Project Open Educators Factory (OEF)

The Open Educators Factory project stems from the assumption that true progress in open education requires changes in practice and policy which is grounded on a change in education culture, and considers that teachers are the cornerstones for any cultural change in education. University teachers (meant as professors, lecturers and tutors) represent in fact the biggest “resistance” to the Open Education revolution – mainly because they typically fear that their role might be undermined by open approaches and because they do not have a full understanding of the potential of Open Education – and at the same time are the ones that could contribute the most to the adoption of Open Education practices from a genuine bottom up perspective.

The project will explore how to transform university educators from “agents of resistence” into “agents of change” for Open Education. The idea is that if teachers would drive the Open Education change, the whole process would be more inclusive, creative and rooted to the real needs of learners. On the other hand, if teachers will not mobilise becoming advocates of Open Education approaches, marketization and privatisation will most probably become the norm in Higher Education across the world, at the expenses of academic freedom and access to education.

More Information at: Open Educators Factory. Exploring how to transform teachers into open educators