This document summarizes a research project that studied how higher education teachers use, create, and manage open educational resources (OER). Interviews with 23 teachers found that version management and collaboration features would be beneficial in OER platforms. Based on these findings, the researchers prototyped an OER infrastructure concept with functions for uploading material types, tracking changes between versions, adding new versions, and a community space for collaboration. The concept was evaluated through several iterations with teachers and was found to have intuitive functions and practical applicability, though a technical implementation and testing under real conditions is still needed.

1. Designing Infrastructures Allowing Higher
Education Teachers to Reuse, Adapt and
Exchange Open Educational Resources
OE GLOBAL Presentation | September 28th 2021
Nadine Schroeder, Sophia Krah & Johannes Wendt
Learning Lab | University of Duisburg-Essen

2. Overview
• Background
• Research project
• Version management & OER
• Study
• Interviews
• Results
• Prototypical concept
• Development & evaluation
• Main results
• Examples of functions
• Conclusion
September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 2

3. Background
September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 3

4. Research project
• Project “Educational Architecture“
• Finding OER in higher education context in Germany
• Technical, didactical and organizational requirements for designing a
distributed infrastructure for OER
• Research study
• Focus
• Expectations and needs of higher education teachers for OER infrastructures
• Version management of OER
• Collaboration
• Aim
• Options and solutions for developers designing OER platforms
September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 4

5. September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 5
Versions
Derivatives
Reuse
Revise
Remix
Version History
Release
Fork
Commit
Merge
Software Development
Material type
File format
Collaboration
Changes
Modifications
Updates
Version Management & OER

6. Study
September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 6

7. Interview Study | Research Questions
• OER activities
• How do teachers create, use, and process OER?
• In which framework conditions does the work with OER take place?
• Requirements & needs
• What difficulties do teachers encounter when working with OER?
• What expectations do teachers have about working with OER?
• Version management
• How can teachers benefit from version management functionalities?
September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 7

8. Interview Study | Sample & Method
• 8 female & 15 male (N=23) higher education teachers from Germany
and Austria
• Prerequisites
• Teaching at a German-speaking university
• Production of open materials for teaching
• At least one further OER activity (reuse, edit, share OER)
• Conducted July-September 2020
September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 8

9. Results | Material Types
September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 9
4 4
7
2
9
5
4
2
1
4
14
3
8
1
4
4
2
2
2
2
2
3
10
2
1
0
5
10
15
20
Material types
Create Reuse Edit Publish

10. Results | New Versions
• Providing new versions
• Updates
• Content for different scenarios
• Older versions
• Development of resource
• Possibility for deleting or archiving
• Relevant functions
• Version history
• Track changes
September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 10

11. Results | Feedback & Collaboration
• Feedback
• Interest in external use
• Improving and developing content
• Community
• Exchanging ideas and materials
• Updating together
• Collaborative editing
• Clear distribution of roles
• Closed space during developing phase
September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 11

12. Prototypical concept
September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 12

13. Prototypical concept
• Concept for managing versions and derivatives of OER with
collaborative elements
• Focus on
• Requirements of users
• Relevant functions
• Intuitive usability
• Applicability in practice
• Focus NOT on
• Design
• Technical implementation
September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 13

14. Development & Evaluation
September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 14
Version
prototype
Basis
Details &
format
Development
period
Target group Setting & method Participants Duration Date
Version 0 Interviews
User Stories +
Wireframes
10-12/2020
Version 1
Interviews
Slides for testing 01-03/2021
E-Learning staff Focus group workshop 12 (10f, 2m) 60 Min. 03/2021
Version 2
Focus group
workshop
Revised slides 04/2021
Teachers Individual sessions 6 (3f, 3m) 45-90 Min. 04/2021
Version 3
Individual
Sessions
Revision + Video 05/2021
Interview
participants
Video + Survey 12 (/23) 15 Min. 06-07/2021
Version 4 Survey Final video 09-10/2021

15. Main results
• Additional and adapted functions
• Uploading and filtering different material types
• Change comments: Preselection vs. free text
• Community space as work-in-progress area
• Terms
• Derivatives = Add own version
• Overview of derivatives = Further Versions
• Usability
• Process of adding new version
• Finding other versions
September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 15

16. Concept | Examples of functions
• Versions
• Version history
• Add new version
• Archive version
• Derivatives
• Add own version
• Merging further versions
• Community space
• Working space
September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 16

17. Titel
Remixing OER 29.03.2021
Last change
Authors
Toni Testing
Original
Original Presentation
Material types
CC-BY 4.0
License
CC
Version History Further Versions Sources Discussion
Description
Download Toni Testing
Select Versions Persons Date Files Modifications
Version 2
https://doi.org/10.abcdef_2
Toni Testing 29.03.2021
20210329_2.pp
tx
Errors corrected
Version 1 Toni Testing 18.03.2021 20210318.pptx First draft
Add own version
New Version Download
Resource DOI: https://doi.org/10.abcdef
Archive Version Open

18. Version History Further Versions Sources Discussion
Description
Download
Vergleich
Öffnen
Select Versions Date Persons Files (all)  Modifications
Version 3
https://doi.org/10.abcdef_3
30.01.2021 Olli Openness
CreatingOER_3.pptx
CreatingOER_3.md
Content update
Version 2 10.09.2020 Olli Openness
CreatingOER_2.pptx
CreatingOER_2.md
Formal
corrections
Version 1
https://doi.org/10.abcdef_1
05.08.2020 Olli Openness CreatingOER_1.md
Title
Creating OER 30.01.2021
Last change
Authors
Olli Openness
Original
Original
Material types
CC-BY 4.0
License
CC
Text, Presentation
Download Toni Testing
Add own version

19. Version History Further Versions Sources Discussion
Description
Select Versions Person Date Files Modifications
Version 1
https://doi.org/10.abcdef_1
Toni Testing 18.04.2021 20210318.pptx Added own version
New Version Archive Version
Original Resource: Creating OER/ Olli Openness (Version 3)
Resource DOI: https://doi.org/10.abcdef
Titel
Creating and revising OER 18.04.2021
Last change
Authors
Toni Testing
Original
Creating OER / Olli Openness Presentation
Material types
CC-BY 4.0
License
CC
Download Toni Testing
Add own version

20. Version History Further Versions Sources Discussion
Description
Person Title Date Comment Basis resource
Testing, Toni
Creating and revising
OER
18.04.2021 Additions to content Creating OER / Olli
Openness (Version 3)
New, Nina
Create OER for
biologists
12.12.2020 Extension for target
group
Creating OER / Olli
Openness (Version 2)
Add own version
Title
Creating OER 30.01.2021
Last change
Authors
Olli Openness
Original
Original
Material types
CC-BY 4.0
License
CC
Text, Presentation
Download Toni Testing
Add own version

21. Discussion
Community-Project
s
Publishing as resource
Titel
Mainstreaming OER 12.04.2021
Last change
Persons
Toni Testing
Files Sources Contributer Activites
Our approach might fit well
Concept.odp
Description
Toni Testing
B I S H </> „ 1
2
3 …
Olli Openness
08.04.21 – 14:52
For my presentation to OER multipliers, I am looking for concepts that describe best practices
for disseminating OER
Status
    Work-in-progress
Thanks for your concept. I was able to take some hints

22. Results | Evaluation
September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 22
very good
42%
good
50%
less good
8%
Not good 0
How do you rate the intuitive use of the functions?

23. Results | Evaluation
September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 23
very good
17%
good 58%
less good 25%
not good 0%
How do you rate the practical applicability for your everyday work?

24. Conclusion
• Limitations
• Missing requirements due to limited number of interview participants
• Evaluation not under real conditions
• Outlook
• Video presenting all functions
• Technical concept to be implemented in an OER repository
September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 24

25. Discussion
• Which OER platforms do teachers use at your institution?
• Do those platforms integrate version management functions?
• Do those platforms provide collaborative elements?
• Do you think our approach would be beneficial?
• Which additional functions do you think would be useful?

26. We appreciate your attention!
Nadine Schroeder
nadine.schroeder2@uni-due.de
Sophia Krah
sophia.krah@uni-due.de
September 28th 2021 Designing OER Infrastructures 26
???
!!!