Skip to main content

Week 5, Post 1: Universal education

For the blog this week, the first article that caught my attention is "Open Educational Resources : Enabling universal education." In the article, it was my first time learning about OpenCourseWares (OCWs), which are online resources that provide access to educational materials from courses in universities (Cite here). This initiative was not one that I was aware of, but is a great development that was initiated by MIT.  I do support the availability of course materials for all the people who lack the resources to purchase some of those materials, those who may not be able to access them in person, and the global learners who want access to them. 

Distance education is becoming increasingly popular and has more affordances than traditional education. With the ability to access education anywhere, and the availability of wifi, we can continue to expand our education through online learning environments. With additions of movements such as OCWs, we are making social impacts in supporting the idea of universal education. The Declaration of Human Rights  supports also provides support for this notion and should inspire universities worldwide (beyond the current numbers) to start sharing educational sources for learners everywhere to access. 

Learning is a fundamental human ability that needs to be exercised to continue the path toward intellectual enlightenment. While there may be consequences for providing access to all, this access could be a catalyst for change as we continue to live and develop on the planet. Some of the brightest minds on earth sometimes lack the proper resources to expand education on what we currently know. The universal education movement will continue to make progress, and I believe this will help us solve several research questions or problems and make new discoveries. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is Social Media a Practical Method for Learning?

 In this week's readings, one of the articles I read was about the case study done on high school students and how they use social media platforms for informal learning. The article, titled "Teens and Social Media: A Case Study of High School Students’ Informal Learning Practices and Trajectories," found that students can potentially learn through non-traditional methods, such as social media when it aligns with their interests. The primary themes found within the research were that there are three sorts of informal learning that include "career/future planning, entrepreneurship, and hobbies" (baggy et al. 242).These themes came as no surprise as we are aware that there are algorithms on social media for a reason. However, it was interesting to see career planning as one of the main ones that came up.  When I think about the concept of learning through social media, I think more about entrepreneurship and hobbies. There have been several instances where people h...
4 comments
Read more

Week 4, Post 1: Microlearning Challenges

 In my exploration of this week's articles, the first one to catch my attention was about the use of microlearning challenges to promote student self-directed learning. This article was particularly interesting to me because I value the use of microlearning in an educational context. With all the new learning trends going on, microlearning has been increasingly utilized due the its flexibility, motivational elements, engagement, and other things like shortness. So when I noticed this article being on the list, I was interested to learn more about the impact that this form of learning is having in our Higher Education Institutions.  With any type of learning, it is very necessary to have certain guidelines in place for how learners need to participate or go about their learning. Microlearning is one of those instances where learners still need some type of reward for participation which in this case is making it a requirement within a course. In the case of the article, we see ...
Post a Comment
Read more

7 Post 2: Take Aways from "Tweet me, message me, like me..." Article

 The "Tweet me, message me, like me..." article looks at how social media can help teachers improve their skills or switch up the way they teach. The article mentions social medias like Facebook and Twitter allow teachers to stay connected and get feedback outside of school, which helps them keep learning and growing. Facilitators, or guides, play a key role by supporting teachers, encouraging a sense of community, and helping them stick with new teaching methods through regular online interactions. Using social media for professional development should be optional, as not everyone is comfortable with it. However, I think it is still important to have people use social media to learn the basic functions as it is being utilized more in society. There are other ways to stay in touch, like emails primarily or even phone calls. Since everyone is not comfortable using all types of social media, building trust online will be important. In the article, it was concluded that facilita...
Post a Comment
Read more