Open

[James Kerr]

I’m a fan of open.  I find closed to be frustrating.  Especially when I want to fix something, or if a closed system doesn’t quite do what I want or need it to.

But, I understand closed.  Closed is proprietary.  Closed gives an edge, and keeps profits up.  Open is crunchy granola.  Open people feel good about things, but closed pays the bills.  Right?

OK, so that’s simplistic, and grossly generalized.  But I’d rather be part of an open system than a closed system.  I want to give people the tools to do what they want, not just do it for them.

Learning is out there.  Knowledge is open.  Anyone has access to knowledge in the form of textbooks and recorded lectures, etc.  A person who is motivated can learn anything they want to.  Degrees are a closed system.  To get the degree, you must learn the prescribed knowledge in the prescribed fashion.  Our society places great emphasis on the degree, because it is supposed to represent the level of knowledge that has been achieved. But if one can prove the level of knowledge, of master of a subject, does it matter if there is no formal degree attached to the person?  I say no, and I’m curious what others think about this.

[GraphDesProject]

James,

This goes right back to my “big question” at the start of ocTEL. Yes, it’s great if a person has knowledge and skills from open learning but how do they show that to an employer? In my field, graphic design (and other creative areas) anyone can make a portfolio or show-reel and can be employed on the basis of that concrete practical work, rather than on qualifications. But how might this work if you are a historian or marine biologist? Until the world of work decides to “assess” people and their abilities in other ways aren’t we stuck with closed qualifications?

A second thought – and please don’t think I’m anti-Open; far from it – how do you make sure that a  learner, for example, has all the sufficent knowledge to carry out a profession? If they have cherry picked their way through Open learning might they be missing something crucial? I know from experience that our new f2f HE learners will deny certain “boring” parts of the topic but they can’t be really effective without these.

As I say, I’m totally in favour of open learning and certainly have done much of this myself throughout my life. I’d just like to get it straight in my mind how this impacts on reality. My open learning has always boosted my closed learning. Not sure how I’d navigate this field totally on my own.

What does anyone think?

Sancha (@GrapDesProject)

[James Kerr]

Sancha,

The challenge with open education and credentialing such as badging is that it puts the onus to the employers to determine and assess suitable knowledge levels.  Having a degree gives some level of assurance that the person has been educated and trained.  However, I don’t know of too many employers that don’t test knowledge in some fashion anyway, so “proving” one’s knowledge level to a potential employer would be an extension to practices already occurring.

I believe that is why the phrase “or an equivalent level of experience” is seen so frequently in employment postings.

[Jillian Pawlyn]

Hi James and Sancha,

The merits of the measurable outcome, the qualification validated by X, is still really powerful. I recently migrated to New Zealand and a friend here is a Barista, they got the job because they have a NZQA certificate which says they can make fantastic coffee!

I think the BIG challenge for open education is in the disciplines where you are professionally regulated and are measured against those standards (e.g. Nurses, Lawyers, Doctors) etc. Few applicants would be shortlisted for interview if they didn’t have the right certificate, regardless of their ‘online reputation’  and number of ‘badges’ contribution to the learning community.

From my experience 😉  the ‘equivalent level of experience’ is only successful when there is high vacancy and low applicants for a position, the short list is easy. When there are multiple experienced applicants then the ‘certified evidence’ is often be the deciding factor for shortlisting.

 

[Author]

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