The Failure of Access: Rethinking Open Education

In celebration of Open Education Week 2017, Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, BCcampus, Public Knowledge Project, and British Columbia Research Libraries Group are pleased to host a discussion on The Failure of Access: Rethinking Open Education.

Please join us on Tuesday, March 28th at SFU Harbour Centre (515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC) from 5:30pm-8:30pm. This event is open to all and free, but seating is limited and registration is required.

The use of open re-use licenses and Internet technologies have long promised to reduce barriers to education by making it more distributed, equitable, and open. Indeed, the promise of open education can trace its roots to the the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations 1948, which states “everyone has a right to education.” There is little formal evidence, however, that open education has an impact on increasing access to learning or making education more equitable.

This event will explore the goals, failures, and successes of open education. Join us in exploring such questions as: is open education succeeding in being a transformative movement that makes learning more accessible? What are the criteria and successes that should be used to measure if the open education movement is a success? What more needs to be done?

Our discussion will be led by keynote speaker Dr. Ishan Abeywardena (Advisor - Open Education Resources) from the Commonwealth of Learning and panelists from SFU, UBC, CAPER-BC, and SPARC.

For more information and to register, please visit: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/about/branches-depts/rc/32099