Q 1. With the rising cost of higher education, combined with our currently gloomy economic situation, the media seems quite enamored with questions of whether individuals can effectively learn new skills from free and open content and even receive credentials from it. What are your feeling on the idea of free information to college learners, and should students and graduates be able to access this information?
Q 2. There is no question that the current economic crisis is making it difficult for all students and educators. How can people who are affected by the current economic crisis benefit from open education courses and other resources? What are the benefits for institutions and educators who share their content?
Question 1 - The only opposition to free and open source content is from the corporations, plain and simple. If people are gaining skills and knowledge without paying for it, that means a distributor of comparable or similar information just lost a percentage of their profit.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I have always been fond of the concept of shareware. Shareware can be any type of software that is uploaded to the internet for consumer use. The consumer can then try out a demo or trial version of the software and see if they like it. If they do, they can pay an affordable (and very likely cheaper price than anything Adobe, Microsoft, et. al. are charging) price or even in some cases decide their own amount for "donation." This concept not only drives the market competitively, but it also gives distributors incentive to put out a good product.
The free information is out there. We just have to search in the right places.
Question 2 - The people can certainly benefit from open education courses and resources. Having worked in the technical recruiting market for many years I often had clients that were only concerned with finding job candidates that had the skills that they needed. They had little to no regard for any type of college or technical degree. They wanted employees that could do the work that they wanted done, no matter what.
The only obstacle to that is that there are certain careers where it would be impossible to find a job without a certain degree or certification. The teaching profession is a prime example. Despite some of the natural skills that we possess, and the very real possibility that some of us could walk into a classroom tomorrow and take over a classroom for the rest of the year, the state governments require certain steps to be followed through.
I do want to comment on the fact that as valuable higher education institutions are, we would have to be kidding ourselves if we felt that there were also not considered profitable businesses. We all know how much money we invest into our educations, and we also see the result.
Overall I feel there are such mixed feelings about open education because it gives an awful lot of power to the general populace. There's only so much power available and if the people that normally could not afford the right training suddenly find a way to gain that training at a minimal cost there will be a power shift. And somewhere in that shift there is a loss of power for someone/something that has had it for a significant amount of time.
Loss of power means loss of profit. Knowledge leads to profit. It just makes sense.
Toby, your right. I dont have a problem with someone making a profit off something that I need as long its a just cost. What I mean is how much of a profit does a company need to make off of stuggling students who cant do without what the company is selling. I dont believe in making a outragous profit on someone elses misfortunes.
ReplyDelete1. I like the idea of free information to college students. One of the reasons I like it is because it really helps with Student Assistance. It helps potential students find interesting major and minor areas of study as well as interesting casual electives. Moreover, it strengthens the idea of Economic Support and Career Options. These courses might help the country and the world during difficult economic times such as those currently being felt. With OCW, people in tough situations might find career options and valuable new skills. I feel that if students are more aware of what is out there and what is going on they will be able to be more knowledgeable and more successful.
ReplyDelete1. I believe that if college learners need to pay for resources that can further their education is a scam. I believe all college learners and graduates should have full access to the information because if you have gone through the curriculum and the long hours, you deserve the resources at your finger tips even after your schooling
ReplyDelete2. First I believe that all students should become more aware of what certain resources offer. Not all up and coming professionals of the world know exactly what more they could offer, there is always room to grow. I believe that it strengthens the idea of economic support and career options. Courses could help the country and especially those who are influences by the tumbling economy.