Just published as part of the Unitwin Network on Open Education 23 good reasons… to adopt Open Education
Respond fast to tech challenges by Belén García-Manrubia
Belén García-Manrubia is a Telecommunications Engineer and professor in the Department of Didactics of Mathematical and Social Sciences in the Faculty of Education at the University of Murcia, and director of the University’s Aula Sénior (Senior Classroom).
Today, technology is evolving at a dizzying pace to which all of society must adapt. This scenario poses a significant challenge for education systems, which must respond quickly to these changes and incorporate them to ensure up-to-date and relevant teaching (Selwyn, 2012).
In this context, Open Education (OE) presents itself as a promising solution, as it has become a key resource to address this need for agile response to technological challenges. It should be noted that OE not only facilitates access to the latest educational resources and strategies but also fosters collaboration across education systems to address these challenges together (Wiley & Hilton, 2018). Below, we explore some of the most relevant aspects of how Open Education can contribute to meeting these challenges.
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Agility in Content Updating
One of the main benefits of OE is its ability to continuously update educational resources. Thanks to its collaborative approach and open licences that allow for easy modification and sharing of content, educational materials can be adapted quickly (UNESCO, 2019). As emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, advance extremely fast, more traditional educational materials tend to become obsolete in a short period of time. In contrast, Open Educational Resources (OER) offer the opportunity for teachers and experts to update and share content in an agile way.
Collaborative Knowledge Building
The challenges posed by technologies often require multidisciplinary responses involving experts and teachers from different areas. In this sense, OE acts as a tool that promotes and facilitates this collaboration through platforms and virtual spaces where teachers, professionals and even students can work together in the creation of innovative materials adapted to educational needs. A clear example of this was the educational response to the COVID-19 pandemic, where OE communities rapidly developed resources and offered technological solutions for distance learning (Huang et al., 2020).
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Generated with IA (Pixlr)
Lifelong Learning for a Changing World
Open Education also plays a crucial role in facilitating lifelong learning and helping people to keep up to date with relevant technologies and other skills. In an ever-changing technological environment, it is essential that citizens update their skills on a regular basis to remain competitive. Through open courses, webinars and accessible resources, millions of people have the opportunity to acquire new skills in an agile way and keep up to date with the latest technological developments (UNESCO, 2019).
Conclusion
Through the various aspects mentioned above, it can be concluded that Open Education is a powerful tool to respond to the technological challenges of today’s society. Educational institutions and communities have the responsibility to take advantage of its potential, from the development of open content to the adoption of policies that promote its use. Only in this way can we move towards a more agile, inclusive and future-proof education system.
References
Huang, R., Liu, D., Tlili, A., Knyazeva, S., Chang, T. W., Zhang, X., Burgos, D., Jemni, M., Zhang, M., Zhuang, R., & Holotescu, C. (2020). Guidance on Open Educational Practices during School Closures: Utilizing OER under COVID-19 Pandemic in line with UNESCO OER Recommendation . Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University.
Selwyn, N. (2012). Education and Technology: Key Issues and Debates . (1st ed.) Continuum International Publishing Group.
UNESCO. (2019). Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (OER). https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000370936
Wiley, D., & Hilton III, J. L. (2018). Defining OER-Enabled Pedagogy. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning , 19 (4). Defining OER-Enabled Pedagogy | The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning
Link: https://euniwell-open-education.univ-nantes.fr/respond-fast-to-tech-challenges/