. Traditional book publishing disconnected from the audience. Allow people to create, rip, mix and burn their own educational experience. XML is an enabler – the future of the web. Allows combining of content in new ways. There is money in the long tail, through techniques such as just-in-time publishing. Another enabler — intellectual property. Find a framework that makes sharing safe — like Creative Commons. How is quality controlled in open marketplace? Peer review important — build social framework to facilitate peer review.
Open courseware projects like MIT’s and Yale’s can’t stop at simply posting videos and other materials from courses. It is a great first step. But the world around higher-education is changing in fundamental ways, and current models of providing educational content are becoming less relevant. Are we in competition with projects like the University of the People? What is the place of higher ed institutions in the building of these new models? If we can take a page from the open source ideal and empower our communities to innovate, learn to tolerate some failure and recognize real success then maybe we can stay relevant long enough to make a difference.
A quote from It’s Rskier Not to Change at Weblogg-ed:
I know we talk about this ad nauseum, the fears that educators have and what to do about them. And I know the answers aren’t easy. The problem is when the music industry gets paralyzed it loses profits. When the education system goes that route, we lose kids.
References:
Israeli Entrepreneur Plans a Free Global University That Will Be Online Only – NYTimes.com
The University of the People, like other Internet-based universities, would have online study communities, weekly discussion topics, homework assignments and exams. But in lieu of tuition, students would pay only nominal fees for enrollment ($15 to $50) and exams ($10 to $100), with students from poorer countries paying the lower fees and those from richer countries paying the higher ones.
Open Source Education « The Columbus Social Media Cafe
I’m not ashamed to suggest that I’ve got a streak of socialism in me, in fact my new book Digitalocracy (still seeking representation) is about the new socialism that is forming through technology. Israeli entrepreneur Shai Reshef believes that the next logical step forward for the world is a sort of Open Source Education, a Free Global University.
Richard Baraniuk on open-source learning | Video on TED.com
Rice University professor Richard Baraniuk explains the vision behind Connexions, his open-source, online education system. It cuts out the textbook, allowing teachers to share and modify course materials freely, anywhere in the world.
Connexions – Sharing Knowledge and Building Communities
Connexions is:
a place to view and share educational material made of small knowledge chunks called modules that can be organized as courses, books, reports, etc. Anyone may view or contribute:
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Randall Rode's online home for thoughts, notes, and experiments with a wide range of technology topics. Visit the about page for info on my recent projects and professional background. I welcome your comments!
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