TY - JOUR
T1 - OER to MOOCs
T2 - In defence of open
AU - McGreal, Rory
N1 - Funding Information:
This special issue of IRRODL on OER and MOOCs is supported by UNESCO, which has also provided funding to enlarge and promote IRRODL’s inclusion of OER and other forms of open distributed education research. The two are irrevocably connected: MOOCs, originally based on OER and other free content, have expanded from the OER movement and have been assembled or linked (by students and/or instructors) to form full courses. Although OER can be used online or offline in traditional classroom settings whereas MOOCs are available only online, both OER and MOOCs can provide efficient, cost-effective flexible educational opportunities to large numbers of learners. The most popular form of xMOOCs (the mostly video-based, computerised courses delivered by Coursera, Udacity etc.) have been accused of “open-washing” – claiming to be open but resting on copyright-restricted “closed” content rather than using an open licence. Nevertheless, both OER and MOOCs represent important developments in the educational ecosystem, positing sustainable approaches to opening up educational opportunities to large numbers of learners internationally. These innovations will help to meet the rapidly growing worldwide need for affordable access to education.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84945933136&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Editorial
AN - SCOPUS:84945933136
SN - 1492-3831
VL - 16
SP - i-v
JO - International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning
JF - International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning
IS - 5
ER -