This 1996 EDUCAUSE paper by G.D. Bothun of University of Oregon, “Teaching Via Electrons: Networked Courseware at the University of Oregon” provides a compelling look into the early questions and concerns surrounding instructional technology involving the web. It was striking to see just how many of the topics mentioned are still relevant, in particular this bit on the yet undecided future of web-based open content:
In an open system, other professionals in the field will have access to the developed curriculum products and can build on them. The curriculum development effort at the UO has certainly not been done in a vacuum, as material from elsewhere has been used. In turn, we make all our developed material freely available. This open exchange of resources potentially allows for joint curriculum development among experts in a format that is easy to update.
Huzzah! the beginnings of open education, the revolution will be networked! But wait, here come the commercial publishing houses….
It has long been customary in most disciplines to choose certain textbooks which define the core-course curriculum. Unfortunately, textbooks do not rapidly respond to feedback from the users to redesign the curriculum. In theory, network-based curriculum resources could rapidly evolve into a very high quality, somewhat standardized product. Clearly, this has not yet happened in any discipline. Herein lies another profound challenge for the higher education community. A wide variety of knowledge sources are making their data and research available on the World Wide Web. The key is for effective integration of these individual knowledge sources into subject-based curriculum products. Will this integration be done by the content experts located at colleges and universities or will it be done by the commercial publishing houses that may only offer limited access?
Reminds me of another passage, this one in Ecclesiastes 1:9 from the Good Book:
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
It’s like an open education time warp.
What a great find! Thanks for sharing it. All I have to offer of the wise words of Neil Peart,
“All the same, we take our chances
Laughed at by time
Tricked by circumstances
Plus ca change
Plus c’est la meme chose
The more that things change
The more they stay the same”
Did Neil Peart write the lyrics for Rush? I thought he was simply a percussion god!
percussion god and primary lyricist since joining. the man of many drums and talents.
It is absolutely a time warp. Love your medievalist, librarian, grouchy old cyborgfriend. Love and illuminated manuscripts baby. Happy new year!
Crazy, right? The paper starts with institutional austerity, do more with less, and the idea that courseware might act sly help with costs. I like that the author is appropriately skeptical, whereas my dumbass would have been stridently optimistic.
Are we getting old? Or is time just moving faster?
Thanks for checking in on the bava,Maryann!