OpenLearn
Encyclopedia
OpenLearn is the UK Open University's
contribution to the Open Educational Resources
(OER) project. It is part-funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
.
OpenLearn is a member of the OpenCourseWare Consortium
(OCWC).
, is unique in the field of open educational resources
.
Through the Moodle
-based virtual learning environment, learners are offered over 400 structured media-rich study units, supported by a number of learning and communication tools in the LearningSpace area. Presence aware instant messaging
, video conferencing, video blogging and forum
s enable the formation of communities of learners around thousands of study hours and learning materials. Personal profiles, learning journals and rating options empower learners to become self publishers and reviewers, tagging their entries to provide a means by which others can find and connect with their ideas. Knowledge mapping software enables learners to visually represent resources and the links between them, to construct arguments and frame debate
s. By publishing their work online, they share their own pathways through the material with other visitors to the website.
The OpenLearn website also provides a standalone experience for the learner, but is also one that can be taken apart and remixed to take on a new form. The Web 2.0
approach to an open and collaborative LearningSpace primarily for learners, is complemented by the LabSpace, an area for experimentation, where educational practitioners are encouraged to download, amend and adapt both current and archived course materials. Published under an Attribution-ShareAlike-NonCommercial Creative Commons license, the Open University media-rich materials can be reused in alternative educational settings, repurposed for a local context, translated and built upon to form a larger open repository of derivative educational materials. Collaborators are encouraged to form their own areas within the LabSpace to personalise the materials, increasing the relevance of the content for specific learning communities and to test out course ideas and develop materials based on user feedback.
to a print to an IMS
Common Cartridge) encourages replication of the content and enables interoperability with other provider’s content management systems. Innovators have already re-published OpenLearn materials in new environments by implementing a variety of freely available technologies. The materials have been replicated in offline desktop libraries to provide access for remote communities around the world. RSS feeds enable the content to be easily embedded in web based widgets and RSS readers, allowing the engagement with the content to happen away from OpenLearn.
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
contribution to the Open Educational Resources
Open educational resources
Open educational resources are digital materials that can be re-used for teaching, learning, research and more, made available for free through open licenses, which allow uses of the materials that would not be easily permitted under copyright alone...
(OER) project. It is part-funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is a private foundation, established by Hewlett-Packard cofounder William Reddington Hewlett and his wife Flora Lamson Hewlett in 1967. The Hewlett Foundation awards grants to support educational and cultural institutions and to advance certain social and...
.
OpenLearn is a member of the OpenCourseWare Consortium
OpenCourseWare
OpenCourseWare, or OCW, is a term applied to course materials created by universities and shared freely with the world via the internet. The movement started in 1999 when the University of Tübingen in Germany published videos of lectures online in the context of its timms initiative...
(OCWC).
History
The Open University launched the OpenLearn website in October 2006 to provide free access to its educational materials throughout the world. The publication of such structured learning materials, designed for distance educationDistance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
, is unique in the field of open educational resources
Open educational resources
Open educational resources are digital materials that can be re-used for teaching, learning, research and more, made available for free through open licenses, which allow uses of the materials that would not be easily permitted under copyright alone...
.
Fundamentals of the program
Open Education materials make three contributions. They make new knowledge available to all (not just the few who can pay for it). They allow users to download, modify, translate and adapt to their culture to the material to enhance its usefulness. They provide the opportunity for people to work together to co-modify, co-produce, test and co-produce again, retesting derivative material which generates a cycle of rapid continuous improvement. Using technology Open Educational Resources aim to remove access barriers to knowledge and educational opportunities around the world.Through the Moodle
Moodle
Moodle is a free source e-learning software platform, also known as a Course Management System, Learning Management System, or Virtual Learning Environment...
-based virtual learning environment, learners are offered over 400 structured media-rich study units, supported by a number of learning and communication tools in the LearningSpace area. Presence aware instant messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
, video conferencing, video blogging and forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
s enable the formation of communities of learners around thousands of study hours and learning materials. Personal profiles, learning journals and rating options empower learners to become self publishers and reviewers, tagging their entries to provide a means by which others can find and connect with their ideas. Knowledge mapping software enables learners to visually represent resources and the links between them, to construct arguments and frame debate
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
s. By publishing their work online, they share their own pathways through the material with other visitors to the website.
The OpenLearn website also provides a standalone experience for the learner, but is also one that can be taken apart and remixed to take on a new form. The Web 2.0
Web 2.0
The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
approach to an open and collaborative LearningSpace primarily for learners, is complemented by the LabSpace, an area for experimentation, where educational practitioners are encouraged to download, amend and adapt both current and archived course materials. Published under an Attribution-ShareAlike-NonCommercial Creative Commons license, the Open University media-rich materials can be reused in alternative educational settings, repurposed for a local context, translated and built upon to form a larger open repository of derivative educational materials. Collaborators are encouraged to form their own areas within the LabSpace to personalise the materials, increasing the relevance of the content for specific learning communities and to test out course ideas and develop materials based on user feedback.
Viral Content
OpenLearn enables viral content not just through its licensing model, but also through a commitment to open technologies. The use of an open source virtual learning environment, along with the ability for people to download and upload materials in various formats (from an RSSRSS
-Mathematics:* Root-sum-square, the square root of the sum of the squares of the elements of a data set* Residual sum of squares in statistics-Technology:* RSS , "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary", a family of web feed formats...
to a print to an IMS
IMS
-Organizations and institutes:* IMS International Medical Services, a department of the State University Medical Center Freiburg offering services for foreign patients....
Common Cartridge) encourages replication of the content and enables interoperability with other provider’s content management systems. Innovators have already re-published OpenLearn materials in new environments by implementing a variety of freely available technologies. The materials have been replicated in offline desktop libraries to provide access for remote communities around the world. RSS feeds enable the content to be easily embedded in web based widgets and RSS readers, allowing the engagement with the content to happen away from OpenLearn.