Skip to Main Content
Course materials support network for Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and beyond

Open Pedagogy: Platforms: Home

Overview

Platforms
Several open pedagogy PLATFORMS offer tools for content creation, collaboration, and sharing. Each will have their own unique affordances and features. Some may require a paid subscription as an individual, but will be free at the enterprise level depending on which platforms organizations you are involved with invest in, offer as a service, and support.. An important ethical consideration is how students navigate authentication and accounts to maintain control of their work, particularly when they are no longer enrolled at an institution (and possibly their professor is no longer employed there as well). Additionally, data privacy takes on a new dimension, as data collected could be tied back to particular personal and political expressions which may be included in open assignments.

Open Pedagogy Platforms Topics

Open pedagogy is enabled by OER or other platforms which bring together collaboration, the 5 Rs, and publishing. Institutions may have access to enterprise academic technology platforms which they have paid for and support. An advantage to platforms with enterprise versions is that Single Sign On (SSO) can be set up to allow people to login with their institutional account instead of creating and managing a separate login.

Platforms

OER platforms:

  • Pressbooks
  • LibreTexts
  • Manifold
  • Google Docs/Sites
  • OER Commons Open Author

The process here depends on the platform and setup. In Pressbooks, LibreTexts, and Manifold, students can either create accounts and directly edit materials on the platform, or they may collaborate on content externally (e.g., via Google Docs or Word) and then have the instructor upload into the platform and format it. When the instructor uploads, they can more easily guide the process, ensuring proper licensing and quality control before publication, but then it puts students' ability to edit or takedown their own work less autonomous. Pressbooks, LibreTexts, and Google Docs/Sites all support SSO setup for enterprise versions which simplifies authentication and collaboration. 

Social Annotation platforms: 

  • Hyoothes.is
  • Perusall
  • Leganto

Both Hypothes.is and Perusall offer enterprise versions that support Single Sign-On (SSO), allowing students to log in using their university accounts. Leganto is only available as an enterprise solution, though it can be setup to allow account creation (this is normally only used by institutions without robust user loads). These platforms are often integrated directly into Learning Management Systems (LMS) via LTI, making access easier for both students and instructors.

Wiki platforms:

  • Wikipedia
  • Wikibooks
  • Wikiversity
  • WikiEducator
  • Local Wikis

For wiki-updating assignments, instructors typically guide students to create their own accounts on platforms like Wikipedia, Wikibooks, Wikiversity, and WikiEducator, as these platforms do not offer institutional SSO integration. Students sign up individually and follow guidelines set by the wiki community. For local wikis, which can be set up by universities, there’s often the option to integrate SSO.

Blog and Newsletter platforms:

  • WordPress
  • Blogger
  • Medium
  • Substack
  • Edublogs

For blogging assignments in open pedagogy, instructors often integrate WordPress or Edublogs, which can provide enterprise solutions allowing students to log in via Single Sign-On (SSO) using their university accounts. For platforms like Medium or Substack, students generally have to create personal accounts.

Video:

  • YouTube
  • Vimeo
  • Panopto
  • VoiceThread
  • Kaltura
  • Flip
  • OpenCast

Instructors typically integrate Panopto, Kaltura, or VoiceThread with their Learning Management Systems (LMS), which offer Single Sign-On (SSO) through university accounts. OpenCast and Flip can be similarly configured. Platforms like YouTube and Vimeo, however, usually require students to create their own accounts outside of the university context. 

Authentication and accounts are more than just a technical issue. As an ethical principle, students should have control over their work, including unpublishing and editing at their discretion, so how they sign in and who has control over the content posted under their accounts is important to have a plan for when asking students to publish their work. 

Tradeoffs

Single Sign On (SSO) with University Account

  • Easier for students and instructors in the moment with less class time spent on tech training and one less login and password to remember.
  • Easier to bring all institutional participants together as one tenant/group, partake in group functionality, and manage as a group.
  • If students publish via an enterprise software application, and their institutional account is discontinued when they are no longer enrolled at the institution, how will they be given the power to take down or edit their work? Who will be responsible? The instructor? The LMS administrator? Will it even be technically possible?

Sign-up with Personal Account

  • Easier for students to maintain, take down, or otherwise control their work when they are no longer enrolled at the university. 
  • Easier for students to be anonymous or pseudonymous.

Data and privacy are treated in full on MNOP's Data, Privacy and Surveillance page. Here it will suffice to point out that data on platforms publishing open assignments add an extra dimension of risk, as all the data that may already be being used and sold by the vendor can now be associated with a much more personal expression. If students' data is not protected, they need to be informed before they publish publicly.