The Open University (OU) makes a proportion of all its taught modules available to the public via OpenLearn (www.open.edu/openlearn) each year. This process has historically involved the modification, of OU module excerpts, showcasing subject matter and teaching approach.
This approach serves both the University’s social and business missions through the delivery of free courses to the public, but increasingly its students are using it as a tool to inform module choice, as a source of additional learning materials to augment study and to boost confidence. It is a Moodle-based platform that drives 13% of its learners to make a formal enquiry at the OU. Since providing recognition for informal learning through the issuing of OU-branded digital badges and certificates, this percentage has grown to around 30% on some courses (Law, 2015).
From 2016 all OU module specifications will be designed from the start with two learning design outputs: the OU module (for its students) and the open course (for delivery via OpenLearn). This is a cultural shift for the University inasmuch as all module teams will be required to engage with openness from module inception. Previously, their involvement may have been simply to identify existing content and to allow subject specialists to modify it for them.
In a year that celebrates 10 years of OpenLearn, this paper reports on the growth and impact of the platform as a vast open, learning resource and how this is impacting on the OU’s students in terms of their motivations and impact on achievements. It also discusses how the University is mainstreaming open practice via module production to improve student module choice, student preparedness and in doing so, is providing a richer learning experience for informal learners.
