The Impact of Open Source

Course lecture title: International System in the 20th Century by Sanford University
iTunes U link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/course/international-system-in-20th/id495054312

The Impact of Open Source

This application will examine Stanford on iTunes U open course titled: International System in the 20th Century by Professor James Sheehan.  This essay will describe the difference between OCW and MOOCs, learning theories used in this lecture series, and the context in which the iTunes U was delivered to students.

This iTunes U podcast was a 102 level undergraduate course and was produced in the year 2008.  It consisted of 29 individual lectures that were roughly 50 minutes long and the podcast series was clearly broken into 10 sections.  I listened to the first podcast which was the course introduction.  It started with the course outline, syllabus, and the book needed to complete the series. 

Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek (2012) mentions that Open CourseWare (OCW) concept is “the publication on the Web of course materials developed by higher education institutions and share with others” (p. 141). As these technologies evolve, we should expect more to follow (Simonson et al. 2012). As a baseline, it is important to understand the difference between Open CourseWare (OCW) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC).  Wiley (2013) describes that MOOC and OCW have a lot in common.  The key difference between two concepts is that MOOC’s are student-centered instruction.  Whereas, the OCW concept is considered to be teacher-centered instruction.  Wiley (2013) states that OCW main mission is “intended to support faculty at other institutions in teaching similar classes or engaging in professional development. When independent learners manage to benefit from MIT OCW, this is a happy coincidence – a secondary benefit of the primary mission of supporting faculty around the world” (para. 4).  Moreover, Wiley (2013) asserts that only the very bright and self-motivating students tend to benefit from the OCWs.  Using this definition, Sanford iTunes open course lecture series is based on the OCW concept and is teacher-centered instruction.

Listening through the first lecture, I found it very pedagogical in its delivery.  Smith (2012) describes that one of the characteristics of pedagogy instruction is that it is very didactic.  This delivery is polar opposite of the andragogy approach.  The andragogy approach of teaching methods include discussion and problem-solving amongst students. The OCW concept strongly resembles the Fordist behavioral theory in which knowledge is delivered to learner.   (McGee & Green) 2008 describe Fordism as the TV dinner of distant learning.  iTunes U applies this Fordist approach by delivering lectures to the masses.  I have a B.A. in International Studies.  Giving my background, I found Professor Sheehan’s lecture series on International System in the 20th Century hard to follow and I found his teaching style rather dry. It took him 20 minutes to describe the main definition of the course - which is the definition of International Systems. I felt that this lecture series was aimed at other teachers or higher level learners.  iTunes U has the ability for enhanced materials such as instructor notes and assignments.  This lecture series did not provide that material.  Thus, giving more credence to the fact that the intended audience was for a higher level learner. Or, a teacher / instructor would benefit from this lecture series.

In conclusion, the lecture capture used in iTunes U could be viewed cynically as shovelware.  Simonson, et al. (2012) advised against dumping face-to-face courses on delivery systems (p. 134).  However, if we look at the concept of OCW and that its mission is teacher-centered instruction and that its secondary benefit is for student development, then I would suggest that Sanford’s podcast series on iTunes was a success and met its mission.

References
McGee, P., & Green, M. (2008). Lifelong Learning and Systems: A post-Fordist Analysis. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 4(2). Retrieved from http://jolt.merlot.org/vol4no2/mcgee0608.htm

Smith, M. K. (2010) ‘Andragogy’, the encyclopaedia of informal education. [http://infed.org/mobi/andragogy-what-is-it-and-does-it-help-thinking-about-adult-learning/. Retrieved: February 7, 2015

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson

Wiley, D. (2013, August 20). What’s the Difference Between OCWs and MOOCs? Managing Expectations. Retrieved February 7, 2015, from http://opencontent.org/blog/archives/2909