{"id":16170,"date":"2023-12-14T01:49:26","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T01:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/course.oeru.org\/lida103\/?page_id=16170"},"modified":"2023-12-14T01:49:26","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T01:49:26","slug":"freedom-to-learn","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/course.oeru.org\/lida103\/learning-pathways\/why-open-matters\/freedom-to-learn\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom to learn"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"content\" class=\"mw-body container\" role=\"main\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12\">\n<div class=\"panel\">\n<div class=\"panel-body\">\n<div id=\"bodyContent\">\n<div id=\"mw-content-text\" lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\" class=\"mw-content-ltr\">\n<table class=\"cquote\" style=\"margin:auto; border-collapse: collapse; border: none; background-color: transparent; width: auto;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"20\" valign=\"top\" style=\"border:none; color:#B2B7F2;font-size:35px;font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: left; padding: 10px 10px;\"> \u201c\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" style=\"border: none; padding: 4px 10px;\"> <i>The real &#8220;haves&#8221; are they who can acquire freedom, self-confidence, and even riches without depriving others of them. They acquire all of these by developing and applying their potentialities. On the other hand, the real &#8220;have nots&#8221; are they who cannot have aught except by depriving others of it. They can feel free only by diminishing the freedom of others, self-confident by spreading fear and dependence among others, and rich by making others poor.<\/i>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"20\" valign=\"bottom\" style=\"border: none; color: #B2B7F2; font-size: 35px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: right; padding: 10px 10px;\"> \u201d\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"3\" class=\"cquotecite\" style=\"border: none; padding-right: 4%\">\n<p style=\"font-size: smaller; text-align: right;\"><cite style=\"font-style: normal;\">\u2014Eric Hoffer, 1955<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner thumbnail\" style=\"width:302px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wikieducator.org\/File:Village_school_in_Northern_Bahr_el_Ghazal,_Sudan.jpg\" class=\"image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"\/\/wikieducator.org\/images\/thumb\/8\/8e\/Village_school_in_Northern_Bahr_el_Ghazal%2C_Sudan.jpg\/300px-Village_school_in_Northern_Bahr_el_Ghazal%2C_Sudan.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"399\" class=\"thumbimage img-responsive\"><\/a>  <\/p>\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\">Village school under the trees in Northern Bahr el Ghaza, Sudan<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In today&#8217;s world, where the cost of replicating digital &#8220;knowledge&#8221; is near zero, consider for example that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>  In Sub-Saharan Africa, 60% of youth aged between 15 and 17 are not in school<sup id=\"cite_ref-1\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"#cite_note-1\">[1]<\/a><\/sup>\n<\/li>\n<li> The Student Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) report that American students spend an average of US$900 per annum on the purchase of textbooks.<sup id=\"cite_ref-2\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"#cite_note-2\">[2]<\/a><\/sup> This is more than the average 2009 gross national income per capita (US$512) of the world&#8217;s <a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"external text\" href=\"http:\/\/data.worldbank.org\/about\/country-classifications\">low income countries<\/a>. <sup id=\"cite_ref-3\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"#cite_note-3\">[3]<\/a><\/sup>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The challenge associated with the global demand for tertiary education is not a new phenomenon.\n<\/p>\n<table class=\"cquote\" style=\"margin:auto; border-collapse: collapse; border: none; background-color: transparent; width: auto;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"20\" valign=\"top\" style=\"border:none; color:#B2B7F2;font-size:35px;font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: left; padding: 10px 10px;\"> \u201c\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" style=\"border: none; padding: 4px 10px;\"> <i>More than one-third of the world\u2019s population is under 20. There are over 30 million people today qualified to enter a university who have no place to go. During the next decade, this 30 million will grow to 100 million. To meet this staggering demand, a major university needs to be created each week.<\/i>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"20\" valign=\"bottom\" style=\"border: none; color: #B2B7F2; font-size: 35px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: right; padding: 10px 10px;\"> \u201d\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"3\" class=\"cquotecite\" style=\"border: none; padding-right: 4%\">\n<p style=\"font-size: smaller; text-align: right;\"><cite style=\"font-style: normal;\">\u2014Sir John Daniel, 1996.<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>\nThe open web combined with open content licensing provides us with the technology to freely distribute learning materials in support of all national curricula. Moreover, at virtually no additional cost, we are able to manipulate and transform digital data for a variety of delivery technologies, including print for those learners who do not have access to the Internet.\n<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"mw-headline\" id=\"Sharing_knowledge_freely\">Sharing knowledge freely<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The sharing of knowledge is not a new phenomenon. In our daily lives, we regularly share knowledge freely, including:\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>when a parent intervenes in the upbringing of child;\n<\/li>\n<li>when a teacher presents a lesson;\n<\/li>\n<li>when a learner helps a friend to understand a challenging concept.\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When we share knowledge, we can still use it for our own benefit. Knowledge grows with reuse. If we think about &#8220;open&#8221; knowledge as a system, it is sustainable and scalable. In the video, &#8220;Reflections on Digital Freedom&#8221;<sup id=\"cite_ref-4\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"#cite_note-4\">[4]<\/a><\/sup>, Archbishop Emeritus <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Desmond_Tutu\" class=\"extiw\" title=\"w:Desmond Tutu\">Desmond Tutu<\/a>, former Chancellor of the <a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"external text\" href=\"http:\/\/www.uwc.ac.za\/\">University of the Western Cape<\/a> in South Africa, reflects on the importance of the freedom to learn in education.\n<\/p>\n<p><i>Digital freedom<\/i> is an expression which encapsulates the spirit of collaboration now possible with the open web; in particular, the principles of sharing, remixing and leveraging the work of others for the benefit of society. Sadly, much of the world&#8217;s knowledge is locked behind restrictive copyright provisions &#8211; and much of this knowledge is inaccessible and unaffordable, particularly for the majority of citizens in the developing world. Moreover, these copyright provisions have not kept pace with advances in digital technology.\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"panel iDevice\">\n\t<div class=\"panel-heading idevice-heading\">\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"pedagogicalicon\" alt=\"media\" src=\"https:\/\/course.oeru.org\/lida103\/wp-content\/themes\/oeru_course\/idevices\/Icon_multimedia.png\">\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t<h2>Video reflection<\/h2>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"panel-body\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col-md-12\">\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Watch the video recording of Desmond Tutu reflecting on the importance of freedom in education.\n<\/p>\n<div style=\"float: left;\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/73125373?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"540\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><br style=\"clear:both;\"><\/p>\n<p><small>Or watch <a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.oeru.org\/s\/YXynp2tFPwssB52\">video<\/a> on docs.oeru.org.<\/small><br \/>\nContribute your thoughts, ideas or insights to the importance of the freedom to learn in education by posting a comment on WENotes below, for example:\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> <i>Freedom to learn is important because &#8230;<\/i>\n<\/li>\n<li> <i>Tutu&#8217;s most important message is &#8230;<\/i>\n<\/li>\n<li> <i>For LiDA, an important implication of freedom to learn is &#8230;<\/i>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><div><p>You must be logged in to post to WEnotes.<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n<p><i>Note: Your comment will be displayed in the <a href=\"\/lida103\/interactions\/course-feed\" title=\"Learning in a digital age\/LiDA103\/Feed\">course feed<\/a>.<\/i>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"mw-headline\" id=\"References\">References<\/span><\/h2>\n<ol class=\"references\">\n<li id=\"cite_note-1\"><span class=\"mw-cite-backlink\"><a href=\"#cite_ref-1\">\u2191<\/a><\/span> <span class=\"reference-text\">UNESCO Institute for Statistics. <a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"external text\" href=\"http:\/\/uis.unesco.org\/en\/topic\/education-africa\">Education in Africa<\/a><\/span>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-2\"><span class=\"mw-cite-backlink\"><a href=\"#cite_ref-2\">\u2191<\/a><\/span> <span class=\"reference-text\">Allen, N. (September 2010). <i><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hewlett.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/A-Cover-To-Cover-Solution.pdf\">A Cover to Cover Solution: How Open Textbooks are the Path to Textbook Affordability<\/a>.<\/i> The Student PIRGs. p. 4.<\/span>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-3\"><span class=\"mw-cite-backlink\"><a href=\"#cite_ref-3\">\u2191<\/a><\/span> <span class=\"reference-text\">The World Bank, <a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"external text\" href=\"http:\/\/data.worldbank.org\/data-catalog\">Data Catalog<\/a>. (15 December 2010). <a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"external text\" href=\"http:\/\/siteresources.worldbank.org\/DATASTATISTICS\/Resources\/GNIPC.pdf\">Gross national income per capita 2009, Atlas method and PPP<\/a>.<\/span>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-4\"><span class=\"mw-cite-backlink\"><a href=\"#cite_ref-4\">\u2191<\/a><\/span> <span class=\"reference-text\">An extract from the opening of the Digital Freedom Exposition, held in Cape Town, South Africa, April 2007.<\/span>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><!-- \nNewPP limit report\nCPU time usage: 0.122 seconds\nReal time usage: 1.025 seconds\nPreprocessor visited node count: 336\/1000000\nPreprocessor generated node count: 1648\/1000000\nPost\u2010expand include size: 6190\/2097152 bytes\nTemplate argument size: 2461\/2097152 bytes\nHighest expansion depth: 7\/40\nExpensive parser function count: 0\/100\n--><\/p>\n<p><!-- Saved in parser cache with key we_en-mw_:pcache:idhash:182580-0!*!0!!*!2!* and timestamp 20231213103336 and revision id 1086538\n -->\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"visualClear\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12\">\n<ul class=\"pager\">\n<li class=\"previous\">\n            <a href=\"\/lida103\/learning-pathways\/why-open-matters\/video-signpost\">\u2190 Previous<\/a>\n          <\/li>\n<li class=\"next\">\n            <a href=\"\/lida103\/learning-pathways\/why-open-matters\/scientific-publishing-in-a-digital-world\">Next \u2192<\/a>\n          <\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"wenote-ids\"><script type='text\/javascript' id='wenotes-ids'>\n    var WEnotesSite = \"https:\/\/wikieducator.org\";\n    var WEnotesPath = \"\/Learning_in_a_digital_age\/LiDA103\/Why_open_matters\/Freedom_to_learn\";\n    var WEnotesSiteID = \"0e3d258fbd36841f92259eefcd41d5e9\";\n    var WEnotesPathID = \"33dee394b92b8b19bb08f5f53c1fcd22\";\n    var WEnotesIDs = { site: \"https:\/\/wikieducator.org\", path: \"\/Learning_in_a_digital_age\/LiDA103\/Why_open_matters\/Freedom_to_learn\", site_id: \"0e3d258fbd36841f92259eefcd41d5e9\", path_id: \"33dee394b92b8b19bb08f5f53c1fcd22\" };\n<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer><\/footer>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201c The real &#8220;haves&#8221; are they who can acquire freedom, self-confidence, and even riches without depriving others of them. They acquire all of these by developing and applying their potentialities. On the other hand, the real &#8220;have nots&#8221; are they who cannot have aught except by depriving others of it. They can feel free only [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":16164,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-16170","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/course.oeru.org\/lida103\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/course.oeru.org\/lida103\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/course.oeru.org\/lida103\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/course.oeru.org\/lida103\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/course.oeru.org\/lida103\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16170"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/course.oeru.org\/lida103\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16171,"href":"https:\/\/course.oeru.org\/lida103\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16170\/revisions\/16171"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/course.oeru.org\/lida103\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/course.oeru.org\/lida103\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}