OpenCourseWare 2.0

OpenCourseWare 1.0. Because OpenCourseWare started before the success of Google (incorporated 1998), Wikipedia (2001), Facebook (2004) and, most importantly, before the Moodle Community Hubs Framework (2010), it has been focused on sharing things the way it was done in the pre-Web 2.0 environment. It did not fully exploit the use of the Internet’s network capacity and, therefore, it has been using more traditional market logic (Hoppe & Breitner, 2004).

Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0. Basic difference

OpenCourseWare 2.0. Now, during the Web 2.0 era, merely sharing content is not good enough. For example, Hewlett Foundation, one of the biggest OpenCourseWare supporters, noted that it wanted to focus on a main goal: “increase access to knowledge for all and improve the practices of teaching and learning” (Hafner, 2010). That was a nice way to say that text, pictures and video online is not good enough – not any more.

Collaboration 2.0. With requirements for OpenCourseWare 2.0 comes the question: How we will create and maintain it?

Super-productive learning community. Probably the most important difference between the beginning and the end of this decade is that now we have tools not just to share, but to actively collaborate 24/7. Through such collaboration we can “increase access to knowledge for all and improve the practices of teaching and learning.”  With the tools we have and the creative potential of all – faculty, staff, students, veterinary practitioners and public – a super-productive learning community can be developed.

Special thanks to Hinchcliffe & Company and Social Computing Journal for the use of the "Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0" diagram.

Case Studies