The Kragerø Open Online Education Declaration 2014

Hasselholmen, near Kragerø in Norway

The Kragerø Open Online Education Declaration was conceived and signed by a group of 14 Nordic experts related to the field, attending Campus NooA's workshop on online education at the Hasselholmen Island from May 28 to June 1, 2014.

Our discussions revealed that online learning and education covers a much broader range of activities, issues and opportunities than MOOCs. Therefore, the issues and statements that were discussed during the workshop, then refined and prioritised through an online Delphi process, resulted in the following declaration:

We strongly believe that the current open education values and practice will improve, innovate and even revolutionize learning and education worldwide. In many cases, it can be more flexible, economical and open than traditional education. Online learning and education can potentially emulate all educational activities in schools and colleges, not only single courses as the MOOCs do. We urge politicians, bureaucrats, managers, researchers, course designers, teachers and students to develop, promote and support quality online learning and education, because it:

1. provides new opportunities to include people with disabilities, social anxieties and negative experiences from previous education
2. should be environmental and economically sustainable
3. fosters innovation and cooperation since it brings together people from a broad range of subject fields, countries, cultures and types of institutions
4. provides opportunities for people with work and family responsibilities
5. helps more people enjoy learning
6. is available any time (24/7/365) anywhere
7. is central in the open education movement which supports MOOCs, Open Educational Resources, Open Badges and transparency
8. is potentially the most cost effective way to reach out and provide learning to large groups of people
9. can be social, interactive and facilitate networking
10. can be current and up to date since digital learning resources can be more frequently updated than printed resources
11. supports cooperative learning with individual start-up and pacing which is good for people who find it difficult or inconvenient to follow the schools’ semester- and timetables
12. fosters internationalization and increased diversity
13. supports democratic values and humanitarian actions
14. is more agile and scalable to suit 21st century demands
15. focuses on people, enhanced by technology, it can demonstrate that technology can be our servant, not our master
16. fosters what Germans call "Bildung" and Scandinavians “Dannelse”
17. is flexible with regard to for example time, space and path
18. is available via mobile devices
19. benefits the next generation of learners worldwide
20. facilitates blended learning and flipped/scrambled classrooms
21. can be used for efficient educational administration, and a wide range of student support services
22. is used to teach almost everything
23. supports both humour and friendliness


The statements that received most votes are at the top. The work is still in progress and we realize that some of the statements can be grouped together, and we welcome comments and discussion that could result in further refinement of the declaration.

In alphabetical order:

Per Olav Apalnes, www.cogito.as

Astrid de Mora, www.ecademy.no

Bjørn Z. Ekelund, www.human-factors.no

Anne Fox, www.annefox.eu

Katrine Gjærum, www.censusfilm.no

Fred Johansen, www.hig.no

Nina Zoë Jørstad, www.storymaker-triangle.no

Jørn Bue Olsen, www.jbo-konsult.net

Ebba Ossiannilsson, http://e4qualityinnovationandlearning.blogspot.com/

Morten Flate Paulsen, www.nooa.no

Rune Riismøller, www.eaftenskolerne.dk

Edgar Valdmanis, http://edgarvaldmanis.no

Kristin Vigander, www.kristvi.net

Gunnar Østgaard http://myoutime.com/

Resting in MOOC peace?

Resting in MOOC peace?

With all the current fuzz about MOOCs, I found it interesting to revisit my 2009 article: Resting in e-learning peace, which I wrote after finishing the EU-project: Megatrends in E-learning Provision.

Now, I wonder if the MOOC advocates could learn something from the project conclusions?

The project identified 26 examples of large, successful e-learning initiatives that we could strive to emulate. However, there is also a lot to learn from the ten initiatives that failed to reach their targeted goals. So, here are the seven recommendations, based on the failed initiatives, wich are discussed in the article Resting in e-learning peace:

1. Be sceptical about top-down political and boardroom initiatives.

2. Be sceptical about a consortium of institutions that compete with each other and the consortium.

3. ‘Hard-nosed’ market research is essential for the success of any e-learning initiative.

4. E-learning initiatives should plan carefully for and carefully control their revenue and expenses.

5. The choice of courses and their accreditation are crucial.

6. E-learning initiatives should precisely define the relationships of their initiative to existing providers and the institutional model they will adopt.

7. E-learning initiatives should plan carefully to manage both their educational and business activities.