Open Learning
From ElateWiki
Open learning refers to the type of learning that is based on self-determination, learner independence, learner interest, and open-access to information and learning tools. Some writers have called this a kind of "learning in the wild" without instructor or subject matter expert (SME) support.
Open learning is now aided by artificial intelligence through tutoring agents (or 'bots / robots). Tutoring in collaborative environments, with one software tutor working with multiple students who are collaborating on a single shared problem (McLaren, Bollen, Walker, Harrer, & Sewall, 2005). Embedded intelligent tutoring systems re deployed in open learning and instruction systems (Davidovic & Trichina, 1998).
It is also built so as to be collaborative through virtual learning environments built around shared information and learning interests. Participation in online discussion groups as “a key factor in eliciting the involvement of students in on-line learning communities” for virtual environment structuring (Gweon, Rosé, Carey, & Zaiss, 2006, p. 251). Collaborative discourses add value to the learning and add motivation to independent learners. Individuals engage around informal social learning (Wiley & Henson, 2006). These spaces allow for the peer-to-peer participatory design of learning by the group participants.
The ambitions for open learning are deep ones--for creativity, teamwork, and independence in learning.
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A Brief History
Open learning has become more popular since 2002, when MIT launched its Open CourseWare endeavor. This sparked a range of other institutions with conceptually similar endeavors (Yair, 2008). This was an effort to even the playing field in terms of access to information and learning.
New Technological Structures
Adaptive learning structures also need to provide customized support for learners based on their respective needs: "Personalized support for learners becomes even more important, when e-Learning takes place in open and dynamic learning and information networks" (Dolog, Henze, Nejdl, & Sintek, 2004, p. 170). The adaptivity may be provided by "intelligent agents" with machine learning to adapt to particular competencies, collaborative comptencies, learning styles, and contexts (Baldiris, Santos, Huerva, Fabregat, & Boticario, 2008, pp. 354 - 355). A key value of open learning is to create learning contents (with clear metadata for data structures) (Li, Shi, Shang, & Chen, 2003) that may be adapted and customized for use by a range of different learners (Muntean & Muntean, 2009).
So-called adaptive web-based educational systems (AWBES) are a “recognized class of adaptive Web systems (that) attempt to fight the ‘one size fits all’ approach to E-learning” that may be linked with some learning management systems (Brusilovsky, 2004, p. 104).
As these systems have become more complex, they have drawn on the prior learning of other learners to define e-learning paths for future learners. Built on self-organization theory, this approach uses "swarm-based sequencing recommendations" to tap into a kind of mass intelligence (van den Berg, van Es, Tattersall, Janssen, Manderveld, Brouns, Kurvers, & Koper, 2005).
Tools are built into open learning environments to promote learning. For example, technological tools enhance learners' ability to extract information from learning materials by using “ontology learning techniques” (Pedroni, Oriol, Meyer, & Angerer, 2008, p. 251). Other tools help virtual team members collaborate around digital image designs (Moere, 2005). Some promote "intellectual amplification" through the encouragement of reflection and learning strategies (Sorensen, 1999).
Open learning has also permeated open-ended simulation games which do not have defined end points but provide opportunities for people to interact and to share data with each other (Merrick & Maher, 2007).
Underlying Theories
Open learning is a move against the "privatization of knowledge". Free access to learning may raise human innovations and intellectual capacities (Piedra, Chicaiza, López, Tovar, & Martinez, 2009). This value has sparked a global movement towards building open and free digital resources that are portable, reusable, culturally neutral, and pro-learning.
Some underlying theories and convictions behind open learning involve the wider availability of information delivered in customized ways. Some authors describe a world where expensive textbooks are not barriers to learning:
“...A world where textbooks and other learning materials are free for all on the Web, available in lowcost printed versions, adapted to many backgrounds and learning styles, interactive and immersive, translated into myriad languages, continually up to date and corrected, and never out of print. Imagine virtual labs that can be used any hour of the day (or night). While this world was just a dream a decade ago, the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement that aims to create it has begun to coalesce and gather momentum” (Baraniuk & Burrus, 2008, p. 30).
See Also
Open Learning Initiative: http://oli.web.cmu.edu/openlearning/
The Open University OpenLearn: http://www.open.ac.uk/openlearn/home.php
Safecity’s Open Learning Network: http://www.openlearning.edu.au/
Open Learning at BYU: http://open.byu.edu/ (pilot project)
Open Learning Systems: http://openlearningsystems.org/
References
Baldiris, S., Santos, O.C., Huerva, D., Fabregat, R., & Boticario, J.G. (2008). Multidimensional adaptations for open learning management systems. 2008 IEEE / WIC / ACM International Conference on Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent Technology. IEEE. 352 - 356.
Baraniuk, R.G. & Burrus, C.S. (2008). Global warming toward open educational resources. Communications of the ACM: 51(8). 30 – 32.
Brusilovsky, P. (2004). Knowledge Tree: A distributed architecture for adaptive e-learning. WWW 2004. New York, NY. ACM. 104 – 113.
Davidovic, A. & Trichina, E. (1998). Open learning environment and instruction system (OLEIS). ITICSE ’98. ACM. 69 – 73.
Dolog, P., Henze, N., Nejdl, W., & Sintek, M. (2004). Personalization in distributed e-learning environments. WWW 2004. New York, NY. ACM. 170 - 179.
Gweon, G., Rosé, C.P., Carey, R., & Zaiss, Z.S. (2006). Providing support for adaptive scripting in an on-line collaborative learning environment. CHI 2006 Proceedings. Montréal, Québec. ACM. 251 – 260.
Li, L., Shi, H., Shang, Y. & Chen, S-S. (2003). Open learning objects for data structure course. Consortium for Computing in Small Colleges. ACM. 56 – 64.
McLaren, B.M., Bollen, L., Walker, E., Harrer, A., & Sewall, J. (2005). Cognitive tutoring of collaboration: Developmental and empirical steps towards realization.. Proceedings of the 2005 Conference on Computer Support for Collaborative Learning. Taipei, Taiwan. ACM. 418 – 422.
Merrick, K. & Maher, M.L. (2007). Motivated reinforcement learning for adaptive characters in open-ended simulation games. ACE ’07. Salzburg, Austria. ACM. 127 – 134.
Moere, A.V. (2005). Infoscape: an online visual information landscape for collaborative design education. ACM. 2 – 19.
Muntean, C.H., & Muntean, G.-M. (2009). Open corpus architecture for personalised ubiquitous e-learning. Pers Ubiquit Comput: 13: 197 – 205.
Pedroni, M., Oriol, M., Meyer, B., & Angerer, L. (2008). Automatic extraction of notions from course material. SIGCSE ’08. Portland, OR. ACM. 251 – 255.
Piedra, N., Chicaiza, J., López, J., Tovar, E., & Martinez, O. (2009). Open educational practices and resources based on social software, UTPL experience. EATIS ’09. Prague, Czechoslovakia. ACM. n.p.
Sorensen, E.K. (1999). Intellectual amplification through reflection and didactic change in distributed collaborative learning. Proceedings of the 1999 Conference on Computer Support for Collaborative Learning: 71. Palo Alto, CA. n.p.
van den Berg, B., van Es, R., Tattersall, C., Janssen, J., Manderveld, J., Brouns, F., Kurvers, H., & Koper, R. (2005). Swarm-based sequencing recommendations in e-learning. Proceedings of the 2005 5th International Conference on Intelligent Systems and Applications (ISDA '05). IEEE. n.p.
Wiley, D. & Henson, S. (2006). An initial characterization of engagement in informal social learning around MIT OCW. ICLS 2006. ACM. 832 – 837.
Yair, Y. (2008). A step further: Opening books and educational resources. Inroads—SIGCSE: 40(4). 22 – 23.