International dimensions in education

Re: International dimensions in education

by Sylvia Riessner -
Number of replies: 4
"I believe that policies and laws that limit the openness of basic education resources are immoral and indefensible."
Gina Bennett

In terms of limiting openness for the sole purpose of protecting intellectual property for wealth creation, I (and many other educators) would agree with Gina wholeheartedly. And I believe that many educators share freely (despite the artificial barriers of copyright) But I think her statement (and the question she quotes from Reinking 2001) are only one aspect of the discussion.

I took an open course from David Wiley in 2007 (Introduction to Open Education) The first 4 weeks were a bit of a slog because he assigned several international reports on the open education movement and its history. Check it out if you're curious...the links are all still active as far as I can tell. Anyway, the reports contained some interesting insights into the unexpected impacts of the United Nations goal of providing universal education. They found that educating young children (especially girls) affected the way they were perceived by their local community (and not in a positive way). They found situations in which people accessed free information but then got stuck because we haven't developed a "translation" segment that helps people interpret materials that are given for free. Much of the educational content that was made available was developed to address a context or products, tools and technology, that were foreign to the people who accessed the materials. The content lost value because it didn't address local conditions and realities. In other words, it's not just "access" and "dissemination" we need to think about; adaptation or recreation of information is also important (which I noticed was addressed in the model described by UVic)

Another problem with sharing is that what we share may preempt the local culture from developing what the people in that culture value and need. Yes, they can modify what we share; but we may also stifle the natural creativity and resourcefulness they have. I watched a wonderful video about Cynthia Hunt (Magic Mountain) where she talked about disseminating information in the mountains around Ladakh by training local instructors and working with them to create educational "books" that promote basic health and hygience to mountain villages. Besides being an amazing woman, Cynthia seems to be a wonderful illustration of helping people to develop their own meaning from information that is new to their culture.

Having said that, I speak from what I've read and discussed with people who have visited and worked in other countries, not from direct knowledge as Gina is doing. But I've thought about these issues a lot and that's why I think we have to go beyond just providing access.

Sylvia


In reply to Sylvia Riessner

Re: International dimensions in education

by Gina Bennett -
Hi Sylvia

Thanks for responding & you raise an important point. You said, "it's not just "access" and "dissemination" we need to think about; adaptation or recreation of information is also important."

Allow me a little aside: are you familiar with the DIKW model? For the uninitiated, the model claims that there are 4 levels of material with which our brains can work: data, information, knowledge, and wisdom. As we move up the levels, the material becomes more and more contextual. (Wikipedia describes DIKW in a so-so manner here.)

So while I believe in the open sharing of data (as do most scientists), & the open sharing of information at the very least as it pertains to information that supports basic, essential education, I believe that the sharing of contextualized knowledge is something that must be done more carefully & with an awareness of the 'other'. And I honestly don't think that wisdom can be 'pushed' across boundaries at all: one only benefits from the wisdom of another by free will.

Nevertheless, if another group needs the information or education or knowledge in order to meet basic human needs, I don't think we have any moral right to withhold it. Not even to protect what we consider 'cultural' reasons. If someone desperately needs medical information in order to save lives, what right do we have to say, 'just wait until we assess the cultural impact for you.' ??

I do appreciate (as I think you are cautioning) that if we impose our education, our constructed knowledge on other cultures, we are guilty of colonization. This is indeed a serious risk. That's why I think it's important to keep a focus on the free sharing of information while supporting & encouraging cultural adaptation so that the information becomes culturally appropriate, useful knowledge.

Gina
In reply to Gina Bennett

Data, information, knowledge, wisdom

by Sylvia Riessner -
Hi Gina,

I hadn't seen the DIKW model before but I've engaged in some fairly long-winded discussions in George Siemen's current course about Connectivism and the nature of knowledge and knowing. Some of participants explain the difference between information and knowledge in similar terms but I haven't seen it as clearly defined (probably missed it cuz it was a huge discussion - easy to get lost).
It seems to be a very useful way to consider information in context. I'm still not sure if I agree with the way they define wisdom - seems less than what I consider wisdom but then I think wisdom is rare.
I realize that you and the other educators who presented at the ETUG sessions are aware of the cultural implications of what you share but I think I was reacting to the story of the man who wanted to take nursing videotapes home to use in his schools. What I would wish we could do in a situation like that is sit down with him and find out what he really needs and perhaps give him the tools and assistance to create his own.
Sylvia
In reply to Sylvia Riessner

Re: International dimensions in education

by Laura Proctor -
Thank you and David Wiley for sharing the resources in his course on open education. I've only scanned the materials but I am looking forward to reading in more depth. This course seems to "be" open education as well as "about" it. The unlocked access to the content, some guiding questions for discussion and then sharing, through the use of blogs, of reflections and use in context.

I recently listened to CBC Ideas "Who Owns Ideas?" that I found a fascinating historical overview of copyright and related issues. Have a listen:
http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/features/who-owns-ideas/
In reply to Sylvia Riessner

Re: International dimensions in education

by Laura Proctor -
Everyone:

Would it be true to say that to be relevant, educational content must often be locally-authored or at least locally-edited? Is empowering individuals to create their own content not essential to developing good, grounded education everywhere?

There are many open software systems that support collaborative, distributed development of content as exemplified in WikiEducator:
http://www.wikieducator.org/Main_Page
The open software provides a big piece of the puzzle for decentralized groups to work together and for people around the world to collaborate - without the need to take the airplane trip that is so often an obstacle. Providing a basic set of tools, at no cost, would seem to be a first step in creating that local content.

I think the most important element will always be communication between individuals both within and across cultures. Finding the time and the willingness to share ones thoughts is difficult for many different reasons. But, it is that communication that creates context online through the effort of sharing reflections and making connections.

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts here.

Laura