Information and Service Design Lecture Series: The Open Education Movement at a Crossroads October 23, 2007

Speaker: Ahrash Bissell, Executive Director at ccLearn

Like so many other parts of the Web, online educational systems are rapidly evolving from relatively static repositories towards a dynamic systems that encourages sharing, innovation, and highly customized learning experiences. This new digital space is facilitating a paradigm shift in educational practice, towards a global open education commons. The fundamental premise for this open-education movement is that access to educational opportunities is a human right, not a privilege. This movement is evolving in parallel with the internet generally, as seen in the recent explosion of social networking sites. However, this transition is just beginning, and is not at all assured. Different definitions of open abound, and different legal and technical platforms threaten to undermine the capacity of users to achieve the promised goals. In this presentation, I will describe these threats in greater detail, focusing primarily on the current lack of interoperability among supposedly synergistic efforts, and the resulting burden on service designs. I will also discuss some possible resolutions to these issues, highlighting the work of ccLearn in this area.

Official Website: http://dret.net/lectures/isd-fall07/