Open education
The qualifier "open" refers to the elimination of barriers that can preclude both opportunities and recognition for participation in institution-based learning.
Openness in education is connected to the changing needs of societies, cultures, and economies, and in particular to the rapid evolution of digital and networked technologies.
Technology, pedagogy, and related socioeconomic developments have a symbiotic relationship with open and distance education, including in the intellectual and theoretical foundations which define its practice.
[10] By using OEP, open educators recognise the ubiquity of knowledge across networks and orchestrate learning that aims to promote learner agency, empowerment, and global civic participation.
Throughout its history, open education has been associated with multiple meanings: access, flexibility, equity, collaboration, agency, democratisation, social justice, transparency, and removing barriers.
[10] Researchers and practitioners in the field of open education have adopted generic educational theories such as social constructivism, behaviourism, and cognitivism,[11] and then generated their own theoretical foundations following the emergence of open universities[12] and the emergence of powerful and sophisticated digital technologies, such as networked learning or connectivism.
More recently, theories which support open education have developed in line with the rapid evolution of networked digital technologies and the sophistication of social software.
The CoI model argues that a meaningful online learning experience is created through a combination of and interaction between cognitive, social, and teaching presence.
Self determined learning is often viewed as part of a continuum experience between pedagogy, andragogy and heutagogy, reflecting a shift from teacher-centred to learner-determined environments and activities.
They promote an absolute openness in the dissemination of education, eliminating barriers including, but not limited to, cost and access to free and relevant resources.
Students may interact through computer conferencing with Skype, e-mail, online study groups, or annotations on social bookmarking sites.
Evolving technology makes it possible for learners to interact with the global community in the comfort of their homes.
Under distance learning, universities and colleges expand their impact through online courses that people in any country can take.
[22] Open education includes resources such as practices and tools that are not hampered by financial, technical, and legal impediments.
Resources intended for buying textbooks can be rechanneled towards technology, enhancing the medium of instructions, and lowering debt.
