Introduction to new case studies of openness in and beyond the language classroom

Anna Comas-Quinn,Ana Beaven,Barbara Sawhill

doi:10.14705/rpnet.2019.37.962

Abstract

Our previous edited volume, Case studies of openness in the language classroom (Beaven, Comas-Quinn, & Sawhill, 2013), was published in 2013 following the EUROCALL conference “Learning through Sharing: Open Resources, Open Practices, Open Communication” held the previous year in Bologna, Italy. At this event, we realised that the innovative work language practitioners were developing in their teaching had to be shared more widely. The edited volume we published showcased some of the ways in which language practitioners were engaging with the concept of openness and aimed to inspire and encourage teachers to experiment further with open resources and open practices. Five years on, we have decided to revisit our project, and to once more check the pulse of openness in and beyond the language classroom. Our purpose has remained unchanged: to give a voice to practitioners themselves, and bring to the surface some of the excellent and innovative work that language teachers and learners are engaged in.

Highlights

“Open Educational Resources are teaching, learning and research materials in any medium – digital or otherwise – that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions” (UNESCO, 2019, n.p.)
Authors were asked to provide sufficient context and detail about their projects to enable other practitioners to replicate or build upon the activities described in each case study. Whilst these are not research papers, the projects here included are often the result of pedagogical research, engagement with open education, and extensive experience of language learning and teaching. The chapters in this volume have been divided into three sections: creating and using Open Educational Resources (OER), working in open spaces, and openness and teacher development
Berti shares with us the development of an open online repository for storing, sharing and accessing virtual reality videos used as language teaching resources in undergraduate beginner and intermediate Italian courses in the United States. Beyond describing this interesting way of incorporating OERs into Italian language courses, Berti shares suggestions for tools required to create additional videos. In their action research study Gabaudan and Nocchi investigated the embedding of selected components of DigiLanguages, an OER for Digital Literacies for Foreign Languages, within a Bachelor of Arts in International Business and Languages at a higher education institution in Ireland

Summary

Introduction

Socialization, and learning in internet interest communities and online gaming. New case studies of openness in and beyond the language classroom Edited by Anna Comas-Quinn, Ana Beaven, and Barbara Sawhill. Copyrighted material: every effort has been made by the editorial team to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for the use of copyrighted material in this book. A cataloguing record for this book is available from the British Library. France: Bibliothèque Nationale de France - Dépôt légal: juillet 2019

Contents and audience

Creating and using OERs

Working in open spaces

Openness and teacher development

Final thoughts