The Impact of Open Source
Throughout the last year in my job I have been amazed at
the immense amount of organized classes available at your fingertips on the
Internet. Learning is now available to
so many people and at no cost. A
computer and an Internet connection are bringing courses from some of the best
universities throughout the world to anyone interested today. Learners are social networking and are active
participants throughout the learning process.
They are actively evaluating and having real world experience with
others across the globe in open source learning environments (Preston, 2012). What a remarkable age to live in, information
is available and free to those who want to learn.
I selected the Stanford Engineering Everywhere open
course site. This site allows the
learner to choose a course of their interest easily through the list of course
they have offered. Each course is
designed utilizing the Hypercontent-designed instruction. The content is grouped into modules of related
topics. The topics are presented using a
variety of materials and assessment activities which are created to make sure
the learner understands the material presented and is ready to go onto the next
sequenced module (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012 pag
170-171). However, the learner has the
ability to move through the course as they see fit.
Once a course is selected, it gives background
information on what the course will cover and any prerequisite information
needed. I really like that it details
the knowledge base you should have to be successful in the course. Then the course is divided into lectures
(which are video files), handouts, assignments, and exams. Each course has its own online community for
the learners to discuss topics and communicate with one another throughout the
course. This is the best way to get a
question answered since you will not receive any feedback from the
instructor. All materials can be
downloaded. The videos will have to be
downloaded singularly while the other documents can be downloaded all together
in a zip file. There are also files and
resources to help with any tech issues that may occur while working through
this course. One particular aspect of
their programming that I liked was a survey option that was available to
students after they finish the course.
The information gathered from this really allowed the university to get
to know their learners and their backgrounds.
This aligns with guidelines given in our textbook with understanding the
learner’s characteristics. The materials
given were the same from the face-to-face class. This does not align with the information from
our current Distance Learning course. Online learning should never just copy a
face-to-face course and stick it online.
There needs to be more added to engage the learner for some more active
learning. Although I do believe this
course does give detailed information about the topics and practice for the
learner. The online community allows for
possible feedback and discussion.
Open source learning allows for knowledge to be obtained
by any who want it. Professors today can
reach thousands to millions of people with one course rather than the select
few who purchase it to get the accreditation.
Course Chosen:
Artificial Intelligence/Machine learning – Stanford Engineering Everywhere http://see.stanford.edu/see/courseinfo.aspx?coll=348ca38a-3a6d-4052-937d-cb017338d7b1
References:
Ng, A. (n.d).Artificial
intelligence/machine learning. Retrieved from http://see.stanford.edu/see/courses.aspx
Preston, D. (Performer)
(2012). Open source learning [Web]. Retrieved from http://tedxucla.org/open-source-learning/
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek,
S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance:foundations of distance
education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.
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