Open Educational Resources: The Real Democratization of Education

In a recent post, English Professor Miles McCrimmon discussed the ways in which Open Educational Resources (OERs) are impacting the traditional approaches to and soaring costs of textbooks in education. Along those same lines, I've been thinking about how the technologies of the Internet and mobile global access are breaking down barriers to information, education, and learning.  I recently heard someone declare that in virtual reality, "everyone is free."  In the context of politics, sociology, and education, this statement is powerful indeed.

The digitization of knowledge, information, speech, communication, and social and cultural tools has eroded the political, geographical, and economic structures that once defined the concrete landscapes of our world. As our world(s) become increasingly multi-dimensional and as we move further into virtual landscapes limited only, it sometimes seems, by our own capacity to imagine them into being, new freedoms come into definition. We have witnessed such freedom most graphically in the recent weeks in the context of the dramatic political changes that have brought long-standing dictatorships to an end. These revolutions began within the virtual worlds created by the Internet and spilled over into the real spaces of city squares, neighborhoods, and entire nations.

The Impact of Digital Literacy in Education (Part 2)

One way that educational institutions are seeking to accommodate the needs of the Millennial learner is through the use of media literacy tools such as multimedia textbooks.   Media literacy means that educators look at the Millennials not just as consumers of knowledge, media, and technology but as creators.  According to Considine et al. (2009) “this is crucial when working with the Millennials who are accustomed to living in a multimedia landscape” (p. 475).  Allowing learners the ability to interact with multimedia texts and express themselves through activities that promote engagement and creation are options that some educational institutions are currently undertaking as there seems to be “a gap between what college teachers expect and what college students expect”  (Pratt & Pratt, 2009, p. 1). One such educational association is the National School Board Association.