pragmatism over zeal
Our good friend Cathy Casserly, former Director of the Open Educational Resources Initiative of the Hewlett Foundation, as just been elected to the Creative Commons Board of Directors. While there were already people on the CC board who cared about OER, the addition of Cathy means that the Board now has one of the most articulate OER champions around in their ranks. This is great news! Congrats to Cathy, CC, and anyone who cares about OER!
Coverage at:
First, Mike and Cathy left the Hewlett Foundation, where they had provided incredible vision and incubation support for early OER efforts. (While Hewlett is still running its OER program there didn’t seem to be many OER-related grants made in 2009.) Then, a few weeks ago, I blogged about the departure of Ira and Chris from the Mellon Foundation, caused by the RIT program being merged into another program, where they had also provided vision and support for open educational software.
Today, we read of another “merger” of programs – and top leadership exit – at Creative Commons:
We’ve decided that we can best support the open education and OER communities by focusing our resources and support where we are strongest and provide the most unique value… Such changes mean that some of the activities and, sadly, personnel cannot be integrated successfully with the new structure… In this current transition, Ahrash Bissell, the Executive Director of CC Learn, has left the organization.
Has left – past tense. Apparently, surpassing their year end public fundraising goal (with $533,898) wasn’t enough resource to keep ccLearn going.
I know some well-known ed tech bloggers will comment “good riddance,” claiming that organizations are inherently evil anyway, and that the space is better off without them “investing in” and “supporting” the work of open education (which is best done by a lone individual living off-grid on a rural Appalachian subsistence farm). But does no one else see an “interesting” pattern here?
Newly minted Dr. Justin Johansen’s dissertation study, The Impact Of Opencourseware On Paid Enrollment In Distance Learning Courses, is now available from BYU’s Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) archive.
This dissertation is the first piece of empirical work I am aware of that demonstrates clearly that a distance learning program can simultaneously (1) provide a significant public good by publishing opencourseware and (2) be revenue positive while doing it. In other words, Justin’s study not only demonstrates that it is possible to publish opencourseware without requesting donations from users or foundations, it goes further and demonstrates that it is possible to make money publishing opencourseware. And if you can make money publishing opencourseware, you can continue publishing opencourseware for a very long time. This capacity is also known as sustainability.
Congratulations to Dr. Johansen!
P.S. John Hilton will be defending his dissertation, which applies a similar methodology to examine the impact of giving away free e-books on the sales of printed books, February 11!
The Salt Lake Tribune recently ran a front page feature on the Open High School of Utah that generated a number of comments online. (More recent OHSU coverage at eSchoolNews). Many of the comments about the online school ran along these lines:
So much for peer relationships! Social growth is also a good idea – or was….
Re Taxpayer… these online courses lack the academic interaction between students that is so crucial to a great education
The fact that these readers are arguing with one another in the online comment thread about whether you can have meaningful academic or social interactions in an online setting is really just too delicious.
More interestingly, several students from the OHSU (who someone apparently forgot to tell that they can’t have meaningful interactions online) have joined the argument, with posts like:
I would like to ask those who are posting on the article how much they REALLY know what they’re talking about. Honestly. What do you know about OHSU (Open High School of Utah–what this article is all about)? Next to nothing. You know that it is an online charter school, it’s curriculum is “open,” and that there is a student named Jizelle. Am I missing anything? As a student at OHSU, I would like you all to stop trash talking my school until you understand exactly what it is you’re talking about.
Hi, my name is Robin, I am a thirteen year old girl. I have been public schooled, home schooled, and I am in OHSU at the time being… I have more time to learn, and grow with OHSU. I am sorry if you like brick and mortar schools better, but the facts are, when there are 45+ students in a class with one mentor it becomes babysitting NOT teaching!
I am also a student of the Open High School of Utah… I really wish that people would cease with the stereotyping that children who learn at home lack social skills, have some sort of mental problem or disability (I’m pretty sure my mental health is great, thank you very much), or that this type of learning isn’t as effective. Like what LisaMaren stated, OHSU uses discussion boards, in which we are REQUIRED to read through and respond to what the other students have to say. Yes, the posts are longer and well thought out since students are given the chance to sit there, think, and type it down rather than how it would be in an impromptu face-to-face conversation. Everyone has an equal chance to speak their mind and be heard–unlike in the traditional school, where the shy girl may be overshadowed by the know-it-all geek.
Is there a more enjoyable critic to listen to than the one who disproves his own point as he argues for it?
More on the OER Transition
I’m happy to point to this comment by Vic Vuchic from the Hewlett Foundation on a previous post I wrote about what seems to be happening with OER. It’s a great perspective (that he is uniquely qualified to provide) that warmed my heart a bit. Some highlights:
So from Vic’s point of view, the field of OER is in transition, and definitely for the better! This is a great perspective that I’m happy to hear.
Vic also writes, “Just to put a a stop to the rumors, Hewlett is not shutting down OER, and it is very much a part of what the education program is doing moving forward.” I re-read my previous post and I don’t think I implied anywhere that Hewlett was shutting down its OER program – just that funding seems to have slowed down. Vic indicates that Hewlett’s and other foundations’s endowments are down 40%, so that makes sense.
Vic’s perspective of what’s happening as the field transitions is good news for everyone who cares about OER.