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HTML5/scaleable web content

A big step forward for open education is new web standards such as HTML5 and content that is better able to scale to multiple devices. With the proliferation of different internet enabled devices, displaying content in a viewable and useable way has been challenging for a few years. New standards are making it much easier for content to be able to be created once and displayed on many different devices, this is important because the cost of developing apps and keeping them updated for various different app stores is onerous and challenging for many who work in educational establishments. HTML5 publishing can allow content to be created, hosted online and then viewed on many different devices, this should also mean it scales correctly making content much more user friendly when viewed on small screens. This is important because it means content that one may have required a laptop or PC to view, should now be much more available and accessible from mobile devices as well.
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OER...defining, using and (dis)engagement

I want to explore three potential issues with OER from the reading I have done on it, these issues are not necessarily critical barriers to the success of OER, but could be contributory factors to the lack of a revolution that its initial proponents foresaw. Firstly and possibly most importantly it seems that there is still no clear definition or understanding of what OER actually is comprised of. In terms of individual words the concept is easy enough - 'Open Educational Resources', the content being created needs to be accessible, device agnostic, reusable and transferable. However, when one digs deeper to define what this content would look like it becomes more complex - "No one seems to know what a learning object is in the first place. One of the absurd definitions I heard was, 'as small as a drop, as wide as the ocean.' In other words, if everything is a learning object, then nothing is a learning object" (Merrill, as cited in Welsch, 2002). This make
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Representing open education

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This infographic is designed to give an overview of some of the different forms that Open Education can take, this has been adapted from a piece written by Tony Bates in 2015, the original piece can be read here . Representing open education
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Open education and me

Open education is a philosophy built around the idea of making educational resources freely and openly available to all. This requires everyone to be able to access, share, create and challenge high quality educational resources. Technology has been a critical enabler in doing this - especially in terms of making knowledge shareable and accessible. If knowledge is a key part of this initiative then the Internet is by a a large margin the single largest resource of information that has every existed on earth, a large proportion of the information held within the Internet is open and accessible, therefore in many ways the Internet is the largest source for open education that has ever existed. However, in many definitions open education is seen as knowledge or resources that reside in an explicitly educational context - for example the OU question that has prompted this post asks us to describe ' your experience with open education. Is it just with the OU, or have you studied a MOOC
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Reflections on Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age

I found this article a fascinating read, in part because the questions it addresses are ones which have been key within my work life, and that I have pondered myself. In an age where knowledge is increasing at such a massive rate, and it is accessible so easily and efficiently - does the very way we 'acquire', 'learn' and 'use' knowledge need to change? The key message (for me) is nicely summed up in the conclusion 'Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today'. A really key new concept for me was the idea of the 'knowledge half life', the concept that as new knowledge is acquired, old knowledge may become out of date or obsolete. The idea that knowledge is growing so quickly now is truly fascinating, and the rate at which we are expanding our knowledge is truly astounding:  'Half of what is known today was not known 10 years ago. The amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the past 10 ye
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Project Bugscope!

I have found with any learning activity, I am more drawn in to it and more likely to follow it through, if it holds an interest for me...so when reading through (the very well written) 'Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0' by John Seely Brown and Richard P. Adler, whilst wondering which innovation to pursue, I saw 'Project bugscope'. As a child and to a certain extent now, insects and animals in general have held a fascination for me, so this project instantly caught my eye. From the age of nine to when I was eighteen I lived in Brunei, and spent many many hours with my brother off in the jungle finding insects and animals. I remember my parents buying me a small microscope, and spending hours collecting 'samples' to look at. So the idea of the bugscope project is one I can see that I would have loved as a child. Project bugscope began in 1999 and allowed KS12 students to send small creatures to the University of Illinois, and then
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Twitter as a learning tool

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Twitter is an amazing educational tool, that has a lot of really great information, knowledge, and networking potential to it.  Granted.  BUT, I really have reservations about using it as a learning tool, and encouraging others to use it as a learning tool, without being really careful about how we implement this and put it out there.  One thing that really jumps out at me is the idea of 'trending' and in a similar way to news items one doesn't look to the Sun for serious news, is Twitter the right place for serious discussion or examination for serious 'stuff'.  The current Trend list highlights this point perfectly, celebrity culture and television happenings seems the bread and butter of Twitter- is it really therefore a serious place for discussion?!  Now all news sites focus on the 'cool' and 'sexy' topics to get readers in, but most at least have a little bit of proper news in amongst it. Twitter doesn't even try- or rathe
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