Sustainability of open education through collaboration
Published | November 2018 |
Journal | The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning Volume 19, Issue 5, Pages 95-111 |
Country | Netherlands, Europe |
ABSTRACT
The definition of openness influenced the sustainability of business models of Open Education (OE). Yet, whether openness is defined as the free (re)usage of resources, or the free entry in courses, there always is a discussion on who pays for the resources used in these offerings. The free offering of courses or materials raises the question if OE can be maintained independent of large government subsidies. This article analyzes four cases that each have a different approach to OE and (financial) survival. The aim of this study is to determine the most efficient conditions for a sustainable OE business model.Instead of using different earning models, this research concentrates on the different aspects of unbundling (costs, income, and financiers), arguing that an adjusted Business Model Canvas can be used to analyze the not-for-profit organizations in higher education institutions (HEIs). The cases are OpenupEd, FemTechNet, MERLOT, and Lumen Learning. Openness plays different roles in the business models of the different organizations. For OpenupEd and MERLOT, openness of the materials offered to students and teachers (MOOCs, OER) is essential. For FemTechNet,.Keywords | business models · collaboration · DOCCs · FemTechNet · Lumen Learning · MERLOT · MOOCs · open education · OpenupEd · sustainability |
Published at | Athabasca, AB |
ISSN | 1492-3831 |
Refereed | Yes |
Rights | Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) |
DOI | 10.19173/irrodl.v19i5.3548 |
URL | http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/3548 |
Export options | BibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar |
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