Visualizing Open/Networked Teaching
Recently, I have been conceptualizing/personalizing the concept of open teaching as informed by my facilitation of EC&I 831 and ECMP 455. In my view, open teaching goes well beyond the parameters of the Free and Open Source Software movement, beyond the advocacy of open content and copyleft licenses, and beyond open access. For open teaching, these are the important mechanisms, processes, and residuals, but they should not be viewed as the end goals in themselves. Rather, open teaching may facilitate our approach to social, collaborative, self-determined, and sustained, life-long learning.
My working definition of open teaching (focused on the above areas) follows:
Open teaching is described as the facilitation of learning experiences that are open, transparent, collaborative, and social. Open teachers are advocates of a free and open knowledge society, and support their students in the critical consumption, production, connection, and synthesis of knowledge through the shared development of learning networks. Typical activities of open teachers may include some or all of the following:
* Advocacy and use of free and/or open source tools and software wherever possible and beneficial to student learning;
* Integration of free and open content and media in teaching and learning;
* Promotion of copyleft content licenses for student content production/publication/dissemination;
* Facilitation of student understanding regarding copyright law (e.g., fair use/fair dealing, copyleft/copyright);
* Facilitation and distributed scaffolding of student personal learning networks for collaborative and sustained learning;
* Development of learning environments that are reflective, responsive, student-centred, and that incorporate a diverse array of instructional and learning strategies;
* Modeling of openness, transparency, connectedness, and responsible copyright/copyleft use and licensing; and,
* Advocacy for the participation and development of collaborative gift cultures in education and society.(Key phrase, “working definition”, comments always welcome.)
Through interactions with current and former students, the resulting practice has lead to a learning environment where the walls are appropriately thinned. This process is visualized through the following graphic.
Through the guiding principles of open teaching, students are able to gain requisite skills, self-efficacy, and knowledge as they develop their own personal learning networks (PLNs). Educators guide the process using their own PLNs, with a variety of teaching/learning experiences, and via (distributed) scaffolding. Knowledge is negotiated, managed, and exchanged. A gift economy may be developed through the paying-forward of interactions and meaningful collaborations.
In the digital and rich-media environment, educators may also take on different roles, metaphors that extend beyond “sage on the stage”, “guide on the side”, etc. The “network sherpa” (source?) may be a suitable metaphor to describe these pedagogical processes.
This metaphor projects the role of teacher as one who “knows the terrain”, helps to guide students around obstacles, but who is also led by student interests, objectives, and knowledge. The terrain in this case consists of the development of media literacy (critique & awareness), social networks (connections), and connected/connective knowledge.
As with any models/images/diagrams/metaphors there are always limitations and (outright) flaws. Yet, I present these three pieces (i.e., working definition of open teaching, thinning the walls, network sherpa) in hope that it will lead us to a discussion on some of the perceived changes in teaching & learning in the wider scope of education.
Feedback and critique always welcome and encouraged.
June 26th, 2009 at 12:09 am
Wow, it’s hot in here!!!
I hooked into this cosy little chat via my Flexible Learning Course at Otago Polytechnic in Dunedin, NZ. Was at least expecting to see my facilitator in here some where. Where are you Leigh?
I’m not quite sure whether this chat reinforces my growing interest in online learning or diminishes it. On second thoughts I’m probably inspired and before anyone bites my head off – I’m allowed to change my mind – Free Choice – or is that a bit political?
The copyright topic under debate is interesting and certainly requires my attention in the not too distant future but right now I don’t have an opinion to offer (perhaps I am being subversive). Having said that, the debate as it has manifested on this page reminds me of one of those drunken arguments you have in your early 20s with philosophy majors. Fun at the time but it all gets a bit tedious. Is it just me or are these guys going round and round in circles. Post modernism which is surely the philosophy underpinning flexible learning would say that your realities are all equally valid. Perhaps you could just respectfully agree to differ?
I am inspired on a personal level. It is in fact great to feel the energy jumping off the page but would I want to risk exposing vulnerable adult students to this kind of virtual spanking – I think not. Do I have a choice or does that make me a disempowering teacher? Someone was asking earlier about alternative terms for teaching. I like the term Learning Facilitator.
Managing classroom confict around expression of values is a big part of what I do in the classroom. How does a learning facilitator manage this on line in a way that keeps the students safe? Many students would run a mile or curl inwards and stay there if they were exposed to this level of conflict. My efforts at scaffolding students journey towards independent self directed learning would be thwarted. Am I being over protective – Do I have a responsibility to be? or am I just being disempowering
June 30th, 2009 at 12:53 am
if I may suggest that higher education is doing in the field of professional learning should adjust to the talent and opportunities available in the environment or in the community.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
[...] Other Disrupting Class Resources Disrupting Class (available for free on Google books) Couros on Network Sherpas Model and the Future of Teaching with Technology [...]
September 13th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
[...] in the non-credit students. If so, you may want to read two posts I wrote earlier this year: “Visualizing Open/Networked Teaching” and “Visualizing Open/Networked Teaching: Revisited“. In a nutshell, I am [...]
November 22nd, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Twitter Comment
Visualizing Open/Networked Teaching [link to post]
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November 26th, 2009 at 8:56 am
[...] Open Teaching in Higher Education Networked learning often leads to Open Teaching, a practice identified by open architecture, open experiences and the use of Open Educational [...]
December 7th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Twitter Comment
Visualizing Open/Networked Teaching #education #openteaching [link to post]
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December 7th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
Twitter Comment
RT @courosa: .@weblearning in case you want to see the progression of the idea [link to post] then http://is.gd/5fyRU
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January 9th, 2010 at 11:11 am
Twitter Comment
Using@courosa in a preso (again) Education is becoming more: “open, transparent, collaborative, and social.” [link to post]
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January 9th, 2010 at 11:21 am
Twitter Comment
RT @datruss Using@courosa in a preso (again) Education is becoming more: “open, transparent, collaborative & social.” [link to post]
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