, freely available online

Community Page A New Model for Open Sharing: Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s OpenCourseWare Initiative Makes a Difference Anne H. Margulies

magine a fl edgling Page—the recipient of a MacArthur school biology student in suburban instructor at a university in the Foundation Prize Fellowship in 1986, Chicago, a political scientist in Poland, Ideveloping world. Heading into her a Searle Scholar’s Award in 1989, fi rst semester of teaching, she is armed and the Amory Prize for advances Citation: Margulies A H (2004) A new model for open with nothing but her college degree, in reproductive biology from the sharing: Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s some old notebooks, and—if she is American Academy of Arts and OpenCourseWare initiative makes a difference. PLoS Biol 2(8): e200. lucky—a late-edition textbook. Forging in 1997—and Chris Kaiser, a curriculum that is both current and who won a 1999 fellowship from MIT Copyright: © 2004 Anne H. Margulies. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of engaging for her students could be a that recognizes his teaching excellence? the Attribution License, which daunting challenge. This is the premise of MIT’s permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduc- But what if that same young OpenCourseWare project. tion in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. instructor was given free and open Utilizing the , MIT access to a syllabus, complete lecture OpenCourseWare (MIT OCW) Anne H. Margulies is Executive Director of the Mas- notes, and problem sets and solutions has opened MIT’s curriculum and sachusetts Institute of Technology’s OpenCourseWare initiative. E-mail: [email protected] from two members of the faculty educational materials to a global of the Massachusetts Institute of audience of teachers and learners—an Abbreviations: MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Tech- Technology (MIT)? And not just instructor at a new engineering nology; MIT OCW, MIT OpenCourseWare any faculty members, but David university in Ghana, a precocious high- DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0020200

PLoS Biology | www.plosbiology.org 1071 August 2004 | Volume 2 | Issue 8 | e232 | e200 Measuring Success Since April 2001, we have received more than 20,000 e-mail messages from around the world endorsing the vision and potential benefi ts of sharing knowledge freely. A typical message came from Andrew Wilson in the in October 2003: “There can be no greater hope for humankind than the belief that wisdom generated through increased learning will ultimately lead to a better world. With OCW, MIT has taken an ethical stand against the belief that knowledge should only be accessible to those who can pay for it or are in proximity to it.” Just after its “offi cial launch” in fall 2003, MIT began a rigorous data collection process to fi nd out who is accessing MIT OCW, why and how they use it, and what difference the initiative makes. The results of this fi rst baseline evaluation confi rm what we have heard DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0020200.g001 anecdotally through those e-mails: that educators, students, and self-learners Figure 1. Sample MIT OCW Course Homepage for Graduate Course (Image of DNA courtesy of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.) around the world are using our course materials, and that, overwhelmingly, they fi nd the materials useful in meeting a literature professor in upstate New Brown and MIT President Charles their own learning and teaching goals. York—who are all now able to use the Vest instantly recognized the simplicity Who Is Accessing MIT OCW? On same materials that MIT’s professors and brilliance of the idea. “It seemed average, MIT OCW clocks over 11,000 rely on to teach their full-time students. to me that it would be a way to advance visits per day, with nearly a quarter- education, by constantly widening million unique visitors per month. The Makings of a Movement access to our information and inspiring About 45% of these visitors are from Ten years from now, we expect other institutions to do the same with the United States and Canada. Outside that MIT OCW will have become theirs,” Vest said. North America, the top countries of fi rmly planted in MIT’s educational While the 701 courses currently origin are China, the United Kingdom, landscape. But MIT OCW was just a available represent just a third of the Germany, India, and Brazil. About 52% leap of faith when the concept was ultimate goal of 2,000 courses by the of visitors identify themselves as “self- originally proposed by a group of year 2008, MIT OCW has already learners,” 31% as “students” enrolled faculty four years ago. In the fall of had an impact on MIT’s campus. We in a formal course of study, and 13% 1999, Provost Robert A. Brown asked have published teaching materials as “educators.” We view educators as a the faculty committee to provide from almost half of MIT’s 950 faculty particularly important target audience strategic guidance on how the institute members, and a signifi cant portion of because it is through them that MIT should position itself in the e-learning the faculty have told us that they are course materials can touch the greatest environment. At fi rst, many members already using materials available on number of people and have the most of the group assumed that their work MIT OCW—the lecture notes, syllabi, profound impact on education around would lead to an “MIT.com” venture. problem sets, and exams of their the world. But after a year of analysis, market colleagues—to prepare for their classes, Why and how are they using it? MIT research, and development of business do research, and help their students. OCW asked visitors their primary scenarios, the committee concluded But the real payoff of what we hope purpose in using MIT course materials. that a revenue-generating distance- will become the “ Of educators who responded, about education model was not desirable for movement” will be its effect on 57% answered that they use it for MIT. educators and learners around the course or curriculum development, The committee went back to the world. Our goal is to create a model 33% to enhance their subject matter drawing board and, convinced that that other universities can follow and understanding or support research, open software and open systems were improve upon. Ultimately, the trend and 7% for student advising. Elements the wave of the future, came to a very toward open knowledge will help bring of MIT materials have been adapted for simple conclusion: that MIT should people of all backgrounds together and classroom use by 47% of educators who use the Internet to give its teaching promote improved educational systems answered our survey, while 41% report materials away. across the globe. they are considering it.

PLoS Biology | www.plosbiology.org 1072 August 2004 | Volume 2 | Issue 8 | e200 Critical Mass opencourseware concept spreads to agenda must evolve to shape the future, Among the 33 academic disciplines other colleges and universities, we and to respond to new challenges and available are 15 courses from the MIT expect that access to the work of faculty opportunities. Department of Biology (see Figure from diverse disciplines and institutions At MIT, we believe the idea 1), 63 from the Department of Brain will increase, by an order of magnitude, of opencourseware is one such and Cognitive Sciences, and 13 from the benefi ts to educators and learners opportunity, which we must seize the Harvard–MIT Division of Health who (whether for reasons of geography, during the next decade.  Sciences and Technology. cost, or culture) would not otherwise have access to such materials. Educators, students, and self-learners For more information about MIT OCW, from a wide variety of fi elds will fi nd History has proved that education please contact Jon Paul Potts, MIT OCW materials they can use in their teaching and discovery are best advanced when Communications Manager, at [email protected] or and learning activities. And as the knowledge is shared openly. Our 617-452-3621.

PLoS Biology | www.plosbiology.org 1073 August 2004 | Volume 2 | Issue 8 | e200