OpenStudy is a social learning network where students ask questions, give help, and connect with other students studying the same things. It is linked to a range of open educational resources, such as MIT OpenCourseWare, New York University’s Open Education, and Smarthistory, a free and open, not-for-profit, art history textbook.
The concept is quite simple – choose a topic, post a question and join other online learners. For instance, when I logged in today, there were 10907 people listed as studying MIT 6.0 Intro Computer Science, with 17 online at the time. However, most of the posted questions had no replies.
This is a relatively new start-up company and it will be interesting to see how successful it is. As a company it appears strong on IT and weak on educational staff.
See also Supercool school, which enables someone to set up their own school or class in 60 seconds. It provides real time teaching, and everything is recorded and stored so that content is built up over time. It will cost you $15 a month to operate the school. However, at the moment, it’s not ‘open’, in the sense that students are invited via e-mail, although I expect this will change as more courses become available. (I should point out that I am on the Advisory Board of Supercool School).
Dr. Tony Bates is the author of eleven books in the field of online learning and distance education. He has provided consulting services specializing in training in the planning and management of online learning and distance education, working with over 40 organizations in 25 countries. Tony is a Research Associate with Contact North | Contact Nord, Ontario’s Distance Education & Training Network.
[…] OpenStudy.com–Make the world your study group; also Supercool School [from Tony Bates] On 03/29/2011, in 1:1, 21st century, 24x7x365 access, disruption, entrepreneurship, global / globalization, innovation, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, open courseware and systems, teaching online, by Daniel Christian From Tony Bates’ –> Informal learning with do-it-yourself online courses […]
Hi Tony,
My name is Jon Birdsong and I am the Community Manager at OpenStudy. Thanks for writing a post about OpenStudy that covers our efforts and initiatives. We are trying to push the boundaries of online education daily. I did want to point out one clarification in your article referring to most of the questions not being answered. We have approximately 83% of our questions answered with an average of over 250 questions asked daily on our site. Along with the majority of our questions being answered, the quality of answers is something we are proud of as well. We have students from all over the world who are at the collegiate and post graduate level answering questions which adds to the value of our community and the quality of education our users are receiving for free. Thanks again for your article and I look forward to more correspondence in the future.
Best,
Jon
OpenStudy :: Community Manager
jon.birdsong@openstudy.com
Cell: 404.966.1102
http://OpenStudy.com
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I’m really glad I came across this article. I started a home study degree last fall.
I do enjoy the course and do have support from tutors etc. but I think a site like OpenStudy would make a big difference by allowing me to converse with others studying for a similar degree.
[…] 5. Kopeerige postitusse APA süsteemi järgi vormistatud viited neljale ülesande käigus lisatud materjalile. 1. Yang, H. (2010). Collective Intelligence and E-Learning 2.0. IGI Global. 2. Yang, H. , & Liu, Y. (2008). Building a Sense of Community for Text-Based Computer-Mediated Communication Courses. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 36(4), 393-413. 3. Luik, H., Seilenthal, J., & Värnik, R. (2009). Measuring the Input-Orientated Technical Efficiency of Estonian Grain Farms in 2005-2007 . Food Economics – Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section C, 6(3/4), 204-210. 4. Kull, A. (2008). Lüpsilehmade kohanemiskäitumine ja käitumishälbed üleminekul lõaspidamiselt vabapidamisele. Veterinaarmeditsiin (p. 36). Tartu: Eesti Loomaarstide Ühing. Retrieved from http://www.vet.ee/docs/suurloom/Konverentsikogumik 2008.pdf. 5. Bates, T. (2011). Informal learning with do-it-yourself online courses. Retrieved from https://tonybates.wpengine.com/2011/03/28/informal-learning-with-do-it-yourself-online-courses/ […]