Creating and Using OER

Creating and Using OER
4th February 2021
Dr. Robert Farrow
Open Education Research Hub
Institute of Educational Technology
The Open University, UK
rob.farrow@open.ac.uk
@philosopher1978

Introductions
What is your interest in open education?
Any specific things you would like help with today?

https://iet.open.ac.uk/people/rob.farrow

4
SUMMARY
WP7: QUALITY
• What is WP7? Aims, activities and deliverables
• D7.1 Quality Management System
• Proposed Next Steps

Thinking about OER
What are your experiences/impressions of OER?

Sustainability 2020, 12, 7053; doi:10.3390/su12177053

[O]ne impediment is traditional thinking that educational innovation
exists within formal educational institutions (e.g., schools, institutes,
universities) and not in other formal or informal environments. Moving
beyond this thinking presents a niche of opportunity to generate lines
of research and publications related to the processes of formal and
informal learning within networks, considering multiple relationships
with educational institutions and other sectors.
Another challenge of great incidence is “openness,” the capacity to
bring together diverse sectors (educational, social, enterprise, cultural)
for collaboration and dissemination. In this landscape, the field of open
education is fertile, both for training in educational innovation and for
promoting innovations within the framework of the open educational
movement with practices of production, use, dissemination, and
mobilization.
Here, the open education movement is visualized as a dynamic
phenomenon, in constant evolution, that starts from the simplest idea
of taking advantage of resources to share a common good, namely,
knowledge. However, open education can also mean something more
complex: developing educational practices that contribute to the
necessary improvements in education, management, and research
required by external changes.
Sustainability 2020, 12, 7053; doi:10.3390/su12177053

What are the benefits of
OER?
Why be an open educator?

Keyword Hypothesis
Performance OER improve student performance/satisfaction
Openness People use OER differently from other online materials
Access OER widen participation in education
Retention OER can help at-risk learners to finish their studies
Reflection OER use leads educators to reflect on their practice
Finance OER adoption brings financial benefits for
students/institutions
Indicators Informal learners use a variety of indicators when selecting
OER
Support Informal learners develop their own forms of study support
Transition OER support informal learners in moving to formal study
Policy OER use encourages institutions to change their policies
Assessment Informal assessments motivate learners using OER
http://oerhub.net/reports/

Maximus Gorky Sembiring, (2016). OER impact study perceived by faculty within ODL framework.
Asian Association of Open Universities Journal, Vol. 11 Iss: 1, pp.78 - 89

Free/low cost
Dramatically reduce the cost of resources
Access
Ensure access to resources from course initiation; lifelong
learning; ‘anywhere, anytime’; social justice
Augmentation
Fill gaps in provision; augmentation of class content; alternative
formats
Innovation
Customisation of resources for specific purposes; learner-driven
pedagogy; iterative improvement; leveraging technology;
reflective practice
Reusability
Enabling downstream reuse and repurposing

UK nationalstatistics
6.2%
of students aged
21 or under
dropped out after
the 1st year of
their University
studies in 2014-
15
£9K +
Tuition fees
now exceed
£9K per
academic
year in most
institutions
£100 billion
student loan debt in
the UK is now more
than £100 billion
and students
graduate with an
average of £50.8K
debt
81%
of UK students
surveyed in 2012
would like
textbooks to be
provided for free
by their institution
£1K
Average
cost of
books and
equipment
per
academic
year

Challenges associated
with OER

19
Key challenges identified and categorized within the OLnet evidence hub. From McAndrew, P., Farrow,
R., Elliot-Cirigottis, G. & Law, P. (2012) 'Learning the lessons of openness', Proceedings of Cambridge 2012,
pp.195-204.

Search & Discovery
How do I find and share OER?
Quality
How do I know whether what I find is of required quality?
Complexity of IP and copyright
Being unsure about open licences and copyright – what can I do
with OER?
Resourcing & Sustainability
Initial investment of time; ongoing sustainability
Technology
IT proficiency; reinforcing the digital divide
Working with OER
Quality control; adapting materials; sharing; understanding
impact

Copyright was introduced
to regulate IP in the age of
mechanical reproduction:
Incentivising creative production
Preserving the integrity of creative works
Establishing rules for the economic exploitation of
works

The invention of the printing press in the 15th century made mass
copying of creative works possible
In 1710 the Statute of Anne was the first law to offer authorial
protection from unauthorized copying of their work
The Berne Convention (1886) established an international approach
to copyright
The Universal Copyright Convention (1952) was developed by
UNESCO as an alternative to the Berne Convention.
The Copyright Act of 1976 updated copyright law for the age of mass
communication, codifying ‘fair use’ and rights to reproduce, derive,
distribute, perform and display creative works.

In most countries, copyright protection is automatically conferred
(unlike a patent or trademark) onto original intellectual property
Copyright is a territorial right which means that copyright granted by a
state only extends to the territory of that state; each country has its
own copyright laws and practices, but most countries offer a form of
mutual recognition of copyright
Copyright holders can extend permissions, allowing others to make
copies; translate; perform; or otherwise adapt works – these derivatives
do not change the copyright status
Copyright violations are typically redressed through (civil and criminal)
legal procedures, with infringements risking fines, takedown notices
and legal orders

The work must be original ✅
The work must have a tangible
‘expression’ in physical form – often
through recording on medium like
print, audio recording or digital files ✅
Not copyrightable:
Ideas ❌
Facts ❌
Thoughts ❌
Feelings ❌
Dianelos [CC BY-SA)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Da_Vinci%27s_Mona
_Lisa_with_original_colors_approximation.jpg

The ‘Public Domain’ refers to all creative works to which no
exclusive intellectual property rights apply
When copyright expires (typically 70 years after death of the
author in the UK and USA) works are considered to be in the
Public Domain
Works in the Public Domain may be used freely by anyone;
authorial rights (including copyright) effectively no longer exist
‘Public Domain’ does not usually refer to cases where an author
retains some rights
Some works may never enter the Public Domain: the UK Crown
holds a perpetual copyright for the King James Bible translation,
for instance

Most countries allow people to make some use of copyrighted
works without violating copyright
These are known as ‘exceptions’ or ‘limitations’ to copyright
Some countries define these uses very tightly whereas others
have a more formal “fair use” approach
Common exceptions include using copyrighted works in
educational contexts, or for the purposes of criticism and
critique
This is how a lot of YouTube channels are able to broadcast
copyrighted material

Copyright is intended to protect intellectual property
Most countries allow people to make some use of copyrighted
works without violating copyright
These are known as ‘exceptions’ or ‘limitations’ to copyright
Some countries define these uses very tightly whereas others
have a more formal ‘fair use’ approach
‘Fair use’ is a legal principle that stipulates limitations on
copyrighted materials for purposes like criticism; comment;
reporting; or education
‘Fair Use’ does not usually allow for remixing, reuse, and/or
revision as Creative Commons licenses specifically do

Several alternatives to traditional copyright have been
proposed, including:
Copyleft https://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html
Open Licensing (e.g. Creative Commons)
https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/licensing-
considerations
Dedication to Public Domain
https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/public-
domain/welcome/#dedicated_works

Copyright on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright
Copyright resources from University College London
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/ucl-copyright-advice/copyright-
resources
Creative Commons https://creativecommons.org
UK Copyright Guide https://www.gov.uk/copyright
List of copyright resources provided by Stanford University
Library https://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/ucl-copyright-
advice/copyright-resources

Creative Commons licensing is an example of open licensing
CC licences allow authors to extend the right to share, build
upon or exploit a work they have created and/or hold the
copyright to
The licences are intended to empower authors with respect to
how their works are used
People who access, use, share and exploit materials on a CC
licence are protected from copyright violation as long as they
abide by the terms expressed by the licence chosen
Licences have 3 layers…

The base layer is the legal code
• Traditional legal tool
• “Legalese”
• This is the part that is legally
enforceable
• Set out the terms and conditions of
the licence
• Not easily understood by many of the
general public because of highly
technical nature

The second layer is
intended to provide
an understandable
layman’s description
of the licence and
what it does
Known as the
‘human-readable’
layer
Summarises the most
important concepts,
terms and conditions
Can be understood as
a more user-friendly
interface into the legal
code
The contents of this
layer are not part of
the legal code
Also known as
‘Commons Deeds’

The final layer is known as the ‘machine
readable’ layer and summarises
permissions in a way that can be
interpreted mechanically
This reflects the modern use of
computers in creating, copying,
sharing, discovering and distributing
creative works
Uses Creative Commons Rights
Expression Language (CC REL) to
describe licence permissions in a way
that can be read and understood by
software

Each CC licence comprises four elements which specify the permissions
of the licence.
This symbol
means Attribution and is
rendered as “BY” in the
human readable code. All
CC licenses include this
condition.
This symbol
means NonCommercial (“NC”)
and stipulates the work is only
available to be used for
noncommercial purposes.
This symbol
means ShareAlike (“SA”)
which means that adaptations
based on this work must be
licensed under the same
license as the original.
This symbol
means NoDerivatives or
(“ND”) – a restriction which
means re-users cannot share
any adaptations of the work.

Attribution (CC BY) lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your
work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation
Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) confers the same permissions as CC
BY as long as new creations and derived works are licensed under the same
terms
Attribution-NoDerivs (CC BY-ND) confers the same permissions as CC BY
but any adaptations or derived works may not be shared
Attribution-Noncommercial (CC BY-NC) confers the same permissions as
CC BY but does not permit commercial use; derived works may be licensed
differently
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) lets others remix,
tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially if they license their new
creations similarly
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND) allows others to
download and share works with others but they can’t change them or use
them commercially

Through the attribution requirement, all Creative Commons
licenses ensure that creators retain their copyright and get
credit for their work, while permitting others to copy and
distribute it
Elements of specific licences specify how a work may be used:
• How it can be shared
• Whether you can use it commercially
• Whether you can remix its content

You can apply a CC licence to anything
protected by a copyright you hold ✅
However: Creative Commons does not recommend that software is licensed in this way as
there are many dedicated open software licences
(See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Free_and_open-source_software_licenses for a
list of open software licences)

Creative Commons also offers two tools which support
the public domain:
CC0 uses the 3 layer approach to allow authors and
creators to dedicate their work immediately to the public
domain (where this is permitted locally) but is not a licence
itself
The Public Domain mark (which has no legal status) is used
to indicate that a work is known to be free of copyright
restriction

Creative Commons licences offer authors, creators and
copyright holders options to enable others to make use of their
work without fear of copyright violation
Licences are made up three layers: legal code, commons deed
and machine-readable code
There are four elements which are combined to give six licences
The licences all require attribution; other elements of the
licences may specify restrictions on sharing, making derivative
works, and commercial use
In addition, Creative Commons offers two ‘tools’ which support
the public domain
Creative Commons licences retain some rights while enabling
uses beyond ‘fair use’

Using CC licences and
CC licensed ‘works’

Collections are like a TV dinner where everything is kept
separate
“CC TV Dinner” by Nate
Angell licensed under CC BY.
Derivative of “tv dinner 1”
by adrigu used under CC BY
2.0, and various Creative
Commons license
buttons by Creative
Commons used under CC BY

Collections must provide attribution and licensing information
about the individual works contained within
The selection and arrangement of works may be copyrightable
A collection may have a licence which differs from the collected
materials
Such copyright only extends to the new creation (assembly,
commentary, design, bindings, etc.)

A derived work mixes material from different sources to create
a wholly new creation
It can be difficult to tell where one open work ends and another
one begins
Derived works are in some ways the most powerful examples of
what can be done with open material – especially in education –
but also the most complex and potentially risky

In these examples works are mixed together to create
something new
“CC Smoothie” by Nate
Angell licensed under CC BY.
Derivative of “Strawberry
Smoothie On Glass Jar” by
Element5 in the public
domain, and various Creative
Commons license
buttons by Creative
Commons used under CC BY

The distinction between adaptations and collections is one of
the trickiest concepts in copyright law
There are many ambiguous scenarios, and definitions rely to
some extent on local jurisdiction
Any licence applied to the new work needs to respect the
original copyright and licensing of the works drawn on
It’s important to ensure that the works used have licences
compatible with each other, the new creation, and the intended
use

The Adapters License Chart displays options for the licensing of
a new creation through remix or adaptation
When creating an adaptation of material under the license
identified in the left hand column, you may license your
contributions to the adaptation under one of the licenses
indicated on the top row if the corresponding box is green
CC does not recommend using a license if the corresponding
box is yellow, although doing so is technically permitted by the
terms of the license.

“CC Adapters License Chart” in “CC Certificate Unit
4: Using CC Licenses and CC Licensed Works,” page
26, by Creative Commons, used under CC BY 4.0

CC License Compatibility Chart guides adapters in selecting a licence
for adaptations, remixes and derived works
This chart shows which licences are compatible with one another
When using the chart, you can determine which license to use for your
adaptation by choosing the more restrictive of the two licenses on the
works you are combining

“CC License Compatibility Chart” by Creative
Commons, licensed under CC BY 4.0

Remixing while being consistent with copyright is challenging
As of Version 4.0, all CC licenses, even the NoDerivatives licenses,
allow anyone to make an adaptation of a CC licensed work
If you create an adaptation using openly licensed works, there are
restrictions on how it may be used and shared
If an underlying work is licensed ShareAlike this also applies to the
adaptation
Licence compatibility must be considered to determine limitations

How are people
innovating their
practice with OER?

55
THE INNOVATIVE ASPECT OF OPEN EDUCATION
PROJECT INNOVATION ASPECT
OER Research Hub (2012-2016)
http://oerhub.net/research-outputs/reports/
First global investigation of key claims made
about OER
UK Open Textbooks (2017-2018)
http://ukopentextbooks.org/
Replacing textbooks with openly licensed
equivalents, supporting pedagogical
innovation
BizMOOC (2016-2019)
https://moocbook.pressbooks.com/
Leverage MOOCs for business training and
development
OER World Map (2014-)
https://oerworldmap.org/
Facilitate exchange of data, experiences and
ideas between different people and Open
Education communities
European MOOC Consortium: Labour Markets
(2019-2022)
https://emc.eadtu.eu/emc-lm/
Leverage MOOCs for labour markets:
upskilling, (re-training), responsiveness,
scalability
Global OER Graduate Network (2016-2021)
http://go-gn.net/
Supporting doctoral research into open
education; exploring openness as a research
vector

56
Diffusion of Innovations (Rogers, 2003)
• Focused on spread of new technology & practices
• Adoption is required for innovations to sustain
• Relative advantage; compatibility

57
Diffusion of Innovations (Rogers, 2003)
• Focused on spread of new technology & practices
• Adoption is required for innovations to sustain
• Relative advantage; compatibility
OER has 5% K12
market share in USA
https://www.onlinelea
rningsurvey.com/repo
rts/k-
12_whatweteach.pdf

59
SUBSTITUTION AUGMENTATIO
N
MODIFICATION REDEFINITION
Open Textbooks Use Open
Textbooks in
place of
proprietary
versions
(More than $1
billion saved in
the USA)
https://sparcope
n.org/news/2018
/1-billion-in-
savings-through-
open-
educational-
resources/
Freely shared
and accessible
online
Enhances access,
reduced
dependency on
grants and loans
Producing
revised/remixed
versions of
lessons,
textbooks and
supplementary
resources
Collaboration
across
institutions
Rethinking the
textbook as the
standard
organisation of
curricula

60
Coughlan, T., Pitt, R. & Farrow, R. (2019) Forms of innovation inspired by open educational
resources: a post-project analysis, Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-
Learning, 34:2, 156-175, DOI: 10.1080/02680513.2018.1552579

61
Weller (2014) suggests that motivations for moving towards openness are difficult
to be categorical about since they are so heavily influenced by context.
Costa (2014). Digital scholarship practices. Compiled and adapted from Weller (2011)

Reflection
What kind of arefacts do you create?

What is an Artefact?
In an educational context, an artefact is a durable construct which is
created through the process of learning. This could be a physical object
but increasingly creations are digital. In Constructivist pedagogy
artefacts may be used to demonstrate knowledge or reveal particular
world views.
What are Artefacts used for?
Many things can be considered as Artefacts, including lesson plans,
teaching materials, papers, case studies, audio and visual resources,
etc. They have a life beyond their original purpose as representations of
the learning that has taken place and can often be re-used in new
contexts.

Text documents
lesson plans; curricula; personal reflections; insights; learning
materials; handouts; papers; essays
Images
artworks; photographs; diagrams; tables; infographics; comics
Video
instructional video; interviews; presentations to camera;
reflections; guidance/tips; animations
Audio
podcasts, interviews, dialogues; personal reflections
Other
presentations; software; code; data

Identify (Gather, Brainstorm, Mind map)
This stage of the Tricky Topics process consists of a set of collaborative
group activities in which teachers are encouraged to think of a Tricky
Topic and break it down into component parts.
Capture (Stumbling Blocks, Problems)
Within the capture stage the information is structured to enable use of
the problem distiller to uncover and define why students find these
topics “tricky”.
Assess (Activities, Interventions, Evaluation)
This final stage of the process contains multiple activities which take
place over time. It will vary depending on the type of practitioner and
the learning context.
Teaching and learning tricky topics
https://tinyurl.com/um5s25pd

Discussion
Have you created artefacts to help with a ‘tricky
topic’?
How would you usually share with
colleagues/learners?

Ways of Sharing
Communities of practice (face-to-face; print/copy; email)
Intranet / local repository
Personal website/blog
Cloud storage (e.g. Dropbox; Google Drive)
Platformization (e.g. YouTube)
Social Media
Repositories (institutional; commons)

Open Licencing:
Artefacts as OER

Creative Commons defines OER as “teaching, learning, and research
materials that are either (a) in the public domain or (b) licensed in a
manner that provides everyone with free and perpetual permission to
engage in the 5R activities– retaining, remixing, revising, reusing and
redistributing the resources.”
UNESCO: “teaching, learning and research materials in any medium,
digital or otherwise, that reside in the public domain or have been
released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use,
adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions.”

Challenges Potential Solution(s)
Cultural constraints (awareness, relevance, habit,
confidence, expectation)
More democratic, “bottom-up” power
More autonomy for individuals
More trust, more collaboration
Structural constraints (formats, technologies, languages) More access to ICT
More flexibility in the curriculum
Individuals’ constraints (time, knowledge, skills, institutional
restrictions)
More opportunities for collaboration
More access to ICT
More flexibility in the curriculum
More training opportunities
More encouragement re-OER

Each CC licence comprises four elements which specify the permissions
of the licence.
This symbol
means Attribution and
is rendered as “BY” in
the human readable
code. All CC licenses
include this condition.
This symbol
means NonCommercial (“NC”
) and stipulates the work is
only available to be used for
noncommercial purposes.
This symbol
means ShareAlike (“SA”)
which means that
adaptations based on this
work must be licensed
under the same license as
the original.
This symbol
means NoDerivatives or
(“ND”) – a restriction which
means re-users cannot
share any adaptations of the
work.

While these descriptions can be a little technical, they are also fairly clear.
The licence options determine the extent to which others might make use (or
reuse) of your copyrighted works. So the idea is that authors get more control
and everyone else gets more freedom in the way they use materials in their own
practice.
It can also be useful to add metadata that describes your resource. There is a
guide for doing this at
https://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/mod/page/view.php?id=129419 .
If you publish on an open licence and someone fails to abide by the conditions
set (e.g. uses a non-commercial resource for commercial profit) then that person
is in violation of copyright.
Only a copyright holder can apply an open licence.

• If you want to learn more about the value of OER and get some
practical tips, there is a free course (itself an OER!) at
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/education-
development/introduction-open-educational-resources-oer/content-
section-0?active-tab=description-tab
• An introduction to Open Educational Resources (OER)
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/education-
development/introduction-open-educational-resources-oer/content-
section-0?active-tab=description-tab
• Get Up To Speed with OER
https://subjectguides.esc.edu/oeruptospeed
• The OER Starter Kit https://iastate.pressbooks.pub/oerstarterkit/
• Washington State University: Open Educational Resources (OER):
Tools for Affordable Learning
https://libguides.libraries.wsu.edu/affordablelearning/creatingoer

Open Pedagogy
What is Open Pedagogy?
https://opencontent.org/blog/archives/2975
• Ensuring all the materials you use are OER
• Establishing trust with students
• Clearly describe assignments: the assignment is impossible
without the permissions granted by open licenses
• Provide a detailed guide to assessment criteria, and/or
examples of good work
• Invite students to contribute to the revision and improvement
of course materials
• Constructive feedback
• Examples: editorial improvements; adding case studies;
multimedia resources; alignment with certification standards;
alternative formats; accessibility
Getting learners to develop OER can be a good pedagogical
exercise which contributes to the commons.

Next Steps
Practical approaches to becoming ’open’

Contribute to OER World Map
• Create an account / Add yourself as a “person”
• Add your institution if it doesn’t already exist on the map
• Connect your
• Add metadata (languages, education level, subject, etc.)
• Explore!
• “Like” interesting projects, OER and other entries
• Tell your story
• Share your publications
• Share your OER policies
• Raise the profile of your projects
• Publicise events
• Consider becoming a ”country champion” for your area if there is a
vacancy

How do we support
innovation with and through
OER?
Raise awareness of open alternatives
Empower individuals in ways that enable
them to exercise their autonomy
Encourage experimentation in pedagogy and
practice
Develop constructive, critical learning
cultures
Think and act at the level of the ecosystem
Leverage the power of networks

THANK YOU
rob.farrow@open.ac.uk
@philosopher1978
https://iet.open.ac.uk/
oerhub.net

Creating and Using OER

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