1. We must encourage the reuse and remixing of rich media. In order to achieve this, it
must be easier to find, use, and cite pieces of media, especially for educational
purposes. Contextual tools that perform these tasks, co-developed by students as the
end-users, must be created and made available to all. We must also develop ways to
translate rich media, not only between languages, but also between modalities, such
that content produced in a certain geographical area and medium may be accessed
and reused in other places and in other forms. Portability of rich media is key; content
must not be tied to a certain platform for delivery, nor to a specific medium or
environment.
2. We must embrace the full promise of mobile devices as learning platforms. Mobiles
— not simply phones, but all kinds of handheld and portable devices — are a
powerful tool for learning because they are controlled by the holder. With mobile
devices, users can direct their own learning experiences, accessing information where
and when they need it. It is critical that we effect a paradigm shift toward recognizing
mobiles as a primary platform for delivery of educational content — not content that
is translated for use on mobiles, but content that is designed for such use from the
outset. We must actively encourage development practices that remove platform
independency. Likewise, we must advocate for a global mobile network that is as easy
to use, as inexpensive, and even more ubiquitous than the web.
3. We must award credentials based on learning outcomes. It is time to recognize the
learning that occurs outside of courses and beyond classroom walls. The model of
awarding credentials solely on the basis of participation in established programs must
give way to a more flexible design that separates credentials from coursework and
recognizes mastery regardless of where or how it is attained. As more learners choose
alternate means of education, including non-university programs, mentoring,
apprenticeship, and other informal or innovative options, we must accept and
recognize their achievements as equivalent to those gained in more traditional ways.
4. We must enable a culture of sharing. Recognizing that the sharing and reuse of
scholarly work is a key component of the university of the future, we advocate
building a culture of sharing in which concerns about intellectual property, copyright,
and student-to-student collaboration are alleviated and the model of proprietary work
dissolves in favor of a more open one. To this end, we must establish reward structures
that support the sharing of work in progress, ongoing research, highly collaborative
projects, and scholarly publications of all kinds, including reputation systems, peer
review processes, and new models for citation of such content. We must empower
students to share knowledge with one another in ways that are viewed as
collaboration rather than cheating. Assessment models must change to support these
practices. Ultimately, we see a culture of sharing as a crucial piece of the infrastructure
of a scalable educational system that can support the millions of learners who will
participate in it.
5. We must take care that open resources include the context that will enable its use and
understanding. Content out of context is at best easy to misconstrue, and at worst,
too difficult to use. Producers of open content must consider ways of attaching
pedagogical narratives to content that will help provide necessary context. One
approach is the notion of “pedagogical wrappers” — specific guidelines and processes
that can ensure the content is placed in an appropriate context — or in the case of
broadly useful topics, a variety of appropriate contexts. Such wrappers would ensure
that the focus remains on learning objectives and process, rather than on the
technology used to deliver the learning materials.
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