The Impact of Open Source

Today’s distance learners have many resources available to them, with some of the most useful being open course websites, most commonly referred to as OpenCourseWare.  So what is OpenCourseWare you ask? OpenCourseWare is a compilation of free lessons usually created by a university and placed on the Internet for use by all. Usually these courses do not generate college credits, but are taken for the general acquisition of knowledge, and as the name implies this instruction is made available free of charge.  According to MIT’s Professor Yue (2013), “The idea is simple: to publish all of our course materials online and make them widely available to everyone.”

This week when exploring the website hosted by MIT, (http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm) I found that
there have been over 125 million visitors that have access to information on over 2000 courses -
all for free! From the many listed courses, I selected a course that interested me and was quickly
redirected to the course  management system for that class.

The information contained on the course management page was abundant and easily accessible.
The CMS used a variety of learning tactics such as graphics, videos, and links. Following the
Theory of Independent Study, students are able to access the course whenever they choose and
have the ability to stop and start the course at their own pace (Weidemeyer, 1981).

The course was well organized with components such as syllabus, calendar, and detailed assignments and others readily accessible for the benefit of the learner (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012).This fairly new method of instruction could not have been accomplished without the modern technology we are accustomed to today. Peters Theory of Industrialization of Teaching (1988) reminds us that education is gradually being restructured through mechanization and automation. OpenCourseWare classes offer a convenient means to gather and disseminate knowledge. This online medium affords the designer the opportunity to customize content while allowing the learner to select various levels of interaction (Beldarrain, 2006).

References

Beldarrain, Y. (2006). Distance education trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student interaction and collaboration. Distance Education, 27(2), 139–153.

Peters, O. (1988). Distance teaching and industrial production: A comparative interpretation in outline. In D. Stewart, D. Keegan, & B. Holmberg (Eds.), Distance education: International perspectives (pp.95-113). New York: Rutledge.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Wedemeyer, C. (1981). Learning at the backdoor. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.

Yue, Dick K.P.  Professor, MIT School of Engineering. Accessed April 05, 2013. Retrieved from  http://ocw.mit.edu/about/