Managing the trade-off between open learning and resourcing?
Open learning stands for making learning accessible and free for a wider audience – in contrast to for example degree studies, certification programs or pay-walled content. The main obstacle to open learning are resource requirements to host such applications as well as learners’ learning capability. Using a two-tier system can solve some of those issues by removing the supply-side constraints.
Designing and operating a learning element is costly. Platform and content production-related costs are one part, and, equally important, enabling interaction between learner and instructor and another. While the former is a fixed cost, the latter is a variable cost that directly relates to the supply constraints open learning is facing.
A learning platform needs to fulfill the technical criteria that allow for open access as be able to serve learners in such a fashion that it can be accessed by its potential learning. Internet connectivity can pose a significant in some countries or geographic areas. Adjusting content in terms of its strain on the connection (videos vs. text-based content) can help circumvent some of those restrictions in affected areas. If one operates in a country with wide internet coverage, the content has to be delivered through easily accessible means through the browser or apps. Producing online content can be done at different quality levels, with different learner engagement levels. A higher level of sophistication might require the use of professional filming resources as well as content editors. While these are all important decisions the costs are mostly unrelated to learner quantity.
A more pressing concern in terms of open learning are the variable costs produced by a higher quantity of students and less coherence in their skillset. Interaction (e.g. feedback) with students in a resource-intensive task that increases linearly with the number of students taken in, but takes an exponential natural once the skillset and prior knowledge of students become different. As a result, additional resource requirements in terms of course management become large.
Current funding models often do not accommodate open learning content as they are often productions based (credits or degrees) or capitation based. Using these metrics requires enrolling students into official curricula, which are often limited by entry requirements and a maximum number of students to be served with allocated budgets. If one decides to give open learning learners the same attention as others, additional resources need to be made available. Alternatively, a two-tier system could provide a solution, where there is a paying number of degree or certification students that get personalized feedback and degree or a certificate and then the option to audit the course without formal certification and a higher share of self-study and self-assessment. Like this variable costs become negligible, while access can be opened. Large cannibalization effects should not be expected as degree or certification possibilities speak to a different community of learners.
Organizing online courses in such a fashion allows for a reasonable tradeoff between openness and resource requirements. It can lead to a democratization of learning of sorts.
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