PROJECT

Becoming an Open Education Influencer

The course ‘Becoming an Open Education Influencer’ (BOEI) is an informative and practical, fully online training that supports influencers of and for Open Education. Course outcomes are to develop awareness, skills and experiences in advocacy and facilitation. The aims of the BOEI course are to support pathways for individuals and groups wishing to influence decision-makers, and who want to affect decision-making and practices through direct actions in Open education. The course covers the process of influencing, as adapted from the Contribute, Attribute, Release and Empower [CARE] framework for Open Stewards (Petrides, Levin, and Watson, 2018) as 4 of the cornerstones of influencing practice. The BOEI course includes a uniquely South African ‘humanising’ (Zinn and Rodgers, 2012) element, introducing Ubuntu as a both a philosophy of generosity – and practice – of ‘Oneness’. If your goal is to better influence decision-making and Open Education practices in your respective space, then you should enrol for this course and become an #OpenEdInfluencer. Participants will enhance aspects of advocacy and facilitation through a set of stand-alone modules, following the revised UCARE model, as well as a practical based on the Sustainable Development Goals. The 6 online modules, each 3 hours long, present opportunities to encounter strategies and tools useful for influencing. Each module includes Openly licensed materials to support teaching, learning and further actions for influencing, available during and after completing the course. The course is self-regulated and self-paced, and completing participants receive a certificate of completion.

The talk is a part of the Open Education Design Workshop 2019 event filmed and produced by Videolectures.NET.

Author

Gino Fransman

Gino Fransman is an Academic Development Professional based at Nelson Mandela University in South Africa, with previous experience at the University of the Western Cape and the University of South Africa. His Master’s research explored youth experiences of and in the new South Africa, in particular negotiations of identity and cultural stereotypes through engagements with performance. His PhD research explores Open Education Resources (OER) for enhance teaching and learning in higher education. He is a member of the Global Open Educational Resources Graduate Network (GO-GN), and an energetic advocate for Open. Gino has experience in managing extended university degree programmes and projects, youth development, and is a creative active across many modes of electronic and performance media. He is always eager to collaborate on meaningful projects, whether as an educator, activist, skills developer, writer, performer, traveler, or innovator.

Mentor

Robert Farrow

Robert Farrow is a Research Fellow in the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University (OU) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. By training he is a philosopher (analytic & continental) and educational technologist. His main research focus is open education. He leads several research strands with the Open Education Research Hub where since 2012 there has been a focus on providing an evidence base for the impact of OER and building research capacity globally. His current research interests are in the use and evaluation of technology systems for learning and behavioural change; theoretical frameworks for learning and innovation; ethics; technology as a route to social justice; and generally in empowering people. Rob support doctoral students worldwide who are working in the field of open education through the Global OER Graduate Network and is also a mentor for the Open Education Leadership Program (SPARC).