In 2002, UNESCO launched a report named Forum on the Impact of Open Courseware for Higher Education in Developing Countries. In the report, open courseware is defined as a concept “based on the philosophical view of knowledge as a collective social product.” Since knowledge is a collective social product, the participants of this forum discussed the options for making it a social property.
From that point on, open education became “a thing.” It took quite some time for humanity to understand that everyone, despite their financial background, should be entitled to free educational content. You might be thinking: “People have access to educational content without the open education process. What’s the problem?” We’re talking about licensededucational resources for non-formal, but also formal education. That’s what makes open education different – the formal framework.
What Is Open Education?
Through open education, people from all around the world have access to content that they would have to pay for in a different situation. With the implementation of this method, we’re striving towards a more equal society, where money (or the lack of it) does not limit one’s right to gain knowledge and skills.
Open education practitioners make all coursework materials available for anyone who wants to access them. They open the entire course for a broad audience. If you take a look through Coursera, for example, you’ll see that the users have free access to entire courses from top universities. All infographics, videos, and assignments are available for them.
But most important of all, the concept of open education also means enabling students to access free textbooks. We all know how expensive textbooks are. A student already struggles with a tight budget. When they want cheaper education, the ability to get complete textbooks for free means a lot.
It all sounds well in theory. But in practice, there are two sides of the issue. Is open education all brilliant, or is there a negative side to it? Let’s discuss the pros and cons.
The Things that Make Open Education Great
Children from many countries from all around the world have access to free education. Still, in other parts of the world, many children don’t have access to good schools. In such cases, open education is crucial for a brighter future.
Roberto Corona shared his experience. This essay writer from EssayOnTime.com.au didn’t have free access to high quality education. “I was born in a poor village, in a third-world country. I went to school, but you don’t want to get me started on describing the conditions,” – he says. “We didn’t have good teachers. We didn’t have books. We had nothing. And we didn’t have access to better education. My family had to move to Australia for me to get it. Today’s generations of students have better options. Even if they are stuck in poverty, they can still learn. For those willing to learn, limited access to learning resources is a great punishment. Open education changes that.”
Poverty is not the only reason for opening up educational resources. The rise of homeschooling is another important issue. Many parents opt for homeschooling, since they don’t live in places where high-quality education is a free option. Sometimes students decide to drop out of school and continue their education from home. Personal choice is important, and the ability of the students to access good academic materials from home supports that choice.
Another great thing about open educational resources is that they are not solely focused on children. Adults can also access great online courses in their own schedule. Instead of enrolling in another college or university program, they can continue working while learning in their free time. With open education, personal and professional development is more accessible.
Why Isn’t Everyone Crazy about Online Education?
This is not a black-or-white issue. We cannot specifically claim that open education is awesome and paid education doesn’t work. There are few reasons why some people are not crazy about it.
- Those high-quality educational resources that you can access online usually come as result of paid programs. We mentioned Coursera. If you go through the courses, you’ll see that they are provided by university professors. These professors deserve to be paid for their work. They share the resources online on their free will, but we cannot make it mandatory for them to do so.
- Open education is not entirely free. You can attend an online course for free, but you’ll need to pay to get certified. This is a huge drawback for those interested in entirely free education.
- The educational system needs finances. Yes; colleges and universities are getting way too expensive. But without the tuition fees, these institutions would lack the resources that are necessary for research projects. The progress of humanity practically depends on those research projects, so they have to be financed in one way or another.
- Making all education free may affect the quality that the students are getting. Remember: the best online courses still get money from somewhere, even though they are accessible for free.
Open Education Is a Great Idea… We Can Make It Work
The idea that everyone should have access to learning resources for free is noble. It’s not just noble; it’s also very logical. Why should students pay so much for textbooks and degrees? If someone doesn’t have the money but is very willing to learn, should we take that opportunity away from them?
Currently, however, it’s impossible to make all education free. We need to work towards a more sustainable educational system, which isn’t dependent on students’ money. We’re still far from that point, but we’re moving forward. Being able to access great educational resources online without payments is a great step in that direction.
BIO:
William Stewart is an elementary school teacher and a proponent for free education. He develops online courses and writes useful blog posts that help students learn in a smarter way. His main goal is to make education more accessible than it was when he was a student.
Images:
- https://www.pexels.com/photo/three-persons-sitting-on-the-stairs-talking-with-each-other-1438072/
- https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-sitting-next-to-table-and-right-hand-on-ear-1326946/
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