This week our task was to investigate and evaluate open
source and distance learning technologies to determine their usefulness in our particular
adult learning practices. As an adjunct
college professor, I feel open source and distance learning are very important
technologies for both students and instructors.
Through open source and distance learning anyone can learn anything from
anyone (Bonk, 2009).
There are several types of open source learning technologies
I would like to comment on in this post.
First, there is the “ask me anything” open source learning technologies such
as any search engine. From the comfort
of their own smartphone or laptop, anyone can quickly learn the definition of a
word or the meaning of a complex idea such as Einstein’s theory of relativity. For example, type the word “Contusion” into
Google and you will get over 1M “hits,” meaning you need to pick form over a
million references and try to filter out exactly what is was about contusions you
were trying to learn. (Stay focused,
it’s the medical term for bruise, but there are different types, such as
subcutaneous, intramuscular, and periosteal) (Wisegeek, 2015).
Another type of “ask me anything” open source technology is
community information websites such as “Ask.com.” Web sites like this offer the information
consumer the ability to pose a question for other users of the site to
answer. These sites also conduct a
meta-search of the Internet to find answers to the question that have already
been posted on other sites. For example,
I just typed the question “why does my nose itch?” into the question box on
Ask.com and I was given a list of articles like you might expect from any
search engine plus answers to that question from other similar websites such as
Yahoo answers; which by the way said, “because you didn’t scratch it.”
To have such ubiquitous amounts of information literally at
your fingertips is truly amazing. And
the impact that the access of so much information has on adult learning is
almost indescribable. The challenges now
are information literacy and information overload. Consumers must learn how to filter through
universal amounts of data to find the most relevant information that answers
their questions in the proper context.
Another open source learning technology is what I refer to
as open source references, or websites such as Wikipedia. The information on these types of sites is
also furnished by other users, but the format is much more formal. Instead of looking like a blog post or a
discussion board, Wikipedia for example, looks more like a text book or journal
article. References are provided for
deeper research and if none are available, that fact is identified. These types of websites are not generally
considered as favorably as peer-reviewed journal articles by academia, but
there is no question that they are usually accurate and provide unbelievable
amounts information for the world to consume.
As an adult educator in a college setting I am not opposed
to my students utilizing any available information sources at their
disposal. Of course some assignments
will still require the use, research, and citing of peer-reviewed articles and
text books as opposed to open source databases.
For now, that type of research is still important, and the most
effective way for scholars to contribute to the body of knowledge.
Finally, a few thoughts about learning management systems
(LMS’s) used for distance learning.
These too can be open source or proprietary. For example, the Kahn Academy is an open
source LMS that allows learners to choose form any number of subjects to learn,
in a very similar fashion as they would if they had enrolled in a traditional
online class. Black Board is a very
popular LMS that is not open source and is not 100% self-directed like the Khan
Academy. Many colleges, universities,
private corporations, and even the Department of Defense, use Black Board to
deliver and monitor training and education to students and employees.
In my opinion, open source LMS’s are still in their infancy
and only provide learning opportunities on a limited amount of subjects. As the open source learning community grows
the number of available subjects will no doubt increase exponentially. I also feel the proprietary LMS’s, such as
Black Board, are the way of the future for higher education, and may one day
totally replace the brick and mortar classroom.
Cheers!
Ron N.
References:
Bonk, C. J. (2009). The world is open: How web technology
is revolutionizing education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
http://www.blackboard.com/
http://www.wisegeekhealth.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-contusion.htm
http://www.wisegeekhealth.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-contusion.htm
Hi Ron,
ReplyDeleteSince we have connected so much this week, I felt that it was only appropriate for me to also review your post. And since I always enjoy reading your perspectives, I of course enjoyed reading your blog this week, too. First of all, I wasn’t aware that Khan Academy’s site was an open LMS, so that was an interesting bit of information, thank you. I also agree with your selection of Wikipedia as an open learning source. I realize that most academics do not acknowledge Wikipedia as legitimate site for a reference in a paper, I must confess that I personally use the site all of the time for my own personal use. In addition, I have used it for academic papers, too, but have used the information only to help guide me to more academic sites for use in the papers. I do understand that the unique “open posting” approach that they use makes it challenging to know what content is legitimate and which is not. But the site editors must do a pretty good job of confirming the information posted there as virtually everything that I have read on Wikipedia has been proven accurate.
Thanks again for another great post this week and I look forward to reading next week's post!
Jim
https://www.oercommons.org/about
ReplyDeleteIs a help resource I found for you and your students.
What are OER?
Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials that you may freely use and reuse at no cost. Unlike fixed, copyrighted resources, OER have been authored or created by an individual or organization that chooses to retain few, if any, ownership rights. In some cases, that means you can download a resource and share it with colleagues and students. In other cases, you may be able to download a resource, edit it in some way, and then re-post it as a remixed work. How do you know your options? OER often have a Creative Commons or GNU license to let you know how the material may be used, reused, adapted, and shared.
In addition, I have found Wikipedia useful for my whole college experience. I have never used it as a resource because it is frowned upon in the education world.
I am a big fan of open source technologies! It helps people understand topics better or learn different things from multiple prospectives. With searching in the search engines, there are millions of things pop up. One thing I try to remember to search for what is appropriate for my certain searches. For my learning and teaching open source technologies such as video lecture and internet searches helps me out a lot.
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