This article offers a clear and up-to-date overview of how 4.0 technological enablers can operationalize UNESCO’s (2019) Recommendations for Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Science. Using a parallel mixed-methods design, it combines the perceptions of 206 participants from an international Open Education workshop with a literature review to map the challenges, practices, and technologies that enable educational openness.
The study is guided by two central questions: what do participants perceive as the main drivers of Open Education, and how can technologies foster it within UNESCO’s normative framework?
Among the findings, the main challenges identified were “promoting an open access culture” and “strengthening international cooperation.” The study compiles 46 cases reported by participants and analyzes six empirical research examples illustrating how technology aligns with UNESCO’s recommendations (e.g., OpenStreetMap for cooperation, blockchain and digital badges for sustainability and recognition, learning analytics for OER quality, MOOCs for talent development, remote laboratories for infrastructure, and predictive analytics for institutional policy design).
Based on these insights, the authors propose a useful classification of 4.0 enablers for Open Education: open technologies, digital pedagogies, adaptive technologies, intelligent technologies (AI/IoT/cloud/data), technological innovation models, and disruptive innovations (VR/AR, blockchain, remote labs, robotics, 5G).
The text is highly relevant for modules on open policy and governance, technology-enhanced instructional design, and learning analytics. It provides transferable examples, a classification framework applicable to projects, and evidence for discussing gaps (cultural, methodological, and infrastructural) across contexts.
It suggests the following learning outcomes:
- Critically analyze the relationship between international recommendations and technopedagogical decisions;
- Design interventions using 4.0 enablers aligned with OER and Open Educational Practices (OEP); and
- Argue, using empirical evidence, for institutional policies that promote sustainability and inclusion in Open Education.
---
How to Cite: González-Pérez, L. I., Ramírez Montoya, M. S., & García-Peñalvo, F. J. (2022). Technological Enablers 4.0 to Drive Open Science and Education: Input to UNESCO Recommendations. RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 25(2), 23–48. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.25.2.33088
