Quali scenari per le pratiche e-learning nell’università? Gli “Open Educational Path”

Abstract

E-learning for over fifteen years has evolved from a simple instrument for virtual educational interactions (1.0) to an environment capable of promoting wide participatory experiences (2.0). Recently, Open philosophy has given rise to new ways of designing and using courses, while Open Educational Practices (OEP) have encouraged the use and reuse of online educational resources. Internet is no longer only a channel, since it increasingly appears as an environment offering new opportunities for discovering and questioning acquired knowledge. These new trends should also allow small-medium universities or individual members of teaching staff to renew institutional practices improving educational quality. In this article, we propose a modality called Open Educational Path (OEPath®), a methodological variation of e-learning, within the OEP. Openness is understood in a critical-cognitive way, as “openness to the ongoing restructuring of knowledge and its sharing”. Students are encouraged to actively participate, depending on their expertise, in enriching and revising the learning path.