Small Steps Across the Chasm: Ideas for Embedding a Culture of Open Education in the University Sector

Session Title: Small Steps Across the Chasm: Ideas for Embedding a Culture of Open Education in the University Sector

Presenters: Lisa Harris, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, University of Southampton
Lorraine Warren, Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Southampton
Jean Leah, Learning and Teaching Coordinator, University of Southampton
Melanie Ashleigh, Senior Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour, University of Southampton

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Time & Date: 2:30 P.M. - 3:15 P.M., Thursday, August 13, 2009

Location: Rm. C150

Session Description:

Purpose

This paper critiques the commonly accepted notions of “digital native” students and the widening generation gap between them and “technophobic” faculty. A range of examples from the UK higher education sector demonstrate that attempts to “cross the chasm” by introducing new models of learning can be inhibited by 1) the prevailing structure and culture within universities and 2) a preference for traditional delivery and assessment of knowledge by students themselves. In conjunction with our primary data we draw upon theories of innovation and technological change (for example Christensen, 2004) as well as studies of the role of web 2 technologies in developing a culture of open education (for example Brown and Adler, 2008 and Long and Holeton, 2009) to present recommendations for systematic integration of new learning styles into the curriculum.

Rationale

David (1991) described how in the 19th Century the dynamo was developed as a challenger to the established production technology which was then the steam engine. Although the new technology was clearly superior, productivity benefits were slow to materialise because the system of production continued to operate on the model developed for the steam engine. Parallels can be drawn here with the ways in which new learning technologies are struggling to fulfil their potential when they have to fit - often uneasily -  within a traditional university structure and culture which no longer matches today’s world, where information is abundant and freely shared  through global networks with little respect for expertise and established hierarchies.

It is increasingly evident that the “digital divide” between the “haves” and the “have nots” in the developed world is now less about access to the web than it is about understanding how to actively participate in the networked society. The ability to create and share knowledge, to effectively network and engage with global professional communities, and to be aware of emerging new knowledge in a particular field of practice, are becoming essential basic competences for a modern professional. Individuals with the skills, time and confidence to navigate and manage the online chaos will gain access to new knowledge and career opportunities, find audiences for their work, or enrich the lives of others. Those who do not display such initiative risk being marginalised or left behind.
Social technologies have the capacity to support these knowledge creation processes in effective ways. Communication can be facilitated through the use of wikis and blogs to draw upon global communities of expertise, and the relative value of diverse sources of information can be assessed through social bookmarking tools such as Digg or Del.icio.us. This means that learners can get a sense of the importance of an article or video in terms of the number of viewers who have bookmarked it and the nature and extent of the comments made about it.

Within UK Universities, there are many excellent examples of projects which encourage students to develop these skills and mindsets, but they tend to be rather isolated from the core curriculum and hence limited in their impact.  In order to foster an enthusiasm for lifelong learning and produce independent, proactive learners who are able to become productive participants in today’s business world, we argue in this paper that Universities should be embedding these skills throughout the curriculum; a process which will require systematic change as well as supportive attitudes from both staff and students.

Bibliography

Brown, J.S. and Adler, R.P. (2008) “Minds on Fire, Open Education, The Long Tail and Learning 2.0″, Educause Review, Jan/Feb

Christensen, C. M., Antony, S. D. and Roth, E.A. (2004) Seeing What’s Next: Using Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change Harvard Business School Press

David, P. A. (1991) The Dynamo and the Computer: An Historical Perspective on the Modern Productivity Paradox. The American Economic Review 80(2).
Long, P. and Holeton, R. (2009) Signposts of the Revolution? What We Talk about When We Talk about Learning Spaces EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 44, no. 2 (March/April 2009): 36-49