A vision for free, global (online) education

Richard Baraniuk is a Rice University professor with a giant vision: to create a free, global online education system. In this presentation, he introduces Connexions, the open-access publishing system that's changing the landscape of education by providing free coursework and educational materials to everyone in the world.

Free video lectures

I just came across this resource today which I have not had a lot of time to explore, however, it looks promising. This website resource claims to have on-demand free video lectures from the world's leading scientists.

Check it out here: videolectures.net

Harvard goes online. Other universities should take note

The question is no longer whether distance learning is as good as face to face learning. That question has been answered long ago (see the Sloan Reports for more on that topic.) The focus of the question has switched to how much better can we make distance learning courses? In the past, the term distance learning, was associated with one dimensional correspondence courses in which lectures were videotaped and course materials were mailed to students. Now, distance learning describes a new level of learning in which technologies are integrated to facilitate richer online learning environments. In fact, distance technologies have transformed our face to face learning environments in a major way. Now, lectures are videotaped and streamed to students immediately along with course materials and communication tools for immediate engagement with content, students, and instructors.

Distance learning is simply the way people learn in today's information age. Harvard is the newest high-profile university to harness these distance technologies in collaboration with ITUNES U. They currently have 1 entire course on ITUNES titled, "Understanding Computers and the Internet", however, Harvard's ITUNES model is a bit different than other universities. Except for their one completely online course, Harvard is using ITUNES to let potential students simply get a taste of their online courses. The latest press release from Harvard, states "Each 10- to 15-minute long video introduction gives the viewer a virtual taste of the Harvard classroom and the opportunity to experience Harvard Extension School distance education. Audio of each complete two-hour introductory lecture is also available for downloading." One can access the ITUNES version of the course at http://itunes.extension.harvard.edu/, however, for those that do not have ITUNES, one can access an alternate version of the course online at http://computerscience1.org/

This course is a good example of using technology to create and distribute knowledge, however, one crucial component that is missing from the ITUNES model is the virtual space needed for discussion. The strength of online education is combing multimedia (text, images, audio, and video) with points of interaction via asynchronous and synchronous communication. There is no doubt that Harvard's online materials available are excellent, however, I would like to see them build a community using online communication tools such as discussion boards, text messaging, and audio/video apps such as skype and google talk. Maybe that is part of the Harvard Extension online school experience. Either way, it is important to make the distinction between online courses and online materials. The Harvard course website states, " This course is all about understanding..." In my humble opinion, unless communication and interaction is a key component to the learning environment, one should not call it an online course. Other than that, it is one of the best resources for course materials I have come across on the net.

Learning 2006 - 30 hours of video and audio content

Over 30 hours of video and audio content from Thought Leaders and Keynote Sessions from Learning 2006. Video "Objects" from Ken Blanchard, interviews with Stephen Covey, JimLauderback, sessions on NextGen, LMS Futures and much more. They also included transcripts of most of these session. All FREE at http://www.learningwiki.com/library

The Open Learn Project

The Open University's Open Learn Project makes educational resources freely available. Educational resources can be found in the following categories:

Arts and History
Business and Management
Education
Health and Lifestyle
IT and Computing
Mathematics and Statistics
Modern Languages
Science and Nature
Society
Study Skills
Technology

Open Courseware Consortium

Many of you have probably heard about the MIT Open courseware initiative in which MIT developed a platform where instructors could posts all course notes and materials online to the world for free. Well, another exciting move has taken place in which the MIT Open Courseware site has expanded to the Open Courseware Consortium, which asks participating universities from around the world to use the platform to openly share course materials with the world. Currently, worldwide membership includes universities from the following countries: Austria, Canada, France, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Portugal, Thailand, UK, US, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

Contributing universities in the US thus far include:

• Defense Acquisition University
• Harvard Law School, Berkman Center for Internet and Society
• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Michigan State University
• Tufts University
• University of California, Irvine
• University of Michigan School of Information
• University of Notre Dame
• Utah State University
• Utah Valley State College
• Wheelock College

In addition to being a great resource for learners worldwide, sharing course materials and notes is also helpful because universities around the world can find top quality coursework and adapt it to their own learning environments. The idea is that the more we share educational materials with the world, the better place the world will be to live.

It is important to note the difference between free online materials and an online course. The courseware itself is only a platform to share educational materials, which is one part of the educational process. The educational process involves student engagement with the instructor, their peers, and the materials. An online course provides all three levels of engagement and is highly interactive and collaborative, whereas the courseware materials are only one part of the process. That said, free coureware materials are still a very valuable asset to the world.

Good Courseware, Content, and Delivery

I found the following modular flash lesson titled "How Changing Technology will Change Learning" a good example of courseware, content, and delivery. The missing link to higher levels of learning, of course, is the collaborative piece enabling communication between learners and presenter to discuss and critique various aspects of the lesson.

I found this resource useful for several reasons:

1. It is a pretty good design for courseware using flash (navigation, audio, text, and images)
   (NOTE: I think the design could be enhanced if there was an audio controller to tell the learner how long the audio will be as well as enable the learner to control the play functions)
2. The clarity and expressive tone of his voice made it more motivating to keep listening.
   
3. This coureware demonstrates the effectiveness of chunking information into 2-3 minute segments
4. The content of this module is relevant to my field of online education and was quite interesting.