What I heard at the Digital Future of Higher Education event at Thompson Rivers University on February 22 in Kamloops was a resounding call to action for open practices in all forms: open education, open learning, open data, open access journals, open educational resources.

Keynote speakers Tony Bates and Michael Peters each provided a unique perspective on the road ahead.

Tony Bates presented his usual well-documented and researched materials on the current state of technology-enabled learning in our institutions and a view to the future. As a supporter of open education in all its forms, Tony was clear that quality remains the key factor that will help drive open educational resources (OER) from what is primarily a supply phenomenon to one that addresses demand for quality OER teaching materials, too. This particular dynamic is well documented in a a recent blog post from Tony, titled “A reflection on the OER debate: every which way but loose.”

Michael Peters provided a another well-researched view of the educational landscape, and expanded on concepts of openness well beyond the OER teaching resources and self-study materials, making a call for open scholarship and support for a “recursive public.” Michael is editing a journal that is currently calling for papers on “open.” Take a look at the E-learning and Digital Media call for manuscripts about teaching and learning with OER.

I couldn’t find Michael’s paper from the TRU event online, but I did find this 2008 presentation that will give a flavour of his perspective on open.

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David has also posted this entry on his own site at http://conviviality.ca

Posted by David Porter