Share Paper: Open Education: History and Theoretical Grounds -- Understanding “Open” and What It Means to Education

1. Xiaorui Sun, Ohio University, United States

Abstract: The Cape Town Open Education Declaration (2007) stated that “Educators worldwide are developing a vast pool of educational resources on the Internet, open and free for all to use.” “Open” is one of the characteristics and trends of globalization and global learning because of the development of technology. Understanding the history and the theoretical grounds of open education can help all stakeholders involved know what “open” means to education and how to use the “open” resources in an appropriate way. Therefore, this paper attempts to answer 1) Where does “open education” come from? 2) What does “open” mean? 3) What ...