 |
 |
Thanks both for the info - sounds like it was a very interesting webinar - does anyone know if it was recorded? I planned to attend but was foiled by meetings. Cheers Leo -----Original Message----- From: Open Education Special Interest Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Terry Loane Sent: 13 March 2014 15:28 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Webinar Issue - Altruism versus marketisation Some thoughts I have had following today's ALT webinar: It's acknowledged that individuals working in OER are strongly altruistic and idealistic in their motivation. On the other hand it is the big institutional and commercial players who have the financial resources to create high quality 'glossy' resources and make them available online free of charge as a means of marketing themselves and the premium courses/resources that they have no intention of making freely available. It's the same sort of 'freemium' model that we find throughout the world of online commerce (e.g. Dropbox and Skype, to name but two) - the basic product is given away for free and the money is made from the relatively small number who choose to pay for the premium/professional version. However, the stakes are potentially much higher with educational resources than they are with Dropbox, Skype etc. It's not a big deal deciding to choose between the free version of Skype or paying £6.89 per month for the premium version. But it is a big, and potentially life changing, deal deciding between a freely available (and maybe non-accredited) educational resource/course or paying thousands of pounds for the premium version with its gold-plated accreditation. Maybe the key distinction here relates to the 'open versus free' issue that was also raised at the webinar today. It's interesting that the OU's acclaimed Futurelearn MOOCs are free but most definitely not open. Every single webpage of every single course has '© Copyright 2014 FutureLearn' in the footer. There appears to be no commitment here to the licensing principles of true OER. But I feel it will be difficult to interest Joe Public in the distinction between open and free. So is there are danger (if indeed we think of it as a danger) that the proliferation of open/free learning resources will simply reinforce the power-base of large institutions and corporations? Terry Loane On 13/03/2014 13:29, Alastair Clark wrote: > In today's Webinar one of the issues picked up by participants was the tension by the recent Glasgow Caledonia University report on OER in Europe. > > In particular the tension between <Altruism versus marketisation> The full quote from the report is below: > > Individuals working in OER initiatives are strongly altruistic in > their motivations, and these ideals engender strong commitment and > team working. However, they tend to overlook the wider social context > in which open learning initiatives are being supported by institutions > primarily because of the brand recognition they create, and the > importance of brand, as opposed to quality, in learner choice of resources. Brand is particularly significant for adult learners whose digital literacy tends to be low. > > Overview and Analysis of Practices > with Open Educational Resources in > Adult Education in Europe > Authors: Isobel Falconer, Lou McGill, Allison Littlejohn, Eleni > Boursinou > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Report EUR 26258 EN > 2013 > Authors: Isobel Falconer, Lou McGill, Allison Littlejohn, Eleni > Boursinou > > > Overview and Analysis of Practices > with Open Educational Resources in > Adult Education in Europe