THE IMPACT OF OPEN SOURCE

Open Source resources has opened the door for many possibilities in the way of distance learning. Von Hippel and Von Krogh (2003) explain, “Open source software development projects are Internet-based communities of software developers who voluntarily collaborate to develop software that they or their organizations need” (p. 209). These new software development projects have become a significant economic and social phenomenon.

The main idea and principle of open-source software development is to create peer production through bartering and collaboration, with the source-material and documentation being made available at no cost to the public. Hylen (2006) states, “… open on the one hand may mean without cost, it does not on the other hand, means without conditions” (p. 3). It is the no cost aspect that has attracted institutions of higher learning to venture into this opportunity for sharing their courses through distance learning. Open source courses can be a great opportunity for learners to experience learning from some of our nation’s best institutions and expose them to material they might not have access due to distance or cost factors.


At the Open Yale course site (http://oyc.yale.edu/) they provide various introductory courses free of charge. These courses are taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at Yale University. One course of particular interest that I chose to examine was History of the American Revolution. As outlined in the video lesson “Developing Online Courses”, “Developing online courses is a time-consuming process that takes as much preparation as the planning and design phases.” It appears there was an attempt to address at least two of learners’ various learning styles from visual and auditory needs. Bakalevu and Narayan (2010) explain, “Blended learning takes account of the impacts of factors such as learner differences, personal characteristics, and learning styles on the learning environment” (p. 4). In this open source site learners are provided visual recordings of the lecture as well as an audio version and text transcripts. These formats are all positive resources as long as the learner has the appropriate format for accessing the material.

After examining these courses through the eyes of an instructional designer building a course for online learning, there is room for improvement to better align the course with the recommendations for online instruction. The biggest area of concern for the current format is the lack of interactivity that it provided. Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek states, “The emphasis should not be on the inherent efficiency of the distance learning, but on the values and services offered to students through their exposure to others” (p. 155). These courses can use an overhaul to include interactivities from threaded discussions to rich graphics for visual stimulation. While the videos provided where adequate they would be better received if they were divided into chunks. Simonson et al explains, “…it is best to “chunk” a 50-minute class into five or six single-concept blocks, each as a separate learning object” (p. 97).

The site provided simple links for accessing transcript files, videos and audio files. These files could be better arranged into modules or units along with learning activities for the learner. The course design did not take into consideration implementing activities that would allow the learner to gather a deeper understanding of the course material. These learning activities could include: reading assignments, PowerPoint presentations, learner-centered experiences on specific topics, research assignments utilizing Web search engines, or self-tests for an assessment of overall learning.

By creating meaningful activities for the learner it would allow the instructor an opportunity to get to know the student and monitor and manage motivation throughout the course if required. Without a full consideration and understanding of the necessary components involved, the learner, the content, the method and materials, and the environment learning experiences necessary for learning would be lost. Simonson et al explains, “The components must interact both efficiently and effectively to produce quality learning experiences” (p. 152).

The possibilities that open source learning offers can be endless with the right level of preparation and planning. These learning opportunities will be useless if the methodologies of designing distance learning courses are not taken into consideration. Open Yale courses possess the potential of providing authentic online learning, but require much improvement in their design and development phase in order to truly be effective.


References:

Bakalevu, S. & Narayan, N. (2010). Why Blended Learning? Retrieved from http://linc.mit.edu/linc2010/proceedings/session15Bakalevu.pdf

Hylen, J. (2006). Open Educational Resources: Opportunities and Challenges. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/53/40600472.pdf

Open Yale courses: http://oyc.yale.edu/

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Von Hippel, E. & Von Krogh, G. (2003). Open source software and the “Private-Collective” Innovation Model: Issues for Organization Science. Organization Science 14(2), 209-223. Retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/evhippel/www/papers/Private-Collective%20Model%20OS.pdf

Walden University video: “Developing Online Courses”

Photos retrieved from www.flickr.com