OPEN SOURCE COURSE CONTENT
As a lifelong learner and professional in the field of education I found the concept of making Open Course offerings available free of charge to the general public a fascinating one. After perusing several Stanford University courses made available on itunes I decided to explore the over 2000 open source online offerings from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or MIT. Under their Athletics, Physical education and Recreation department I discovered a course offered titled Weight Training. (http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/athletics-physical-education-and-recreation/pe-720-weight-training-spring-2006/)
The course information is provided to learners in the form of both lecture notes available in pdf and also a series of videos that demonstrate the various lifts. Although this course provides basic information and does not follow the typical distance learning format, the essential learning objectives can be achieved by any learner. Simonson et al. in Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education, suggest “Instructors of online courses must make the course organization, calendar, activities, and expectations as clear as possible. Students need this kind of structure and detail to help them stay organized and on task. A detailed syllabus is a good starting point.” (p. 249) The set of lecture notes provided for this weight training course achieves this, starting with the first which is more or less the course syllabus.
As stated, this course is strictly informational and therefore doesn’t provide the learning experiences that often accompany a true distance education course. Activities are not incorporated by MIT to engage the learner or encourage any real type of active learning for any “student” who comes across this course. This open course does not provide assignments, opportunities for reflection or social interaction on a discussion board, for example. However, Dr. George Piskurich asked this question in regards to designing an online course: “What do the learners need to learn?” That information is all here in this open course. It simply is the responsibility of the learner to take what he or she wants to learn and do so on their own.
References:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Open Course: A free and open educational resource for educators, students, and self-learners around the world.
http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.
Video Program: "Planning and Designing Online Courses". Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5693699&Survey=1&47=8013356&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1
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