Breaking down classroom walls - open learning

Session 6

Verena Roberts — ADLC Alberta Distance Learning Centre

Room 1069

We can break down classroom walls by considering open learning. Open learning is transforming education in different ways. This conversation will focus on three aspects of open learning that help encourage change: 1) open resources and content, 2) open leadership and 3) open pedagogy.

Open Educational Resources (OER) have the potential to bring education to the masses and promote educational opportunities for all. What are the most widely used resources and why? How can we find these resources and how do we curate the content?

Open leadership encourages transparency and deeper communication between communities of practice. Who is demonstrating open leadership and what are some of the common characteristics? What influence does social media have for open leaders?

There are a wide variety of options in open pedagogy, from common web tools, to open online courses and even open online projects. Open pedagogy encourages educators to consider blended learning opportunities and integration of technology into all curriculum. Open pedagogy also promotes collaboration within communities of learning and alternative methods of learning like inquiry based projects. Open pedagogy engages and connects learners with people outside classroom destroying that myth that only teachers can teach. What are some examples of open pedagogy that instill confidence in in learners? How can we transfer this confidence systemically throughout the learning community?

Having a conversation around three aspects of open learning will promote more awareness and about the open movement. The conversation will also create learning networks to extend these examples throughout the world in sustainable ways. By sharing examples, we will be able to build a bigger learning village and break down the classroom walls that have limited learning

Conversational Practice

I will start a wiki before the session and provide resources about open learning on the wiki. These resources will include slideshares, videos and some written text. On the day of the conversation, I will split the participants up into groups. They will each have an opportunity to give examples about the three aspects of open learning. Each group will have 10 minutes to add to the “specific” wiki page, then I will switch the topics. That way every group will have the opportunity to give examples about each aspect of open learning from their own environments. (Total 30 minutes)

Then I will ask the group to look at the combined information, and choose as a group, the first “aspect” to integrate into any learning environment and why. I will have an online survey on the wiki so we can see the data. (10 minutes) I will ask each group to give their answer and explain their choice. (10 minutes) We will then have an open discussion where we can add to the wiki, or just listen. (10 minutes)