Pretty much anyone who is a lifelong learner – and I am betting you are if you are reading this post – has been exposed at some point to educational offerings from a trade or professional association. Member spending annually on such offerings totals more than $25 billion and spending on education and training is the single largest budget item for associations. (ASAE) It’s big business, to say the least, and to date it is a business that has largely been absent from the global open education movement. Can that change?

I had the opportunity to speak on open education at the American Society of Association Executives annual meeting recently (itself a huge educational event), and the attendance level at the session as well as some of the comments afterward gave me hope. In the session I characterized open education as:

• Free of Charge
• Freely Accessible
• Reusable
• Modifiable

I also discussed the role of open source software and Learning 2.0 as catalysts for open education.

By way of preparation and follow-up, I have started to pull together a resource site – including definitions of open education for those not familiar with the topic - for associations interested in open education over at Open Learning for Associations . It still has a long way to go, but I encourage anyone interested to visit and contribute. It would be great, in particular, to get input from veterans of open education in other sectors.

Traditionally associations, particularly the large ones, have been very protective of their intellectual property. Given the amount of revenue attached not only to education and training but also to journals and other publications, it’s not difficult to understand why. So what advantages might there be to opening up at least some aspects of association education? Here are some of the benefits I suggested in the session:

• Leadership of Lifelong Learning
  Associations have traditionally been one of the leading sources for ongoing education and training in specific industries. Given the ability these days of nearly anyone with sufficient expertise to produce and distribute content, that position is significantly less secure. More open access to at least some the education offerings for a particular trade or profession could help attract more visibility and more participation for associations. It may also lead to attracting more members.

• Improved Flow of Knowledge
  Associations do not exist simply to sell memberships. They are mission-driven organizations with an obligation to contribute to a particular sector and to the community at large. Opening up access to education and knowledge, and encouraging collective participation in the creation, re-mixing, and dissemination of knowledge contributes to the fulfillment of an organization’s mission.

• Participation in a Global Ecosystem
  Related to the point above, the Web has greatly expanded the possibility for connecting diverse viewpoints. The resulting potential for innovation and other benefits is tremendous, but organizations that keep all of their learning interactions behind walls, whether physical or digital, will not reap these benefits.

• Move from Defense to Offense
  Given the ability of people to self-organize and collaborate via a the wide range of social tools now freely available on the web, associations have increasingly found themselves in the position of defending their relevancy. The above reasons for embracing open education also contribute greatly to the level of value associations can offer and help ensure their ongoing relevance.

• Good Will and Brand Equity
  Finally, associations that do open education well can benefit from what might be called the “MIT effect.” Probably the most widely known open education initiative to date, the MIT OpenCourseWare project has in no way diminished the value of MIT content, the prestige of an MIT degree, or the price that degree seekers must pay – indeed, it has helped bolster these while also contributing to a highly positive perception of the institution and greatly enhancing its brand.

As valid as the reasons above may be for embracing open education, I recognize that there are significant challenges. Among these are concerns about quality as well as the need to deal with intellectual property issues in a system that depends on volunteer subject matter experts to create and deliver educational content. And, of course, there is the issue of finding workable economic models.

I’ll address these challenges in a subsequent post. In the meantime, I welcome any thoughts you may have about where open education may or may not fit in the world of associations. Do you see other good reasons why associations should embrace open education, or reason they should not?

JTC

Related posts:

1. Can Open Education Work for Associations (Part II)
2. Can Open Education Work for Associations (Part III)
3. Open Education Site “Free Learning” Launches
4. 5 Great Open Education Highlights
5. Associations Should Consider the MOOC