This instance of the Live Question Tool will be used for the discussion about open tools for course development.
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Active Questions
How do you get a university (w/ laws, bureaucracies, and bloated systems) to BE more open?
John Balogh: It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.
apetersen: But how do we operate like that, constantly expecting censure or a slap on the hand? Change is difficult, but how do we manage it rather than solely operating outside the lines? (not that anything's wrong with that)
James Endres Howell: Do not wait for an indifferent and inertial authority---especially if that authority is illegitimate. Take initiative. Present brick walls with faits accompli.
apetersen: I'd argue that faculty have many more opportunities for that than staff.
Dana: Don't you think that open education would encourage enrollment (and tuition monies) rather than dissuade it? People get a taste of the coursework and want more.
James Endres Howell: Anne: Yes, faculty absolutely have more latitude. Dana: I cannot THINK of a better way to show off Penn State to prospective students and parents than to make the classroom open to them.
10:44 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
John Balogh: It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.
apetersen: But how do we operate like that, constantly expecting censure or a slap on the hand? Change is difficult, but how do we manage it rather than solely operating outside the lines? (not that anything's wrong with that)
James Endres Howell: Do not wait for an indifferent and inertial authority---especially if that authority is illegitimate. Take initiative. Present brick walls with faits accompli.
apetersen: I'd argue that faculty have many more opportunities for that than staff.
Dana: Don't you think that open education would encourage enrollment (and tuition monies) rather than dissuade it? People get a taste of the coursework and want more.
James Endres Howell: Anne: Yes, faculty absolutely have more latitude. Dana: I cannot THINK of a better way to show off Penn State to prospective students and parents than to make the classroom open to them.
10:44 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
If everything is free, I assume that the degree receiving students continue to pay to receive the degree. Won't those students feel that they are paying the cost for content to be free to the public.
Michelle Panulla: If the content is open, but credential is not - e.g. Stevie's mentioning of our service being assessment, then it may not be an issue.
Anonymous: Would students that participate in a "public course" be able to test out of that course?
Anonymous: I don't know that free course content would be very different from being able to walk into a library and get a book. Content isn't education.
Anonymous: Good point. So the presumption is that an open course would not include any type of assessments or even a peak at the type of assessments that would appear in a closed course.
Anonymous: I guess the public would not have access to the faculty then...
11:15 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
Michelle Panulla: If the content is open, but credential is not - e.g. Stevie's mentioning of our service being assessment, then it may not be an issue.
Anonymous: Would students that participate in a "public course" be able to test out of that course?
Anonymous: I don't know that free course content would be very different from being able to walk into a library and get a book. Content isn't education.
Anonymous: Good point. So the presumption is that an open course would not include any type of assessments or even a peak at the type of assessments that would appear in a closed course.
Anonymous: I guess the public would not have access to the faculty then...
11:15 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
Most Recently Submitted Questions
Dana: I'm interested in how this will affect K-12 teachers and home educators.
John Patishnock: I think this question should be asked with everything we've been talking about this week.
Jean Marie: K-12 Teachers are dealing with a teach to the test environment. The open classroom is a direct contradiction to NCLB and assessment. We have to remember that our society values what can be measured.
11:29 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
John Patishnock: I think this question should be asked with everything we've been talking about this week.
Jean Marie: K-12 Teachers are dealing with a teach to the test environment. The open classroom is a direct contradiction to NCLB and assessment. We have to remember that our society values what can be measured.
11:29 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
Is there any fear with how open source will complicate copyright compliance?
11:22 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
11:22 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
How do we design a course up front with the idea of making educational resources more broadly available? What will we need to do different?
stevier: And it's broader than just using open-source tools/tech--it needs to be around the learning design that things are done differently...a conversation we def. need to have...
11:05 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
stevier: And it's broader than just using open-source tools/tech--it needs to be around the learning design that things are done differently...a conversation we def. need to have...
11:05 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
Will "open id" do away with the need for the application to be closed? In other words, wouldn't the permissions in my electronic wallet dictate access?
Anonymous: No.
11:04 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
Anonymous: No.
11:04 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
cwc5: Does it still have to be about US creating when the ideal might need be about co-creation? How do we make education truly open by inviting THEM in and collaborators?
stevier: ENABLING the atmosphere in which "the magic" (learning) happens is more important than us delivering to them, IMHO...
11:02 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
stevier: ENABLING the atmosphere in which "the magic" (learning) happens is more important than us delivering to them, IMHO...
11:02 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
cwc5: How does PSU get engaged with Fluid? Should we plan a pilot implementation?
stevier: WC is playing with it a bit--but it does use the standard that ANGEL (usually) has integrated. Would be cool if the Angel team could also see if it would work in our system.
10:51 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
stevier: WC is playing with it a bit--but it does use the standard that ANGEL (usually) has integrated. Would be cool if the Angel team could also see if it would work in our system.
10:51 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
stevier: How do we get faculty members to embrace openness, realizing that they're not giving away their value in doing so, but magnifying it?
Anonymous: How do software programmers do this?
John Balogh: Give them profit sharing from the Google Ads click-through?
10:51 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
Anonymous: How do software programmers do this?
John Balogh: Give them profit sharing from the Google Ads click-through?
10:51 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
How much of this is already done as taking intellectual property with or without permission in course building?
stevier: Can you say more about this? I'm not sure what you mean...
Anonymous: How much to current instructors "borrow" from previous instructors or from other institution's instructor websites?
Anonymous: Its getting harder .. so many syllabi are locked behind a system like ANGEL
10:49 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
stevier: Can you say more about this? I'm not sure what you mean...
Anonymous: How much to current instructors "borrow" from previous instructors or from other institution's instructor websites?
Anonymous: Its getting harder .. so many syllabi are locked behind a system like ANGEL
10:49 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
Michelle Panulla: How did universities using Open Education get their faculty on board? How was intellectual property addressed?
11:23 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
11:23 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
Is there a fear that the quality of our materials is not up to our own expectations? Would this be a limiting factor in opening access?
Anonymous: a SECRET fear...definitely.
11:17 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
Anonymous: a SECRET fear...definitely.
11:17 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
Is there any data on how many people are using the EMS courses? Open courses or resources in general?
Anonymous: or any stories about how people are using this - other faculty, other countries, etc.
11:12 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
Anonymous: or any stories about how people are using this - other faculty, other countries, etc.
11:12 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
The Open Ed. idea seems kind of hard to get one's head around. What are some tactics for explaining/describing the initiative so that people/faculty understand it?
stevier: It's very broad--can range from open access (e.g., the Open University) where anyone can enroll, to open as in IP/copyright, etc...More like a range of initiatives, I'd think.
11:10 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
stevier: It's very broad--can range from open access (e.g., the Open University) where anyone can enroll, to open as in IP/copyright, etc...More like a range of initiatives, I'd think.
11:10 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
Can students still be part of a learning community around a subject if they are taking a course that is so personalized to them?
10:53 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
10:53 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
John Patishnock: How would you be able to establish credibility from an open space of learning, as opposed to an education from PSU? What standards would exist for new educators?
10:45 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
10:45 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
What would an opportunity like this do to the PSU brand that so many are eager to protect?
stevier: Perhaps the brand becomes more about credentialing of the student? Maybe it's less about content and more about assessment?
John Patishnock: I agree, but I think a lot of employers assume a lot of things about the student from where they went to school? This type of thinking has both very serious positive and negative consequences.
Dana: Open Education doesn't mean they get their entire degree for free. A PSU degree would still be earned, not given away.
apetersen: A case for the faculty might be that increases their personal bran, in association with the Penn State brand.
10:44 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
stevier: Perhaps the brand becomes more about credentialing of the student? Maybe it's less about content and more about assessment?
John Patishnock: I agree, but I think a lot of employers assume a lot of things about the student from where they went to school? This type of thinking has both very serious positive and negative consequences.
Dana: Open Education doesn't mean they get their entire degree for free. A PSU degree would still be earned, not given away.
apetersen: A case for the faculty might be that increases their personal bran, in association with the Penn State brand.
10:44 am EDT, 13 Aug :: Reply
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