The Impact of Open Source

Critique and Analysis: MIT Open CourseWare

An open courseware is a free and open source of a variety of educational materials originating from actual university/college courses.  It is the open sharing of knowledge.  Open courses are offered through a variety of prominent institutions, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Yale and Tufts offer a range of courses an individual may take with no cost incurred.     

MIT offers a variety of open courses; I chose to critique Fundamentals of Biology, a self-paced, self-study course. When initially viewing the course it appeared well thought out, carefully preplanned and specifically designed for distance learning.  All materials have been provide and consist of course description, syllabus, lecture videos, interactive concept quizzes, problem sets, problem solving videos, a list of terms and definitions, suggested topics and links and exams.  To enhance communication and learning between participants the availability of live chat study groups has been provided.  The course consisted of four units, each having a specific topic.

The course adheres to many of Simonson, Smaldino, Albright and Zvacek’s principles and recommendations for distance learning courses:

1.     Course goals, outcomes and expectations are clear and stated within the syllabus

2.     Course organization has a detailed syllabus which is logically presented

3.     The course gives several suggestive materials and links to further application of knowledge.

4.     A variety of interactive self assessments provided

5.     Information presented in a variety of multimedia formats, i.e. videos, audio and video lecture, images etc. accommodate multiple learning styles. 

Since the course is a primarily independent, self paced, self study program active learning is not provided for.  Active learning entails “learners who are engaged in learning are actively participating in their own understanding of the content.  Strategies for active learning range from giving students opportunities to think about a topic and respond to actual hands on manipulation of learning obects” (of Simonson, Smaldino, Albright and Zvacek, 2012).  Although there is a student study group, interaction amongst participants is minimal, and an instructor/facilitator is absent.

Open courseware is designed for the life long learner, incurring zero expense.  This course design adheres to many of the principals and fundamentals of distance learning.  Overall this MIT course offers a quality experience for those wanting to deepen their understanding and knowledge of biology.

Reference:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology  (2010). Fundementals of biology Retrieved from MIT courses website: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/biology/7-01sc-fundamentals-of-biology-fall-2011/index.htm

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvack, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.