How the Open Source Movement Has Changed Education: 10 Success Stories

How would you like to study at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) for free? It has been nearly six years since MIT first announced their MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) program. More recently, MIT announced that the OCW program, a free and open educational resource (OER) for educators, students, and self-learners around the world, is online and will be completed by 2008. The OCW provides open access to course materials for up to 1,550 MIT courses, representing 34 departments and all five MIT schools. The goal is to include materials from all MIT courses by next year.

MIT provides just one of the 10 open source educational success stories detailed below. Open source and open access resources have changed how colleges, organizations, instructors, and prospective students use software, operating systems and online documents for educational purposes. And, in most cases, each success story also has served as a springboard to create more open source projects.

http://oedb.org/library/features/how-the-open-source-movement-has-changed-education-10-success-stories/

Why Do Students Like Online Learning?

Why do students flock to the online learning environment? With over 4 million students are enrolled in online schools and universities (and that number is growing 30% per year), there are many compelling arguments for attending a cyber classroom (Lewis, 2005).
1.
Students can “attend” a course at anytime, from anywhere. This means that parents can attend to their children, then sit down to class; working students can attend classes no matter what their work schedule might be, folks that travel for business or pleasure can attend class from anywhere in the world that has internet access.
2.
Online learning enables student-centered teaching approaches. Every student has their own way of learning that works best for them. Some learn visually others do better when they “learn by doing.”
3.
Course material is accessible 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Students have the ability to read and re read lectures, discussions, explanations and comments. Often spoken material in the classroom passes students by due to a number of distractions, missed classes, tiredness or boredom.
4.
In an online environment, attendance to class is only evident if the student actually participates in classroom discussion. This increases student interaction and the diversity of opinion, because everyone gets a say, not just the most talkative.
5.
Online instructors come with practical knowledge and may be from any location across the globe. This allows students to be exposed to knowledge that can’t be learned in books and see how class concepts are applied in real business situations.
6.
Using the internet to attend class, research information and communication with other students teaches skills in using technologies that will be critical to workers in the 21st century business community that works with colleagues globally and across time zones.
7.
Participating online is much less intimidating than “in the classroom.” Anonymity provides students a level playing field undisturbed by bias caused by seating arrangement, gender, race and age. Students can also think longer about what they want to say and add their comments when ready. In a traditional class room, the conversation could have gone way past the point where the student wants to comment.
8.
Because online institutions often offer “chat rooms” for informal conversation between students, where student bios and non class discussions can take place, there appears to be a increased bonding and camaraderie over traditional class environments.
9.
The online environment makes instructors more approachable. Students can talk openly with their teachers through online chats, email and in newsgroup discussions, without waiting for office hours that may not be convenient. This option for communication provides enhanced contact between instructors and students.
10.
Online course development allows for a broad spectrum of content. Students can access the school’s library from their PC’s for research articles, ebook content and other material without worries that the material is already “checked out.”
11.
Students often feel that they can actually listen to the comments made by other students. Because everyone gets a chance to contribute, students are less irritated with those that “over contribute” and can ask for clarification of any comments that are unclear.
12.
Over 75% of colleges and universities in the U.S. offer online degree programs, with online degrees as respected as “on the ground” degrees. (Lewis)
13.
Online classrooms also facilitate team learning by providing chatrooms and newsgroups for meetings and joint work. This eliminates the problems of mismatched schedules, finding a meeting location and distributing work for review between meetings.
14.
Students often comment that online learning lets them attend class when fully awake and attend in increments of convenient time block, rather than rigid 2 or 4 hour stretches once or twice a week.
15.
Because there are no geographic barriers to online learning, students can find a diversity of course material that may not be available to them where they live or work. This is especially true for professional training such as medical billing training or purchasing training and for students in remote rural areas that cannot support college or vocational training centers.

While “brick and mortar” institutions will never be eliminated, it’s easy to see why a growing number of people are attending class in the cyber world. They may be reasons of accessibility, flexibility or quality, all compelling and contributing to the attractiveness of this mode of learning.

10 Reasons to Choose Online Education

Online education isn’t the best choice for everyone. But, many students thrive in the online education environment. Here are 10 reasons why online education continues to grow in popularity.
1. Choice
Online education allows students to choose from a wide variety of schools and programs not available in their area.
2. Flexibility
Online education offers flexibility for students who have other commitments.
3. Networking Opportunities
Students enrolled in online education programs network with peers from all over the nation.
4. Pacing
Many online education programs allow pupils to work at their own pace.
5. Open Scheduling
Online education allows professionals to continue their careers while working towards a degree.
6. Savings
Online education programs often charge less than traditional schools.
7. Lack of Commute
Students who choose online education save on gas and commuting time.
8. Connections
Some online education programs connect students with top-notch professors and guest lecturers from around the world.
9. Teaching and Testing Options
The variety of online education programs available means that students are able to choose a learning and evaluation format that works for them.
10. Effectiveness
Online education is effective. A 2009 meta-study from the Department of Education found that students taking online courses outperformed their peers in traditional classrooms.