Tutorial: Opening Up Education
Completion requirements
3. Dimensions of Openness
Inamorato dos Santos et. al (2016) designed the OpenEdu framework, a support framework for opening up education aiming to lower the barriers to education at many different levels (e.g. access, cost, technology, pedagogy). Within the OpenEdu study, open education is seen as:
“a way of carrying out education, often using digital technologies. Its aim is to widen access and participation to everyone by removing barriers and making learning accessible, abundant, and customisable for all. It offers multiple ways of teaching and learning, building and sharing knowledge. It also provides a variety of access routes to formal and non-formal education, and connects the two.”
Through open education each and every individual, at every stage in their lives and career development, can have appropriate and meaningful educational opportunities available to them. These include access to content, courses, support, assessment and certification in ways that are flexible and accommodate diverse needs. Barriers, for example, those related to entry and cost, are reduced or eliminated.
The framework describes the 10 dimensions of open education.
The 6 core dimensions of open education are most commonly found in the practices around open education. They provide the 'what' of opening up education: i.e. access, content, pedagogy, recognition, collaboration and research.
On the other hand, the 4 transversal dimensions of open education provide the backbone for the realisation of the core dimensions - the 'how' of opening up educational practices, i.e. quality, technology, strategy and leadership.
The OpenEdu Framework
(Inamorato dos Santos et. al, 2016)
For each dimension, the framework presents a definition of the dimension, a rationale for it, its main components and its descriptors. These descriptors show detailed actions that can be performed by HE institutions to achieve or maintain the level of openness desired in each dimension.
Additional material
Report - Opening up Education: a support framework for higher education institutions.