tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8455468843833525066.post8710894112247578548..comments2023-08-17T10:18:24.628-04:00Comments on Multilitteratus Incognitus: The cost of OpenApostolos K. ("AK")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02198465120131968928noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8455468843833525066.post-36591949417955376662014-08-12T12:54:25.404-04:002014-08-12T12:54:25.404-04:00Ah, I see--thanks for clarifying! I am totally luc...Ah, I see--thanks for clarifying! I am totally lucky to be in the position I am, and I guess that's part of why I want to share...I CAN do so because I'll get paid even if I give all my materials away, and if others can benefit from this (maybe, maybe not...I guess I hope so!), then why not share. But yeah, if I were in a much more difficult position with very little time and money, I might want to keep some of that to myself in order to maybe have something of my own that I can use to get a job (if it's innovative, or somehow otherwise makes me stand out). This is an important thing to keep in mind: people may choose not to be open not because they're selfish or just don't "get" the value of open, but because the social/economic/political situation they're in (which is often unfair) requires it.Apostolos K. ("AK")https://www.blogger.com/profile/02198465120131968928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8455468843833525066.post-75037472024151832542014-08-11T10:10:51.464-04:002014-08-11T10:10:51.464-04:00For point #5, my issue is that the person not only...For point #5, my issue is that the person not only appears to slam traditional education (because it is in need of disruption) but they are leeching off the academic output of those institutions that he aims to disrupt. He can't have it both ways. We are lucky enough to work full time, and as such have the luxury to be open with our outputs. If we were adjuncts teaching 5-6 courses per semester to make ends meet, I don't think we'd be as inclined to be open with our outputs because we'd probably conceive those as our competitive advantage, our "secret sauce" :)Apostolos K. ("AK")https://www.blogger.com/profile/02198465120131968928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8455468843833525066.post-30505375373784708382014-08-11T00:09:48.525-04:002014-08-11T00:09:48.525-04:00Really thought-provoking post. At first the idea s...Really thought-provoking post. At first the idea seems great, unobjectionable, but when you think further about it, I agree there are concerns. I agree with pretty much all you have pointed out here, especially the concerns about paying people to ensure that students are supported. Looking at the U of the Ppl website, they say that there are academic advisers available for students, but I'm not sure where the money is coming from to pay those people. Is the $100 per final exam fee enough? Or are there not many academic advisers? That's one question I have. <br /><br />I also agree with your concerns about mainly peer to peer learning. While I use it a lot in my higher ed courses, I do not rely on it alone there. When I ask peers to give feedback on writing assignments, sometimes it's great, sometimes it's not. It's part of my job to help them learn HOW to give good peer feedback. People don't automatically do that well. Another question: the talk didn't say, and I couldn't find out on the website if the final exams are graded by experts or peers. I'm guessing the former because it costs $100 per exam?<br /><br />For your point number 5, I'm not sure I'm getting the concern here. I am one of those people who put their higher ed teaching materials online with an open license, and am paid by salary so I don't need to rely on those to make money (or else I'd have to charge for them maybe?). But it doesn't really take much extra time to do this; I have to make those materials anyway for my job, and the only time it takes is posting them on an open website rather than a closed one for the campus only. Which isn't any extra time at all, just a different use of the same time. Now, it did take time to learn how to create an open website, and not everyone has that time I agree, nor the support staff to help that I have at my university...so I do have that luxury! In some sense I guess one could say the U of the Ppl is leaching off the system, but then is anyone who uses OERs doing so? Is Peer 2 Peer University doing so, for example, with the Why Open course? Or is it just a problem b/c they are using the resources of the system while claiming to disrupt it? Just looking for clarification!<br /><br />And I also really dislike the "disruption" talk. Way too much of that going on without enough substance.Apostolos K. ("AK")https://www.blogger.com/profile/02198465120131968928noreply@blogger.com