Open Educational Practices: a learning way beyond free access knowledge

Abstract

Open Educational Practices (OEP) have become a growing educational trend based on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which have been linked both from literature and practice with emerging and complex topics such as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) and Open Educational Resources (OER). This essay presents a critical approach to Open Educational Practices regarding their conceptual framework and considering a current and rather than an excessive focus on free access to knowledge. We propose that transforming educational content, making it available, is not enough to produce educational innovation and consequently it becomes necessary to transform educational practices, turning them open. Although the transition from OER to OEP has already been considered in the literature, a new perspective beyond free access and costless is necessary to maximize the innovative potential of “openness”.