Open Education: Challenges in Hong Kong

Abstract

The advancement of information and communication technology has transformed the way of teaching and learning. As opposed to conventional education offered at education institutions, open education denotes the free and open access to knowledge for anyone, anytime, anywhere. For instance, the emergence of open educational resources is an example which offers digital learning objects freely and openly for academics, teachers and students to use and re-use for teaching, learning and research activities. The introduction of massive open online courses is another educational movement which offers access to free online courses. Indeed, open education is regarded as a revolutionary approach to the future of education, in particular higher education, around the world. This paper attempts to assess Hong Kong's readiness of taking part in open education movement worldwide. The situation of higher education in Hong Kong is critically reviewed, where the challenges in terms of cultural barriers, technological support, government and institutional policies, funding resources and copyrights issues, are identified. It is believed that open education will revolutionise the future of education and bring a new scene to higher education in Hong Kong. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.