Thread:Educational resources (1)

''' With open authoring approaches the quality will vary enormously. This will impact on learners differently according to age and cognitive ability. Skills like critical thinking will become even more necessary for young learners so that they are able to assess quality.
 * '''Do you have any concerns about the quality of educational resources developed using an open authoring approach? If so, what are your concerns? If not, how does an open authoring approach contribute to high quality learning materials?

* '''In your opinion, should closed or open authoring approaches be used in the development of learning resources for use in education? Give reasons for your view?''' With open authoring we are liely to learn much more through collaboration and peer learning. We are also likely to learn about different perspectives that we might never have considered before. Open authoring extends thinking beyond a Western dominated view. Won't it be possible to maintain closed and open authoring systems that can both evolve simultaneously?

* What mechanisms can be adopted to assure quality of educational content developed in wiki environments? I think we do need some mechanism like a quality approval mark, as already suggested in this discussion. But if we look back over history there are many texts that have fallen by the wayside because they were not at the forefront of knowledge. I can't help wondering where all the "dross" goes if it is of poor quality? Will we be rapidly cluttering up our virtual world?