A presentation for Glyndŵr University at their Technology Enhanced Learning Symposium 6 March 2013. *NB this v2 replaces the original: I had to substitute an image on slide 14. The earlier version had 26 views - thank you! - and has now been taken down.
1. Open Educational
Resources (OERs)
Lis Parcell
Jisc RSC Wales
@lisparcell http://www.slideshare.net/lisparcell/
@rscwales
Glyndwr University 6 March 2013
2. OERs: opening up the box
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sparkieblues/5135241394/
3. Open Educational Resources - OER
• What are they?
• What are they for?
• What benefit can I
and my community
get from them?
• How can I find out
more?
4. • “Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning
materials that are freely available online for everyone to
use, whether you are an instructor, student or self-learner. Examples
of OER include: full courses, course
modules, syllabi, lectures, homework assignments, quizzes, lab and
classroom activities, pedagogical materials, games, simulations, and
many more resources contained in digital media collections from
around the world.”
http://www.oercommons.org/
• “Resources that are specifically licenced to be used and re-used in
an educational context”
Open Educational Resources infoKit
https://openeducationalresources.pbworks.com
10. Avoiding Plagiarism tutorial - Cardiff
University Information Services
https://ilrb.cf.ac.uk/plagiarism/jorum_tutorial/index.html
Found by searching on www.jorum.ac.uk for ‘Plagiarism’
11. Numeracy Online - King’s College
Virtual Campus
http://virtualcampus.kcl.ac.uk/nonvcprojects/jorum/numeracy/
Found by searching on www.jorum.ac.uk for “Numeracy”
14. Students and learning resources
http://www.flickr.com/photos/benedictineuniversity/6902555912/
15. How to find out more
• Your own colleagues
• www.openeducationweek.org/
• Jisc information and services
• Jisc RSC Wales webinars
• http://bit.ly/RSCWalesevents
• Contact us for further support
http://www.flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/6555466069/
Introduce selfA personal viewWhat I’m going to do in this slotGive a very quick intro to OERWhat some of the benefits and issues might meOnly time for a very quick look so…How you can find out moreSlides are on Slideshare at the link shownPlease tweet and follow me/RSCQuestions for you:Who has heard of OER?Has anyone actually created some OER themselves?Who has used OER created by someone else?Who has ever used Wikipedia to find information (be honest)Who has tried to find free resources on the web for use in their teaching?
I was wrapping a present for my 12 year old goddaughter’s birthday on Sunday.As I wrapped it, I imagined what she would feel as she opened it – hopeful, excited?When you are very young, any present is by definition delightful, you scramble to tear the wrapping paper …it becomes part of your world.As you get older, encountering a free gift inside can be more of a mixed experience:Sometimes it’s brilliantSometimes it’s not quite what you hoped.Sometimes you frankly do not like it – wrong colour, wrong size - what were they thinking????Sometimes you may even have to ask ‘what on earth IS it?’Offers of new digital resources and tools in education can inspire similarly mixed feelings and there can be a lot of media hype.OER part of a movement towards ‘open-ness’ which has caused a flurry of interest and debate in the last few years.And as with any unexpected gift we might have a few questions about it…
Examples of questions we might want to ask
A couple of definitions – no one single answerOERs have been generated in recent years by individuals, institutional efforts, projects at local, national and international level.Open – could be taken to mean different thingsDictionary definition - “Allowing unrestricted access” – eg an open doorFree – as in “no charge”Is not predicated on any individual technology or interfaceMay be re-used (modified) – perhaps?But even open resources may have some licence restrictions
To find the box image I used Flickr Creative Commons search.The Licence allows me to share it on certain conditions.
A lot of OERs have been created as a result of the UKOER Programme and this infokit provides a guide to the whole topic, based on the projects carried out in that programme, in a wide range of academic disciplines.
Ideas of open learning and resource sharing are not newOpen and distance learning have been around for at least 150 years:Late 19th c - Pitman shorthand, University of London External Programme, International Correspondence Schools, Pennsylvania1926 – idea of the ‘wireless university’ first mooted1969 – Open University born1990s – idea of a reusable learning object – tech allowing resources to be put together in a way that meant they could be accessed, epurposed & reusedOPEN COURSEWARE egCa 1999 – Tubingen2002 – MIT Open Courseware http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htmYale, Michigan, UC BerkeleyOCWedXKhan AcademyCourseraOpenlearnFuturelearniTunes UEtcetc
International symbol created for:http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/events/calendar-of-events/events-websites/World-Open-Educational-Resources-Congressflying bird - freedom, no borders, progress and diffusionPages of a book - a traditional resource of educationHands - collaboration and collective knowledge involved in OER practices - the main purpose of OER: human education.Impetus may come from:Need to encourage developing economiesReduce the digital divideReputation – academic, institutionalA form of peer-reviewAltruism, professional cultureMarketingCC – free to share, remix, make commercial use of – with attribution
Jorum is specifically designed to help HE and FE in the UK find OERsOther collections and tools available
OER means some give and take.What would encourage you to use an open educational resource?What would discourage you?Quality issue- technical criteria - discoverability, accessibility, availability- evaluative criteria - accuracy, currency, reputation, fitness for purpose, production standardsQuality can be a difficult thing to define- Tied to intended outcomes and context, relates to people/communitiesTrust is keyIt could be possible for resources to be enhanced over time (‘many eyes’ approach)
OERs part of a wider landscape which we can describe as open educational practices or open academic practices.“Open education is about sharing, reducing barriers & increasing access in education.” It includes free & open access to platforms, tools & resources in education (learning materials, course materials, lecture videos, assessment tools, research, study groups, textbooks, etc.).http://www.openeducationweek.orgCan embrace open learning, open access, open sourceAmber Thomas http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue70/thomas offers a positive view:Scholarship is evolvingNot mainstream but growing: academic blogging, crowdsourcing, citizen science, open access journals, open data, open source softwareThe wiki wayThe MOOC debate (disruptive? The end of universities as we know them?)In Wales we are seeing developments such asOpenlearn (Open University)Futurelearn (Open University, Cardiff University and others)CollegesWales developing a presence on iTunesU
What about the student/learner view?Educators in the digital age need to know how toLocate and evaluate materials for our needsUse other people’s material responsiblyLicense our own work appropriatelyEnable our students to acquire these skills for lifelong learning and employmentOur readiness to move further towards open will depend on a number of factorsCurrent and prospective student needs, requirements and skillsStaff capacity and skillsOrganisational culture and prioritiesProfessional culturesNational government prioritiesOERS and moves towards ‘open’ are interesting not because they will change the world but because they prompt discussion and questioning about our practice.
Open Education Week 11-15 March
ListsBulletinWebsite > Moodle and blog> Other RSCs, Jisc
Jisc provides a wealth of information and services to help universities, FE and skills sectors make effective use of technology.Jisc RSCs are one part of the range of support on offer.