1. ulster.ac.uk
Open Learning a Digital Channel for
Higher Education
Dr Brian Murphy – Director Access, Digital and Distributed Learning
www.addl.ulster.ac.uk
b.murphy1@ulster.ac.uk

2. Digital – an educational perspective
a world of rapid change
“The pace of change is quickening every day. New
technologies are transforming how we think, work,
play and relate to each other. The problem is that
many of our established ways of doing things in
business, in government and in education, are
rooted in the old ways of thinking.”
Professor Sir Ken Robinson
Out of Our Minds, Learning to be Creative,
Capstone, 2011.

3. Digital – a technical perspective
“We are currently experiencing the biggest fundamental
change the world has seen since the initial development of the
Internet as people, processes, data, and things become
increasingly connected. We call this the Internet of Everything
(IoE), and it is having a profound impact on individuals,
businesses, communities, and countries.”
John Chambers, CEO, Cisco Systems
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalInformationTechnology_Report_2014.pdf
a world of rapid change

4. Distributed Learning
Changes in Pedagogy and Academic Practice
Adapted from N Morris, http://www.slideshare.net/NeilMorris2/presentations CC:BY 2.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

5. Sector Trends: modules – digital learning
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
2003 2014
Digital
- optional
Digital req’d
- content
Digital req’d
- comms.
Digital req’d
- cont/comms
Digital req’d
- fully online
UCISA 2014

6. SHERPA/JULIET - Research funders' open access policies
http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/juliet/stats.php
Funding Body Drivers

7. Spectrum of Content: Audience - Channel - Connection
Dedicated CHANNELS;
not accessible to most
Open CHANNELS - platforms accessible to all
CONNECTIVITY
CONTENT - Objects of Learning or Research
Opportunities - Connected Learning; Connected Research
VLE
MOOC
UIR
Adapted from N Morris, http://www.slideshare.net/NeilMorris2/presentations CC:BY 2.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

8. the OER continuum
MOOCs are a form of OER
'teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in
the public domain or have been released under an
intellectual property licence that permits their free use and
re-purposing by others. OERs include full courses, course
materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests,
software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used
to support access to knowledge'.
http://www.hewlett.org/programs/education/open-
educational-resources [Accessed April 2015]

9. MOOCs: an Open phenomenon?
2012-2015 – the incubation years

10. MOOCs – the evidence
Growth of MOOCs
https://www.class-central.com/report/moocs-stats-and-trends-2014/ [Accessed April 2015]

11. MOOC Literature
2012-2015

12. MOOCs - learner behaviours
Novelty or Surety?
The Maturing of the MOOC: Literature Review of
Massive Open Online Courses and other forms of
Online Distance Learning, Department for
Business Innovation and Skills, HMG, UK 2013

13. MOOCs - Coursera
Horses for Courses
https://www.class-central.com/report/moocs-stats-and-
trends-2014/ [Accessed April 2015]

14. MOOCs - edX
Learning or Lurking?
HarvardX and MITx: the First Year of Open Online Courses, 2015; and,
HarvardX and MITx: the First Two Years of Open Online Courses, 2015
http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/harvard-mit-mooc-392/
[Accessed April 2015]

15. MOOCs - edX
Access or Success?
• 1,700,000 registered, of which 1,000,000 were unique (2015)
• 300,000 unique participants (2015 update)
• 300,000 registered in a year never engaged content (2014)
• 43,000 certificates in the first year
• 36,000 without certification explored >half the course (2014)
• >4,000 more than one certificate
• 70% are declared as male (2015); 31% male and over 26
• 30% female (2015)
• 39% teachers or former; 20% in subject (2015)
• 69% are degree educated (2015)
• 3% have IP of United Nations least developed countries
HarvardX and MITx: the First Year of Open Online Courses, 2015;
and, HarvardX and MITx: the First Two Years of Open Online Courses,
2015
http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/harvard-mit-mooc-392/
[Accessed April 2015]

16. The maturing MOOC
‘hypened’ or enlightened?

17. An institutional perspective
• MOOCs are not always open
• There must be a business model (what’s in it for me?)
• Security of niche (research)
• Lure of a compelling story (expertise)
• Distinctiveness of quality (content, production and delivery)
• Other open platforms (measured approach/cultural change)
• Partnership to share risk.
MOOCs – a key that turns both directions

18. To MOOC or not to MOOC
Pros and Cons

19. Channel- Connecting Audience with Content
Research Excellence Framework – Impact
public engagement
“In addition to our broadcasting work, we share our
research findings through platforms such as
YouTube and Facebook, as well as iTunes U (to
date over 40 million downloads of OU content,
much of it research-driven).”
REF (2014) Impact template (REF3a)

20. Channel – connecting audience with content
‘Academics -
platform to
disseminate
research to
wider research
community.
Practitioners -
learn from
patients
experience and
have access to
recent research.
Patients - get
access to
knowledge.’

21. Examples of open outputs aligned to research
Ulster MOOC and Open Learning Working Group

22. Enterprise – timely, thematic, public facing
BBC Collaboration with 4 UK institutions on WW1 MOOC
• ‘Changing Faces of Heroism since the First World War’
(Leeds/FutureLearn, 3-week block),
• Aligned to the Legacies of War project at Leeds.
• BBC as content partner enhancing research with audio visual
and multi-media packages.
• Academic research in public domain.
http://arts.leeds.ac.uk/legaciesofwar/
Dissemination – Opportunities

23. M&S-Leeds University
• M&S corporate archive at Leeds University
• Strategic partnership Leeds and M&S
• FutureLearn course titled – ‘The Key to Business Success’
Benefits
• Value of the archive in the wider business, academic and
research communities
• Connects theory and practice to demonstrate the importance
of innovation in growing and sustaining business
• Growth of business connections and engagements globally
• Conversion opportunities
Innovation – leveraging partnerships; sharing risk
Enterprise - Nothing is free, so where’s the product?
- co-branding and association benefits

24. Examples of open outputs aligned to research
Scaling-Up – Institutional Profile (iTunesU)
iTunesU: global active user base: 6x108)

25. Comments
An Open R&I presence – risks and benefits?
Benefits?
• Institutional, group and individual profile
• Global field for innovative research projects or enterprise
• Opportunities for impact and dissemination
• Public involvement with research
• Business engagement
• Leveraging partnerships and brand
• Conversions to CPD or Short Courses?
• More accessible and flexible research-based teaching on campus?
Challenges?
• Time, effort, resource, shelf-life, support, selection criteria…

26. Open Learning – An institutional Vision
Ulster University : Open@Ulster
Open Vision
To research is to discover; to educate is to share discovery;
to share openly is to shape futures.
Open Aim
To enable open publication and exchange of high quality
research collections and educational materials that enrich
the teaching, learning and research experience at the
University of Ulster and to enhance impact nationally and
internationally through open sharing.

27. Sector Trends: barriers to DL by rank
UCISA 2014
http://addl.ulster.ac.uk/feedback

28. Open@Ulster
Open Objective 1 (vision: to research is to discover)
1.1 To enable open dissemination of collections of the
highest quality materials produced in collaboration with
the research institutes and other aspects of niche and high
impact research at Ulster.
1.2 To facilitate and measure outreach and public engagement
with publicly funded research.
1.3 To repurpose research materials as rich interactive teaching
resources.
1.4 To enable staff and students as collaborators in the co-
creation of knowledge.

29. Open@Ulster
Open Objective 2 (vision: to educate is to share)
2.1 To enable open showcasing of collections of the highest
quality learning materials within each faculty.
2.2 To facilitate and measure educational outreach regionally
and nationally.
2.3 To enable more flexible and accessible provision of
education both on- and off-campus.
2.4 To enrich and expand the repertoire of educational resources
available to mainstream taught provision
2.5 To enable staff and students as co-creators of
educational resources.
2.6 To contribute to and measure enhancement of the student
experience in taught provision

30. Open@Ulster
Open Objective 3 (vision: to share openly is to shape futures
3.1 To enable and measure the discovery of high quality, high
impact and open online publications and OERs of the University
in a manner that ensures that our reputation is enhanced, our
opportunities are optimised, and our contribution to individual,
society and the economy is widely disseminated.
3.2 Through the open agenda at Ulster, enhance the
graduate qualities of our students and their prospects in
employability, further study and future careers.

31. 4. Blueprint
Themes for Digital and Distributed Learning

32. Expectations high
Innovation released
Distance dissolved
Online common
Blueprint
Stages of a Digital Learning Strategy
Blended norm
Digital ubiquitous

33. Seven Principles For Good Practice in
Undergraduate Education
Chickering and Gamson
1. Encourages contact between students and faculty.
2. Develops reciprocity and cooperation among students.
3. Encourages active learning.
4. Gives prompt feedback.
5. Emphasizes time on task.
6. Communicates high expectations.
7. Respects diverse talents and ways of learning.
American Association of Higher Education Bulletin, 1987, vol.39 no.7 pp.3-7

34. Ubiquitous connection
ccSteveWheeler,UniversityofPlymouth,2010
http://i.imwx.com
SteveWheeler,PlymouthUniversity,2014