Open education has been described as a movement and philosophy, and is situated among open initiatives including open science, open access, open government, and open data. Open education strives to leverage the power of sharing in support of knowledge and learning as a public good. Open education advocates work to increase possibilities for learners’ and educators’ co-creation and equitable participation in education by:

  • Enhancing teaching practices that support the sharing and reuse of educational materials
  • Innovating through pedagogies that positions learners as creators and contributors
  • Building structures and communities that support the open education movement. 

Since 2002, international educators, policy makers, publishers, and government agencies have advocated for a worldwide commitment to open education, most recently through the UNESCO 2019 Recommendations on Open Educational Resources (OER). 

Open education encompasses the resources, tools and practices that employ a framework of open sharing to improve educational access and effectiveness worldwide. – Open Education Consortium 

There are many ways for educators to begin participating in open education, such as adopting open educational resources as course materials, facilitating student coursework that will be openly-licensed and shared, and learning with other open educators at CU.

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