Why sharing is a key part of academic practice | Wonkhe | Comment

"Open education is one of those simple, cheap, ideas that are potentially revolutionary. Like all such ideas, there are multiple approaches to implementation that can divide (or at least cause an argument in) a community of practice.

With my OER18 co-chair Viv Rolfe I wrote about some of the work on open textbooks – providing teaching resources that can be adapted to suit by academics free of cost (or at cost) to students. Lorna Campbell (OER18 keynote speaker) wrote for us alongside Maren Deepwell of ALT about the wider policy implications.

But there is another tendency of open education that is far harder to sell to policymakers, but remains enormously attractive to many. And it underpins two major concepts you have undoubtedly heard of while shedding light on the history of learning technology, staff development, and critical academia.

Welcome to open academic practice...."