Open learning is a wonderful creation of mankind as a complement to traditional instructor-led, synchronous learning in a closed learning platform. From the 2010s onwards, people have been trying to change the modularity of learning for remote environments, especially for people with accessibility needs who have difficulty or are completely unable to pursue learning in traditional learning methods. Thanks to learning management systems like Brightspace, which allow instructors to provide “special access” for students in need to offer help to students with accessible needs who need more time for assessments due to valid reasons, students can learn with equity and accessibility.
However, since most of the today’s university courses are in-person and only a few of them are fully online, open learning is not possible at all times but there is a new kind of modularity for some courses at universities, “online with some in-person components”, which is a partial compromise to people who cannot attend lectures in person, but keeps the integrity and in-person participation of mandatory labs, tutorials and assessments. Regretfully, although the universities have legal duties to appropriately accommodate students with accessible needs, accommodations cannot and will not change the modularity of the course or any of the required learning outcomes, and there are some cases where the universities cannot accommodate because doing so would place a significant burden or pose a risk.
There is still potential to open learning though for some distance or online learning institutions, although no formal degree credentials would be earned for the purpose of higher level of employment which fall under NOC code TEER 0 or TEER 1. For people who do not wish or cannot pursue a degree though, this is also an alternative way for professional studies, but much less effectively than in-person studies because there are not as much supports available.
One of my professors has switched drastically in the course’s components and modularity from previous term by opening an online section in Brightspace and enables all students to watch lecture recordings and worksheets as well as allowing re-write opportunity and picks the highest mark for midterm examinations, and there is no cumulative final examination. All of these lenient measures are to ensure that people can succeed in the course given that students pay hard efforts. In addition, he switched from traditional individual assignment to project-based learning and “guided inquiry”, which encourages teamwork in a real-life context, and every group is paired with a TA-client who would assess the group’s progress at all times, and it is completely up to each group to schedule times to meet and ask for help. By combining self-learning and guided learning, this is an example of what open learning can be like in a university context.
In conclusion, educational technology and hybrid delivery has significantly changed the landscape of open learning. Learning management systems have drastically change how people access their learning, whether in-person or online.
Great to meet you David,
You’re absolutely right about how open learning and tools like Brightspace are changing things up in our learning. It’s amazing how they’re making education more accessible for students with different needs. The shift to online components with some in-person sessions is a good compromise too, keeping things flexible while still maintaining the important hands-on parts like labs and tutorials. It’s great to hear about your professor’s approach too sounds like they’re really focused on making sure everyone can succeed. The move towards project-based learning and guided inquiry definitely seems like it’s creating a supportive environment for us all. Overall, these changes are really shaping how we learn and interact in class, making education more inclusive and dynamic. And I look forward to hearing from you.
Hi David! I couldn’t agree you more that open learning is now gradually permeating our academic lives. You mentioned that open learning helps students with accessibility needs and that students can learn in a fair and accessible way. Which I think is a very good point. You also mentioned an example of one of your professors using open learning and I thought of one of my professors as well. This professor combines open learning with face-to-face lectures. At the end of each class he would give out random quiz that we had to complete in class. Testing our classroom listening in this way was very effective. In my opinion, it not only improves class efficiency but also increases attendance. I really like the style of your website and look forward to seeing your next blog.