One of the keynotes of Open Ed 2021 was by Dr. Leslie Chan from the University of Toronto Scarborough and the director of the Knowledge Equity Lab. Chan’s session was entitled “When Open Education Collide with Closed Infrastructure…” and Chan began with a personal reflection of their frustration encountering barriers. The history of the University of Toronto Scarborough satellite campus was, Chan described, an experiment with television built into the design. Television technology was seen as a new timesaving device. The entire campus was built for wired TV, and Chan was a student in the 70s. The campus recorded sessions and encouraged learners to supplement the shortage of resources too. Chan spoke about the changes on campus for enrollment, diversity, infrastructure, modes of production. He described how Professor Ursula Franklin reminded us about thinking of technologies underlying structures. She categorized prescriptive technologies and holistic processes that allow users of the technology to be in control. Chan talked about how new technologies such as collaborative learning spaces are changing how we teach. However, Chan warned of the troubling effects of losing control with new technologies. Using the example o integrating Hypothes.is into the learning management system, Chan showed the multiple approvals… Chan explored different platforms and their origins in universities: their origins were supported in part by university investments. Chan asked: are we giving away our technologies? He then used a Mentimeter poll to ask the audience to finish his title/subtitle. The history of the Scarborough campus was intriguing. I wonder how the buildings we envision can become open education hubs through more dynamic infrastructures?
