ETEC 645 - Future Education: Open Content & Open Mind (major points)

Future Education: Open Content & Open Mind (Major Points with References)

Lulu Liu, ETEC 645 - Fall -12/05/08

This article will discuss about the future education as a contribution for the online course in ETEC645.

As my own understanding, the open content is a concept of equal opportunity of accessing educational materials, while open mind is an ideal way for educators to treat each single student as a special individual without exclusivity.

1. Open Content

1) What is Open Content?

2) Open content = Free Content ? No.

3) What kind of license for the open content?

4) What other resources about the Open Content?

2. Inclusive Education V.S. Special Education

In general, special education is for the students with disabilities. It’s an educational treatment for minority/ students with special needs. Here, there are three points for future education.

1) Pay more attention to the words we are using, especially the "special education".
2) Inclusive Education: special education for everyone

3) Technology, as a support for students with special needs, can support the inclusive education to normalize every single student as a special one.

3. Technology for Education, not the other way around.
4. Comments on the Open content in China

Is open content ready for China?

- No yet. Open content not the best choice for the general public in China, since the education level of the majority is still below the world average and the lack of faith in the public may cause a uncivilized chaos. It is a long way to go before the content open. But it's good to dry to bridge the inequality of the society with the technology and information support. In another word, to avoid the public chaos and better educational environment, a moderated censorship is necessary for China.

It positive for the international medias to accelerate this open content movement in China, but more importantly, above content and mind, the open the souls first. Content can be bad, when the soul is lost.

With an emerging of technology, the vision of future education is the education with the equal access to open content education materials, and inclusive education addressing theh special treatment for every single student.

Open content, and more importantly, open mind.

Reference:

Sullivan, J. K. (July, 2008). Education faculty to make articles available to all. Stanford Report, July 9, 2008. http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2008/july9/access-070908.html.

Liang, L. (2004). A Guide to Open Content Licenses. Piet Zwart Institute. http://pzwart.wdka.hro.nl/mdr/research/lliang/open_content_guide .

Davies, B., West-Burnham, J. (2003). Handbook of Educational Leadership and Management. P693. Published by Pearson Education. ISBN 0273656686, 9780273656685.

Vygotskiĭ, L.S., Cole, M., and John-Steiner, V. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Published by Harvard University Press, 1978 ISBN 0674576292, 9780674576292

Laun, C. (June, 2008). 100 Helpful Web Tools for Every Kind of Learner. College at Home Blog. http://www.collegeathome.com/blog/2008/06/10/100-helpful-web-tools-for-every-kind-of-learner/ .