Markus Deimann (FernUniversitaet in Hagen, Germany) and Robert Farrow (The Open University UK). Abstract
Despite the recent increases of interest in open education, notably in massive open online courses (MOOCs) (Fini, 2009), it has been continuously asserted that this form of social knowledge production lacks a philosophical or theoretical foundation (Vandenberg, 1975). Similar accusations have been made with respect to distance education, such as being slow to engage with critical debates in theory and research (Evans & Nation, 1992). In a similar vein, Danaher, Wyer, and Bartlett (1998) claim that researchers in open and distance learning tend to draw on too narrow a range of theoretical resources in their research. Given the considerable rise of open education over recent years, these critical appraisals urge us to expand theoretical approaches and refine our understanding of evolving pedagogical and technological relations (cf. Bell, 2011). In this paper, we contribute to debates surrounding open education and open educational resources by introducing the concept of Bildung (self-cultivation, self-realization) as a powerful reflective tool and framework for approaching open education. We will elaborate on the potentials of Bildung by reviewing the history of the concept and exploring the extent to which Bildung can provide open education with a theoretical framework. Our focus is not exclusively on open educational resources (OER): We follow other commentators (Mackey & Jacobson, 2011, p. 62; cf. Weller, 2011) who argue that ‘openness’ in education necessarily shifts the focus from content (OER) to practices (OEP) that are necessary for the use of that content. Read more...

By Frances Elizabeth. Last week I signed up for my first ever MOOC – massive open online course – through the amazing online learning website Coursera. For anyone looking for something to keep them occupied over the summer, I would highly recommend checking it out. I spent my first few minutes on the website just marvelling at the idea of being able to learn whatever I wanted, from whatever university I wanted, all from the comfort of my own bed (surely that is most university students’ dream!). Read more...

By Jonathan Marks. In a recent Minding the Campus essay, Benjamin Ginsberg, professor of political science at Johns Hopkins, worries about Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Ginsberg is no softy about higher education. He has written a hard-hitting book on “administrative bloat,” the result of colleges and universities putting resources into management at the expense of instruction and research. But he is worried about MOOCs, which permit “one professor [to] lecture to tens or even hundreds of thousands of students with whom he or she has no interaction.”
In case you haven’t heard, MOOCs are online courses that enroll, typically free of charge, students who listen to lectures, do interactive, graded exercises, and engage in discussion forums. MOOCs are hailed as disruptors of a self-satisfied, overpriced higher education system and denounced as overhyped, poor substitutes for genuine education, which requires face-to-face teaching, mentoring, and discussion. Read more...

Blog Educpros de Matthieu Cisel. L’effervescence qui entoure actuellement les MOOC conduit de nombreux acteurs privés et publics à se positionner sur ce terrain, chacun à sa manière. Certains recherchent de la visibilité, d’autres un modèle économique, ou même les deux. Pour illustrer les modèles économiques, les intentions et les manières de fonctionner des uns et des autres, je vous propose une métaphore qui est souvent utilisée dans le contexte d’émergence de niches économiques: la ruée vers l’or.
Tout commence au moment où les pionniers Andrew Ng et Sebastian Thrun lancent leurs premiers MOOC d’intelligence artificielle en novembre 2011. 150.000 personnes s’inscrivent: le filon a été découvert, il faut maintenant l’exploiter. Andrew comme Sebastian vont lever des fonds et fonder respectivement Coursera et Udacity au printemps 2012. Udacity fonctionne sur le modèle de la compagnie minière: l’ensemble de la chaîne de valeurs est contrôlée par l’entreprise, la création et la maintenance de l’outil, le portail qui fournit la visibilité, et le développement des cours (les enseignants étant prestataires de service). Seul un petit nombre de cours est développé. Coursera adopte une autre tactique: au lieu de chercher à exploiter elle-même le filon, elle se concentre sur l’outil et vend l’accès à la concession à de prestigieux établissements, qui ont a priori les moyens d’investir dans de la prospection. Ou plutôt, elle fournit gratuitement l’accès, elle fournit gratuitement les pioches (la plate-forme), mais elle prend l’essentiel de l’or extrait: entre 85% et 94% des revenus issus de la certification. Suite de l'article...

By Jorge E. Borrero A.Por Chris Farrel para Bloomberg Newsweek. publicado en septiembre de 2012. En el comienzo de los 90, el fallecido economista de trabajo Jacob Mincer reunió a un grupo de periodistas y estudiantes en una conferencia en la Universidad de Columbia. Mincer quería hablar acerca del rol que la educación jugo en ampliar la desigualdad de ingreso/salario.
Entre los participantes estaba Fischer Black, un socio de Goldman Sachs (GS), legendario experto en análisis cuantitativo, y Co-creador del famoso modelo de precio “Black-Sholes”.
La conversación fue alrededor de que incidía para ampliar el hueco de los ingresos entre los trabajadores con un diploma de escuela secundaria únicamente y aquellos con un grado universitario. Black no dijo nada por un largo periodo de tiempo. De repente, el recalco “Por qué estamos hablando tanto sobre la escuela? Lo que se aprende en el sitio de trabajo es nueve a once veces lo que se aprende en la escuela. Yo no sé el número exacto, pero parece un estimado razonable”. Més...