Topic 1: Open practice (2018/9)

How does ‘open’ intersect your practice, pedagogy and work?

This is an archived version of a page from OKHE 2018/9, to preserve content for past participants. See the main page for the latest materials.

[Image: the upper floors of a building with its window shutters open] Is something open if you need a ladder to get to it? [CC0 by chuttersnap on Unsplash]

PG Cert HE participants: This topic relates the session on 6 Feb. You can use this page to prepare/catch up/review. Please access the Prepare and Reflect tool via Blackboard before and after the session to keep track of your progress.

This topic encourages you to think about what ‘open’ can mean in practice in Higher Education (HE) and more broadly what it may mean for the sector. We hope you are able to look through this page and leave a response before the session — if you are pushed for time, head for the essential preparation.

In the session, we hear from Chrissi Nerantzi (Manchester Metropolitan University; Global OER Graduate Network) and Cath Wasiuk (University of Manchester; OKHE 2017/8), whose bios you can read on our Guests page.

Topic 1 guests: Cath Wasiuk (left; photo used with permission): and Chrissi Nerantzi (photo used with permission). Full bios.

Below you will find posts by three OKHE graduates, including Cath. These were submissions for the first assessment, OKHE1 — you can explore the rest of the archive via the OKHE1 link on the homepage. We also have a recorded presentation from previous guest Catherine Cronin (National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching & Learning in Higher Education, Ireland), and two discussions of different aspects of ‘open’ in education.

Essential preparation

All we ask is that before the session, you read one blog post, watch/read the text of one presentation, and comment with your response to one question.

• Post: Exploring the benefits of open CPD for staff development in HE, by Cath Wasiuk (Co-founder #1minuteCPD, OKHE 2017/8, guest in first session).
• Presentation: Considering Open Education, by Catherine Cronin:
  Slides with text | Recording of slides and audio*
• Question: “What makes something open? What are the criteria for open?” — please comment below with your response.

*Due to the way this recording was created, we are sorry that we are currently unable to make it open access; it is only available to EDUC66092 participants.

Further reading

Choose from the below to develop your understanding and views further, whether before or after the session.

• Open: on reaching ‘everyone, everywhere’ by Laura Bond-Sykes (OKHE 2016/7) asks whether we are ‘there yet’ with openness in HE.
• Open for Business by Anne Hesketh (OKHE 2016/7) looks at a few aspects of open practice in HE against the idea of universities as businesses.
• Open Education, Open Questions, by Catherine Cronin, explores ideas of critical openness and identity.
• Why Openness in Education? by David Wiley and Cable Green covers three examples of openness in education.
• This UNESCO report assesses the impact of different aspects of ‘open’ in education, looking at teaching & learning, research and policy.

Post-session resources

You can read write-ups of our two guest speakers’ talks here:

Chrissi Nerantzi: A(n open) rebel

Cath Wasiuk: Open Practice and Me

What do you think?

Consider your response to this question:

What makes something open? What are the criteria for open?

Leave a comment

After reading and thinking about this topic, please comment below to share an idea or response. You may find Creating a Medium account useful. Any questions, you can contact the course leaders via Blackboard.