TOC Meeting Notes - 2024-08-13

Owned by Xavier Antoviaque
Aug 23, 2024
2 min read

Meeting Summary

The Technical Oversight Committee met on Aug 13, 2024 with the following members in attendance:

Attendees:

  • Anant Agarwal (2U)

  • Dustin Tingley (Harvard)

  • Edward Zarecor (Axim)

  • Ferdi Alimadhi (MIT)

  • George Babey (2U)

  • Nacho Despujol (Instructor Representative, UPV)

  • Regis Behmo (Operator & Core Contributor Representative, Edly)

  • Xavier Antoviaque (User/Learner representative, OpenCraft)

Notes

The meeting discussed the current state and future direction of the Open edX platform, with a focus on product-market fit and the potential value of focusing on new verticals, specifically residential learning.

Open edX's Current Market Position and Future Potential

The dialogue opened with concerns about Open edX not achieving a definitive product-market fit which poses a risk to its ecosystem and stakeholders. It was highlighted that expanding the platform's functionality to cater to residential (on-campus) learning could open new avenues and potentially invigorate its adoption. It would aim to create learning experiences that are more integrated and interactive, providing real-time feedback and support in physical classrooms. However, there was notable deliberation on whether Open edX, in its current architecture, could pivot to meet the demands of residential learning without extensive overhauls or if starting anew with a different product would be more feasible.

Concerns and Alternative Suggestions

Participants expressed concerns about fragmenting the Open edX community with a shift towards a new product. There was also skepticism about whether an entirely new platform was needed or if iterative improvements to Open edX could achieve similar goals. Suggestions were made to further modularize Open edX to allow for easier customization and extension, which could potentially support more interactive and residential learning experiences without starting from scratch.

Funding and Resources

The discussion touched on the need for funding innovative projects that could either extend or complement Open edX to support new forms of learning. It was proposed that small, funded projects could explore innovative educational technologies and tools that could later be integrated into Open edX or stand alone as new products.

Conclusion

The meeting concluded without a consensus on a specific course of action but opened several critical lines of inquiry about the future direction of Open edX. It was agreed that more discussion was necessary, particularly around defining the target customer and market for Open edX and understanding the technical and financial implications of expanding or altering its offerings. The possibility of setting up further discussions or working groups to explore these issues was suggested.

Agreed Next Steps:

  • Further Discussions: Organize additional meetings or discussions, possibly involving external experts or stakeholders, to delve deeper into the feasibility and desirability of shifting towards residential learning platforms.

  • Market Analysis: Conduct a thorough market analysis to better understand the needs and expectations of potential markets for Open edX, particularly in the residential learning sector.

  • Technical Review: Assess the technical capabilities and limitations of Open edX in relation to the proposed new features for residential learning, considering both integration into the existing platform and the development of a new product.

  • Community Engagement: Engage more actively with the Open edX community to gather input and feedback on the proposed changes and ensure that any new direction has broad support and meets the needs of current and future users.