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Archive for the ‘Open Learning’ Category

The ecology of the open practitioner: a conceptual framework for open research

Open Educational Practices (OEP) have gained traction internationally over the last fifteen years, with individuals, institutions, and governments increasingly interested in the affordances of openness. Whilst initiatives, policies, and support mechanisms are evident, there is an ever-present danger of localised contexts being unintentionally unrecognised, which has a negative effect on mainstreaming the practice sustainably. This […]

Fractal: an educational model for the convergence of formal and non-formal education

For the last two decades, different authors have mentioned the need to have new pedagogies that respond better to current times, which are surrounded by a complex set of issues such as mobility, interculturality, curricular flexibility, accreditation and academic coverage. Fractal is an educational model proposal for online learning that is formed by four basic […]

Open Education, Open Questions

The use of open practices by learners and educators is complex, personal, and contextual; it is also continually negotiated. Higher education institutions require collaborative and critical approaches to openness in order to support faculty, students, and learning in an increasingly complex higher education environment. EDUCAUSE Review

Repositories of Open Educational Resources: An Assessment of Reuse and Educational Aspects

This article provides an overview of the current state of repositories of open educational resources (ROER) in higher education at international level. It analyses a series of educational indicators to determine whether ROER can meet the specific needs of the education context, and to clarify understanding of the reuse of open educational resources (OER) provided […]

Globalization, Open Access, and the Democratization of Knowledge

In many ways, developments in information and communication technology (ICT) and open access have disrupted inequities in academic publishing and global information flows. However, efforts to fully globalize and democratize information demand intentional efforts to involve and center perspectives that traditional forms of communication have marginalized. Information professionals and the systems they create must proactively […]

Incentivizing the Production and Use of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education Institutions

Substituting open educational resources (OER) for commercially-produced textbooks results in demonstrable cost savings for students in most higher education institutions. Yet OER are still not widely used, and progress toward large-scale adoption in most colleges and universities has been slow. This article reviews the literature informing financial and other issues that affect OER adoption. It […]

For whom, and for what? Not-yetness and thinking beyond open content

This article traces a line through contemporary critical perspectives on open online education, which challenge an emphasis on content and access that gives too much weight to instrumental goals of education. This article offers the concept of ‘not-yetness’ as a productive lens for examining alternative meanings of openness. Not-yetness emerged as a response to a […]

IBM Launches “Digital – Nation Africa”: Invests $70 Million to Bring Digital Skills to Africa with Free, Watson-Powered Skills Platform for 25 million people

Johannesburg, South Africa and Armonk, NY – 08 Feb 2017: IBM (NYSE: IBM) is investing $70 million (approximately ZAR 945 million) in building much-needed digital, cloud, and cognitive IT skills to help support a 21st century workforce in Africa. The initiative, “IBM Digital – Nation Africa”, provides a cloud-based learning platform designed to provide free […]

Open Assessment of Learning: A Meta-Synthesis

Open Assessment of Learning (OAoL) is an emerging educational concept derived from the incorporation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to education and is related with the Open Education Movement. In order to improve understanding of OAoL a literature review was conducted as a meta-synthesis of 100 studies on ICT-based assessment published from 1995 to […]

Opening the Publication Process with Executable Research Compendia

A strong movement towards openness has seized science. Open data and methods, open source software, Open Access, open reviews, and open research platforms provide the legal and technical solutions to new forms of research and publishing. However, publishing reproducible research is still not common practice. Reasons include a lack of incentives and a missing standardized […]

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