Personal Blogs

Until I began my MAODE study I hadn't considered openness in education beyond the price tag (or rather lack of it).  If it was available online (so I didn't have to take time off work) vaguely relevant to my learning needs and without charge, then I considered it open.  My colleagues were firmly of the opinion that this made it inferior to face-to-face teaching (but that's a different story). 

It was only when one of my fellow students on the H800 discussion board pointed me towards the Paris OER declaration that I realised that openness means far more than acquiring knowledge online for free. Openness incorporates the concepts of remixing, reusing and repurposing educational material - putting it out there for others to take, tinker with, remodel, improve and then give back.  It's about sharing and creating.

I decided I had to get to grips with this, so jumped at the chance to do a MOOC through a well known (and shall remain nameless) medical charity.  I duly registered and received an email from the course leader suggesting that this course wasn't for me.  I wasn't the "right" type of student.  So much for openness and inclusivity.  I persuaded the organiser to let me join - just in time as places were reaching the limit of...40.  Hardly massive.  There was nothing to remix or repurpose.  All resources were encased in intellectual property rights, with not a creative commons licence in sight.  That said, it was a great learning experience. Asynchronous discussions were lively, informative, supportive and polite.  I learnt a lot and it's changed my practice at work. 

Then I enrolled in the School for Health and Care Radicals, which comprised webcasts, Tweetchats, slideshare, pinterest...all aimed at creating boundary-spanning, barrier-crossing change.  Openness was in abundance.  Resources were shared and modified with enthusiasm and every chat-box and comments sections were brimming.  It was overwhelming and at times chaotic.  But it was liberating.  And the experience did not finish when the course came to an end.  I met new people who still send me tweets and occasionally Skype.  We share links, pictures and blogs and through the School I've been invited to contribute to the occasional project and conference.  I've even mentored others in subsequent editions of the programme.  None of this is possible if you aren't open to the opportunities created when you share and work together on a massive scale.