Fun and Fear in Open Spaces

Abstract

This presentation presents the theory and practice of Open Learning as implemented in Athabasca University’s Beyond the LMS social networking system. The presentation discusses the motivation , design and challenges encountered in the first two years of Athabasca Landing (an elgg-based social networking environment). Reference will be made to the disruptive nature of the technology in regard to the limits of openness, resistance to sharing, context-sensitivity, controllability, ownership, responsibility, soft security, distributed design, managing complexity and crossing the formal/informal divide etc.