The ‘Open’ revolution is now upon us and will affect education at all levels. How we source learning opportunities, how we actually learn, how we engage will all be impacted on by this open revolution. Open is not just about technology, but a behaviour shift impacting on the social level of modern civil society.
What it is?
The Open revolution is a social revolution that represents a fundamental challenge to the established order of thinking. It disrupts and changes, so learning will never be the same again.
The collective social movement can affect almost every aspect of our lives, not just in education. The premise that learners are now producers, not just consumers and that we share what we learn is part of ‘open’. Creating a social space and learning from one another is part of open.
Learning Networks
How we learn and when we learn has thus been transformed. Learning now happens in 3 formal and informal places:
- Formal education setting such as school, college or university
- Workplace
- Home and leisure time (social learning space)
Peer to Peer
In the digital age, information flows faster and more freely than ever before and we are more connected which means barriers to learning are being dismantled. Look at the potential impact massive open online courses (MOOCs) and how they may impact and change adult learning. Going open for the traditional institution will be a benefit by turning learning ecosystems into learning commons.
This transformation on how we engage in learning and our capacity to learn, especially the informal settings (such as social media) challenges the traditional market approach to education.
Resources
Price, D. (2013). OPEN: How we’ll work, live and learning the future. Crux Publishing Ltd. [sample here]
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