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The OpenLearn site provides free access to some of the Open University's courses. The project is sponsored by the Hewlett Foundation. Registration is required, but the free registration gives the registrant access to courses, tools, and a myLearningSpace account. The courses range from short workshops about how to study and using the Internet to full university courses at introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels.
I scanned half a dozen course offerings and explored three courses in detail:
T180_5 is listed under the IT and Computing category as "Information on the Web"-- "The World Wide Web is a vast information resource. This unit will provide you with the foundation skills to use search engines confidently to locate both information and images on the Web. You will also learn how to critically assess and reference the information you have found for study purposes." I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to learn the basics of searching for information on the Web; it is clear, interesting, and well-organized; certainly it would be an essential course for students new to online learning.
DSE212_3 is categorized in the Society section as "Exploring Psychology." The course provides a standard introduction to Psychology that is well-presented and well-written; all the standard introductory topics in Psychology are covered. Students who work there way through this course will be well prepared to take additional courses in the field.
M883_1 is about "Models and Modeling" and listed in the IT and Computing category as an advanced course. "Models are mechanisms for communication. This unit looks at what a model is and what the process of modelling is about. The techniques discussed here are applicable to a wide range of systems and have one thing in common: they are all commonly used diagramming techniques. The five techniques are: data flow diagrams, use case modelling, activity diagrams, entity–relationship diagrams and state machines." The materials are organized in an accessible way with many useful diagrams and case studies. A useful course for any student or professional involved with computing.
All of the OpenLearn courses provide considerably more than can be found at most opencourseware sites, which essentially provide no more than access to course materials. Students at OpenLearn can use Knowledge Maps, Instant Messaging, Flash Meeting, a Learning Journal, and participate in Discussion Forums to enable a full learning experience.
OpenLearn is valuable for adult learners who want to direct their own studies but don't require credit, for students who want to supplement courses that they are taking elsewhere, and for students who want full credit from Open University. I would also recommend OpenLearn to prospective students who are considering taking their first distance learning course; the OpenLearn site will introduce them to the tools, structuring, and activities that they can expect in high quality online courses from other institutions. ____JH
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"The Open University joins Harvard, MIT, Tokyo University and the Paris Technology Institutes and over a hundred other universities as well as many other libraries, government agencies, museums and public television organizations who have opened their education content to world.
Since then the amount and quality of open education content has increased dramatically. Institutions and people throughout the developed and developing worlds including sub-Saharan Africa, China and India are putting open education content on the web. A wide variety of international organizations are involved in the effort, among them the Commonwealth of Learning, UNESCO and OECD.
The decision to place free materials on the web is not easily made. There are often substantial barriers. Intellectual property, language and culture, making different technologies work together and most of all the invisible barrier of an ingrained reluctance to change that exists in many institutions.
The Open University has overcome these barriers – its first publication of open material is an extraordinary addition to the growing collection of free and full accessible high quality content. The legacy of this wonderful gift by the OU-UK to the world will be not only be extraordinary original content – it will also be the many future generations of derivative content developed and tested and retested by untold numbers of students, teachers and others around the world. "
Dr Marshall Smith, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation |
