Current developments around open education in Irish higher education

This paper explores open educational
practice in the context of the recommendations by the National Forum for the
Enhancement of Teaching and Learning Digital Roadmap around open education
(National Forum, 2015); and a subsequent focused research project which aimed
to explore the use of learning resources and open access in Higher Education
institutions in Ireland (Risquez et al, 2015). In addition, the author explores
the recognition of structured non-accredited opportunities as a valid
professional development activity by the National Forum through its recent
digital badges initiative. In order to open the debate, the author goes on to
discuss her recent personal experience in relation to open structured
non-accredited education opportunities for continuous professional development.
This offers a contrast between open education models that focus on scalability
(as MOOCs) versus those that focus on community and connections.