Open Educational Resources and the School Library. Presented at EduTech, Future Libraries Congress, Sydney, Australia, 7 June 2018. Teacher Librarians can play a vital role in finding, selecting, curating and promoting Open Educational Resources (OER) to their school communities. Gain an understanding of OER and the issues surrounding OER for K-12 teacher librarians and teachers. Discover a variety of OER and Open Access (OA) repositories and sources suited to K-12 education. Examine strategies and tools employed by teacher librarians to manage and encourage OER use.
Sandra Schaffert: Open Educational Resources as Facilitators of Open Educatio...Sandra Schön (aka Schoen)
In the last few years Open Educational Resources (OER) have gained much attention. Experts who understand OER as a means of leveraging educational practices and outcomes define OER based on the following core attributes: the content is provided free of charge and liberally licensed for re-use in educational activities, the content should ideally be designed for easy re-use, open content standards and formats are being employed, and software is used for which the source code is available (i.e. Open Source software). From January 2006 to December 2007 Open e-Learning Content Observatory Services (OLCOS), a project co-funded by the European Commission under the eLearning Programme, explored how OER can make a difference in teaching and learning. The project aimed at promoting OER through different activities and products such as a European OER roadmap and OER tutorials. We present some results of the roadmap which provides an overview of the OER landscape and describes possible pathways towards a higher level of production, sharing and usage of OER. The roadmap emphasises that the knowledge society demands competencies and skills that require innovative educational practices based on open sharing and evaluation of ideas, fostering of creativity, and teamwork among the learners. Moreover, the roadmap provides recommendations on required measures and actions to support decision making at the level of educational policy and institutions.
The Future is Open: Enhancing Pedagogy via Open Educational PracticesRajiv Jhangiani
Video recording available here: https://youtu.be/HZCxGtAPR9U
"Open educational practices" is a broad term that encompasses the creation and adoption of open textbooks and other open educational resources, open course development, and the use of “non-disposable assignments." This presentation makes a case for why the move away from traditional (closed) practices is not only desirable but inevitable, and how students, faculty, institutions, and our communities all stand to benefit greatly from this transformation.
An introduction to Open Educational Resources (OER) delivered to educational technology masters students. This particular presentation focuses on the issues of materials reuse, produsage, and the shift to open educational practices.
“Open” Access, Open Educational Resources, Open Educational Practices & Open ...Kamel Belhamel
- The concept of OA
- Transition from closed to open resources
- Open Access , OER , OEP & OD
- OER Initiatives in African Countries
- Case Study of the University of Bejaia
Sandra Schaffert: Open Educational Resources as Facilitators of Open Educatio...Sandra Schön (aka Schoen)
In the last few years Open Educational Resources (OER) have gained much attention. Experts who understand OER as a means of leveraging educational practices and outcomes define OER based on the following core attributes: the content is provided free of charge and liberally licensed for re-use in educational activities, the content should ideally be designed for easy re-use, open content standards and formats are being employed, and software is used for which the source code is available (i.e. Open Source software). From January 2006 to December 2007 Open e-Learning Content Observatory Services (OLCOS), a project co-funded by the European Commission under the eLearning Programme, explored how OER can make a difference in teaching and learning. The project aimed at promoting OER through different activities and products such as a European OER roadmap and OER tutorials. We present some results of the roadmap which provides an overview of the OER landscape and describes possible pathways towards a higher level of production, sharing and usage of OER. The roadmap emphasises that the knowledge society demands competencies and skills that require innovative educational practices based on open sharing and evaluation of ideas, fostering of creativity, and teamwork among the learners. Moreover, the roadmap provides recommendations on required measures and actions to support decision making at the level of educational policy and institutions.
The Future is Open: Enhancing Pedagogy via Open Educational PracticesRajiv Jhangiani
Video recording available here: https://youtu.be/HZCxGtAPR9U
"Open educational practices" is a broad term that encompasses the creation and adoption of open textbooks and other open educational resources, open course development, and the use of “non-disposable assignments." This presentation makes a case for why the move away from traditional (closed) practices is not only desirable but inevitable, and how students, faculty, institutions, and our communities all stand to benefit greatly from this transformation.
An introduction to Open Educational Resources (OER) delivered to educational technology masters students. This particular presentation focuses on the issues of materials reuse, produsage, and the shift to open educational practices.
“Open” Access, Open Educational Resources, Open Educational Practices & Open ...Kamel Belhamel
- The concept of OA
- Transition from closed to open resources
- Open Access , OER , OEP & OD
- OER Initiatives in African Countries
- Case Study of the University of Bejaia
“Open” Access, Open Educational Resources, Open Educational Practices & Open ...Lilian Juma
“Open” Access, Open Educational Resources, Open Educational Practices & Open Data Uses in Africa was presented by Kamel Belhamel during OpenCon 2018 Algeria. Kamel is DOAJ Ambassador for North Africa and Middle East
Presentation "Beyond Borders: Global Learning in a Networked World" by Stephen Downes during UNBORDERING EDUCATION forum in Yerevan, Armenia, November 2014.
A crash course on open educational resources which covers the 4 'R's of Openness, access based on ALMS analysis, sustainability models and copyright. It further discusses the current state of OER in Asia. The last part provides a case study for reuse of OER in ODL courses.
According to JISC, learning spaces "should be able to motivate learners and promote learning as an activity, support collaborative as well as formal practice, provide a personalised and inclusive environment, and be flexible in the face of changing needs..." - so what do we really know about them?
Moving from a Traditional Library to a Contemporary iCentre #slanza2015Kathryn Schravemade
Presentation for #slanza2015 with @helenstower1
The iCentre concept is to reimagine and move the traditional role of the school library
as a provider of information and literature to an iCentre which connects learners with
the skills, tools and information necessary for work and success in the 21st century.
Our journey from library to iCentre does not involve a brand new building, it involves
transformed culture, services and spaces. This is very much a story of trial and error
and we don’t claim that we have found a model that will work for every school and
every library - what we do hope is that we can share ideas and something we have
done or experienced will help you on your journey. The story of our journey from a
traditional library to an iCentre is not complete. In fact, we hope it never will be, as
the essence of our journey centres around continuous transformation.
A rich seam__how_new_pedagogies_find_deep_learningCathy Cavanaugh
This paper addresses the issue of the new pedagogy, which is central to the future agenda. The authors show that the new pedagogy is based on a learning partnership between and among students and teachers that taps into the intrinsic motivation of students and teachers alike. These new developments are so attractive that they spread easily and can be furthered by leadership that responds to and enables further learning. Crucially, this new learning is heavily based in the “real world” of action and problem solving, and it is enabled and greatly accelerated by innovations in digital technology. These forces converge to produce deep learning tasks and outcomes.
“Open” Access, Open Educational Resources, Open Educational Practices & Open ...Lilian Juma
“Open” Access, Open Educational Resources, Open Educational Practices & Open Data Uses in Africa was presented by Kamel Belhamel during OpenCon 2018 Algeria. Kamel is DOAJ Ambassador for North Africa and Middle East
Presentation "Beyond Borders: Global Learning in a Networked World" by Stephen Downes during UNBORDERING EDUCATION forum in Yerevan, Armenia, November 2014.
A crash course on open educational resources which covers the 4 'R's of Openness, access based on ALMS analysis, sustainability models and copyright. It further discusses the current state of OER in Asia. The last part provides a case study for reuse of OER in ODL courses.
According to JISC, learning spaces "should be able to motivate learners and promote learning as an activity, support collaborative as well as formal practice, provide a personalised and inclusive environment, and be flexible in the face of changing needs..." - so what do we really know about them?
Moving from a Traditional Library to a Contemporary iCentre #slanza2015Kathryn Schravemade
Presentation for #slanza2015 with @helenstower1
The iCentre concept is to reimagine and move the traditional role of the school library
as a provider of information and literature to an iCentre which connects learners with
the skills, tools and information necessary for work and success in the 21st century.
Our journey from library to iCentre does not involve a brand new building, it involves
transformed culture, services and spaces. This is very much a story of trial and error
and we don’t claim that we have found a model that will work for every school and
every library - what we do hope is that we can share ideas and something we have
done or experienced will help you on your journey. The story of our journey from a
traditional library to an iCentre is not complete. In fact, we hope it never will be, as
the essence of our journey centres around continuous transformation.
A rich seam__how_new_pedagogies_find_deep_learningCathy Cavanaugh
This paper addresses the issue of the new pedagogy, which is central to the future agenda. The authors show that the new pedagogy is based on a learning partnership between and among students and teachers that taps into the intrinsic motivation of students and teachers alike. These new developments are so attractive that they spread easily and can be furthered by leadership that responds to and enables further learning. Crucially, this new learning is heavily based in the “real world” of action and problem solving, and it is enabled and greatly accelerated by innovations in digital technology. These forces converge to produce deep learning tasks and outcomes.
Presentation by the OCW Consortium to the International Association of Scientific and Technological University Libraries. Describes the OER and OCW movements and their relation to the values and work of university libraries.
Overview of open educational resources for university libraries, relating the vision and mission of OER to the Open Access movement in libraries worldwide. Presentation to the International Association of Scientific and Technological University Libraries by the OpenCourseWare Consortium.
According to the Open Education Consortium, “sharing is probably the most basic characteristic of education: education is sharing knowledge, insights, and information with others, upon which new knowledge, skills, ideas, and understanding can be built." Whether they are purchased or freely acquired, librarians should be open to sharing their resources to everyone who wants to use them to enrich their lives through education. Open Education Resources (OER) include resources or tools that can be used and modified for free and without any legal or technical barriers, and when used properly can help foster a transparent culture of learning and engagement in our communities. In this webinar:
• Learn what Open Education Resources (OER) are and how they can be used to engender trust, generate rigorous learning opportunities, and potentially lead to smarter decision-making strategies.
• Discover a variety of OER and Open Access (OA) repositories to find accessible and authoritative resources, including textbooks, to use in curriculum.
• Acquire OER strategies for developing a variety of educational opportunities using a variety of formats.
•Understand various issues (e.g., GDPR) impacting OER in libraries.
Presentation shared during open education week 2016 to educational developers at Vancouver Island University. We cover openness in education, Creative Commons licenses, ways of engaging with open educational resources (OER) and the emergent open pedagogical practices associated with using open resources.
This guest lecture focuses on providing a quick introduction on OER to PhD students in the education stream at Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU). The topics covered are (i) What are OER?; (ii) What are useful OER?; (iii) OER Search; (iv) Useful OER sources; and (v) OER vs. MOOC.
.
Innovation with Open Educational Resources: The State of the ArtRobert Farrow
Keynote presentation at the OpenLang Network Multiplier Event, 10th December 2021. This presentation reflects on more than a decade of innovation in open education.
Open Educational Resources:Strategies to enhance Networking and Collaborative...Ramesh C. Sharma
what are open educational resources, OER initiatives in Asian countries and in India. How WikiEducator can be used to create OERs, WikiEducator India chapter, WikiEducator UPE winners
SPARC Webcast: Libraries Leading the Way on Open Educational ResourcesNicole Allen
This webcast features three librarians who have been leading OER projects on their campuses. Each will provide an overview of the project, discuss the impact achieved for students, and provide practical tips and advice for other campuses exploring OER initiatives.
Marilyn Billings, Scholarly Communication & Special Initiatives Librarian, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries. Marilyn coordinates the Open Education Initiative, which has saved students more than $750,000 since 2011 by working with faculty to identify low-cost and free alternatives to expensive textbooks.
Kristi Jensen, Program Development Lead, eLearning Support Initiative, University of Minnesota Libraries. The University of Minnesota has emerged as a national leader through its Open Textbook Library, which is a searchable catalog of more than 100 open textbooks. The Libraries also partnered with other entities on campus for their Digital Course Pack project, which has helped streamline the course pack process and make materials more affordable for students.
Shan Sutton, Associate University Librarian for Research and Scholarly Communication, Oregon State University Libraries. The OSU libraries are partnering with the OSU Press for a pilot program to develop open access textbooks by OSU faculty members. The program issued an RFP in the fall, and recently announced four winning proposals that will be published in 2014-2015.
Embracing GenAI - A Strategic ImperativePeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
The French Revolution, which began in 1789, was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France. It marked the decline of absolute monarchies, the rise of secular and democratic republics, and the eventual rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. This revolutionary period is crucial in understanding the transition from feudalism to modernity in Europe.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
Palestine last event orientationfvgnh .pptxRaedMohamed3
An EFL lesson about the current events in Palestine. It is intended to be for intermediate students who wish to increase their listening skills through a short lesson in power point.
Operation “Blue Star” is the only event in the history of Independent India where the state went into war with its own people. Even after about 40 years it is not clear if it was culmination of states anger over people of the region, a political game of power or start of dictatorial chapter in the democratic setup.
The people of Punjab felt alienated from main stream due to denial of their just demands during a long democratic struggle since independence. As it happen all over the word, it led to militant struggle with great loss of lives of military, police and civilian personnel. Killing of Indira Gandhi and massacre of innocent Sikhs in Delhi and other India cities was also associated with this movement.
The Roman Empire A Historical Colossus.pdfkaushalkr1407
The Roman Empire, a vast and enduring power, stands as one of history's most remarkable civilizations, leaving an indelible imprint on the world. It emerged from the Roman Republic, transitioning into an imperial powerhouse under the leadership of Augustus Caesar in 27 BCE. This transformation marked the beginning of an era defined by unprecedented territorial expansion, architectural marvels, and profound cultural influence.
The empire's roots lie in the city of Rome, founded, according to legend, by Romulus in 753 BCE. Over centuries, Rome evolved from a small settlement to a formidable republic, characterized by a complex political system with elected officials and checks on power. However, internal strife, class conflicts, and military ambitions paved the way for the end of the Republic. Julius Caesar’s dictatorship and subsequent assassination in 44 BCE created a power vacuum, leading to a civil war. Octavian, later Augustus, emerged victorious, heralding the Roman Empire’s birth.
Under Augustus, the empire experienced the Pax Romana, a 200-year period of relative peace and stability. Augustus reformed the military, established efficient administrative systems, and initiated grand construction projects. The empire's borders expanded, encompassing territories from Britain to Egypt and from Spain to the Euphrates. Roman legions, renowned for their discipline and engineering prowess, secured and maintained these vast territories, building roads, fortifications, and cities that facilitated control and integration.
The Roman Empire’s society was hierarchical, with a rigid class system. At the top were the patricians, wealthy elites who held significant political power. Below them were the plebeians, free citizens with limited political influence, and the vast numbers of slaves who formed the backbone of the economy. The family unit was central, governed by the paterfamilias, the male head who held absolute authority.
Culturally, the Romans were eclectic, absorbing and adapting elements from the civilizations they encountered, particularly the Greeks. Roman art, literature, and philosophy reflected this synthesis, creating a rich cultural tapestry. Latin, the Roman language, became the lingua franca of the Western world, influencing numerous modern languages.
Roman architecture and engineering achievements were monumental. They perfected the arch, vault, and dome, constructing enduring structures like the Colosseum, Pantheon, and aqueducts. These engineering marvels not only showcased Roman ingenuity but also served practical purposes, from public entertainment to water supply.
Acetabularia Information For Class 9 .docxvaibhavrinwa19
Acetabularia acetabulum is a single-celled green alga that in its vegetative state is morphologically differentiated into a basal rhizoid and an axially elongated stalk, which bears whorls of branching hairs. The single diploid nucleus resides in the rhizoid.
Honest Reviews of Tim Han LMA Course Program.pptxtimhan337
Personal development courses are widely available today, with each one promising life-changing outcomes. Tim Han’s Life Mastery Achievers (LMA) Course has drawn a lot of interest. In addition to offering my frank assessment of Success Insider’s LMA Course, this piece examines the course’s effects via a variety of Tim Han LMA course reviews and Success Insider comments.
Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
In Odoo, the multi-company feature allows you to manage multiple companies within a single Odoo database instance. Each company can have its own configurations while still sharing common resources such as products, customers, and suppliers.
1. Open Educational Resources
and the School Library
Karen Malbon
Teacher Librarian
Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School
@kmalbonKaren.Malbon@pegs.vic.edu.au
Open Educational Resources and the School Library by Karen Malbon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
2.
3.
4.
5. “Open Educational
Resources (OERs) are
any type of educational
materials that are in the
public domain or
introduced with an
open license”
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/access-to-knowledge/open-
educational-resources/what-are-open-educational-resources-oers/
16. “Teacher librarians are
educators and information
specialists, so they possess the
skills to evaluate information,
curate it and present it in a
meaningful way for teachers
and students” (Throgmorton, 2017)
18. Name Years Keywords to define Attitudes
Caroline (Australia) 3 Educational, Creative Commons, Share Positive
Max (Australia) 3 Free educational resources Positive
Michelle (Australia) 3 Free online resources Mostly positive
Steven (USA) 1 Free open resources for reuse and/or remix Positive
Kelly (USA) 3 Free online educational resources created by teachers Positive
Tanya (USA) 5 Free resources Positive
Interviewees’ awareness of OER terminology and
attitude towards OER
19.
20. Barriers
• Time
• Need to evaluate
• Lack of awareness by teachers
• Limited ICT skills
• Overwhelming
• Poor user interfaces
21.
22. Benefits
• Alternative to textbooks
• Flexible
• Many aligned with curriculum standards
• Integrate into the digital learning
environment easily
29. Teacher librarians have always “been
around to tame the information flow,
to facilitate discovery and knowledge
building” therefore “digital curation is
a translation and amplification of our
traditional practice” (Valenza, 2017)
30. • LibGuides
• Library website
• Research guides
• Google Classroom
• OneNote
Curation
32. • Talking with teachers
• Faculty meetings
• Conducting professional development
• Being an OER role model
Promotion
33. “Teacher librarians should be at the forefront of
openness and advocate for OER by hosting
professional development to raise awareness of
OER” (Kelly, 2017)
34. “Teacher librarians are experts in copyright
and should be advocating for ethical use of
intellectual property” (Caroline, 2016)
52. OER
• Sharing via email
• Including in research guides
• Curating
• Sharing
• Promoting
53. Teacher Librarians can:
• Be OER leaders
• Advocate for OER
• Collaborate with teachers
• Conduct professional learning
• Curate quality content
54. Further Reading
Case study: Open Educational Resources and the Teacher Librarian
Open Educational Resources (Karen Malbon’s Pearltrees)
55. References
Butcher, N. (2015). A basic guide to open educational resources (OER). Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002158/215804e.pdf
Commonwealth of Learning. (2017). Open educational resources: Global report 2017. Retrieved from http://oasis.col.org/handle/11599/2788
Johnson, D. (2014). Open Educational Resources: On the Web and Free. Educational Leadership, 71(6), 85-86. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=94925713&site=ehost-live
Kanter, B. (2011, October 4). Content curation primer [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.bethkanter.org/content-curation-101/
Kompar, F. (2016). The trending librarian. Teacher Librarian, 44(1), 58-63. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/1830245874?accountid=10344
National Copyright Unit. (n.d.). Open education resources. Retrieved from http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/open-education/open-education-resources
Nussbaum-Beach, S., & Ritter, H. L. (2011). Connected educator, the : learning and leading in a digital age. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au
Thompson, G. (2016). What's hot, and what's losing steam in ed tech in 2016: our expert panelists weigh in on education technology to give us their verdict on which approaches to tech-enabled learning will have a major
impact, which ones are stagnating and which ones might be better forgotten entirely. T H E Journal [Technological Horizons In Education], 43, (1), 24. Retrieved from
http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ps/i.do?p=EAIM&sw=w&u=csu_au&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA446934361&asid=68d6c65a6b87ad00237847cdbdfc9ccc
Throgmorton, K. (2017). Open educational resources: redefining the role of school librarians. American Libraries, 48 (September/October), 16-17. Retrieved from
http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ps/i.do?p=EAIM&sw=w&u=csu_au&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA503640620&asid=07460f35c058ea13d28bf53913d55113
Valenza, J. (2016, February, 28). OER and you: The curation mandate [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://blogs.slj.com/neverendingsearch/2016/02/28/oer-and-you-the-curation-mandate/
Valenza, J. (2017, July 5). Curation situations: Let us count the ways [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://blogs.slj.com/neverendingsearch/2017/07/05/curation-situations-let-us-count-the-ways/
Weller, M., de los Arcos, B., Farrow, R., Pitt, B., & McAndrew, P. (2015). The Impact of OER on Teaching and Learning Practice. Open Praxis, 7(4), 351-361. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.7.4.227
Welz, K. (2017). School librarians and open educational resources aid and implement common core instructional content in the classroom. Knowledge Quest, 45(4), 62-68. Retrieved from
https://search.proquest.com/openview/5fd1b5353f4f22a43d4b71308a64f69f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=6154
White, D., & Manton, M. (2011). JISC-funded OER impact study. Retrieved
https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20140614114921/http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/elearning/oer/OERTheValueOfReuseInHigherEducation.pdf
56. Image Credits
https://pixabay.com/photo-1756962/ https://pixabay.com/photo-
2596976/
https://pixabay.com/photo-1756961/ https://pixabay.com/photo-923523/ https://pixabay.com/photo-1177293/ https://pixabay.com/photo-3219308/
https://pixabay.com/photo-2593903/ https://pixabay.com/photo-
1447068/
https://pixabay.com/photo-3302688/ https://pixabay.com/photo-2071291/ https://pixabay.com/photo-2551351/ https://pixabay.com/photo-362163/
https://pixabay.com/photo-2946023/ https://pixabay.com/photo-
594091/
https://pixabay.com/photo-2654142/ https://pixabay.com/photo-1006574/ https://pixabay.com/photo-1850170/ https://pixabay.com/photo-1632909/
Images without attribution are by Karen Malbon or CC0
57. Open Educational Resources
and the School Library
Karen Malbon
Teacher Librarian
Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School
@kmalbonKaren.Malbon@pegs.vic.edu.au
Open Educational Resources and the School Library by Karen Malbon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Editor's Notes
Good afternoon
I am Karen Malbon, a teacher librarian from Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School, an independent P-12 school in Melbourne’s north west.
Last year I graduated from Charles Sturt University with a Master of Education, Knowledge Networks and Digital Innovation.
While studying I became more and more interested in open education practices and that leads me to today’s presentation on Open Educational Resources and the school library.
I believe teacher librarians have a vital role to play in the discovery, curation and promotion of Open Educational Resources.
I will speak from the perspective of a teacher librarian and use the term teacher librarian, however I hope that whatever title you have in your workplace that you will find something of value in this presentation.
As we are all very much aware, the digital ecosystem for learning has expanded greatly. Open Educational Resources or OER have emerged.
We are no longer limited to resources hidden behind closed doors or commercial resources with restrictive copyright conditions and prohibitive costs.
The doors have opened up and we now have access to Open Educational Resources in a variety of formats.
But what exactly do I mean by OER?
The UNESCO definition of OER is any type of educational materials that are in the public domain or introduced with an open license
Similarly, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation define OER as teaching, learning and research materials in any medium – digital or other wise – 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
OER are not new, they have existed in analog formats for many years. Teachers have shared lessons, worksheets and other resources with their colleagues and not expected anything in return.
However, the recent growth in OER has been facilitated by web 2.0 technologies and the use of open licenses
Digital resources are now abundant because they are easier to create and share with others.
Open Educational Resources include lessons, courses, activities, video, audio, images, interactive simulations, textbooks and ebooks.
They can be created and shared by individuals, cultural institutions, education institutions, non-profit organisations and government departments.
OER is an evolving area and is not mainstream in K-12 education.
While OER has had a presence in higher education since 2001, it has only recently been gaining more attention in K-12.
In 2015 the GoOpen initiative in the USA raised the profile of OER somewhat. School districts are encouraged to use Open Educational Resources because they can provide relevant and up-to-date content, they can increase equity of access, they can empower teachers customise learning and OER can save schools money.
The definitions of OERs referred to open licenses. Creative Commons is the most common framework for open licensing.
With Creative Commons licenses the author seeks to retain copyright over the work but agrees to give away some of those rights through the license.
Attribution of the work and the license is a condition of use. What you can and cannot do with a resource is made clear by the Creative Commons license.
You may see the following icons that designate public domain works. Works that are no longer covered by copyright restrictions may carry these marks.
Often these are old works where the copyright period has expired.
Creators can also choose to put their own work in the public domain.
Most of the images in this presentation have come from an image repository called Pixabay where the creator has decided to allow anyone to freely use their photographs without having to obtain permission.
Attribution is not a requirement of works in the public domain.
OER meet the 5Rs framework whereby users can at the very least reuse a resource.
The most open resources will allow you to do all 5, reuse, revise, remix, redistribute and retain.
Other resources will stipulate certain Rs through the license or conditions of use.
Searching for Open Educational Resources online and navigating OER repositories can be challenging.
This is where teacher librarians and their unique skill set comes in.
Teachers librarians are educators and information specialists. We have the skills to find information, evaluate it, organize, curate it and present it in a meaningful way for students and teachers.
Teacher librarians understand the curriculum and can support time poor teachers by finding and evaluating relevant OER.
Teacher librarians are experts in copyright and ethical use of information and intellectual property.
We have the skills but are we putting them to good use with Open Educational Resources?
My final assessment was a descriptive case study to explore OER in schools.
I interviewed 6 teacher librarians, 3 from Australia and 3 from the USA.
I wanted the six teacher librarians to tell me their OER story.
I also did some document analysis to see what was happening in the digital space of six school libraries.
Again 3 from Australia and 3 from the US. The digital space chosen was LibGuides, a content management system used by many libraries, including school libraries.
As someone relatively new to OER, I wanted to learn what my colleagues knew and expand my own knowledge of OER use in school libraries.
Of the teacher librarians I spoke to all had a similar understanding of what Open Educational Resources were.
As you can see the word free appears frequently and this was mirrored in the digital spaces too with resources referred to as free online resources
The open licensing aspect was only highlighted by Caroline.
The teacher librarians interviewed had positive attitudes towards OER but emphasized that they had to be chosen wisely and used alongside commercial resources or more traditional resources
When asked about the barriers to using OERs common concerns were raised by the interviewees.
Time constraints were seen as the most significant barrier to the adoption of OER by teachers. Traditional resources such as textbooks are seen as an easier option because they have already been through a review process.
OERs need to be carefully evaluated by teachers so a substantial time investment is required, at least initially.
Teacher’s lack of awareness of OERs and what they can offer them was seen as another barrier.
The teacher librarians felt that teachers with limited ICT skills might be overwhelmed by the vast number of resources available and put off by repositories or websites with unfriendly user interfaces.
Although barriers to OER use were identified, the teacher librarians felt that they could overcome most of them.
They could see that OER have plenty of benefits to teachers once they know about them and are willing to explore them further.
The teacher librarians interviewed identified four benefits to OER use.
OER provide an alternative to using textbooks.
OERs are flexible and depending on the license can be used in may different ways and adapted to individual circumstances.
Many OER are aligned with curriculum standards and most repositories have sophisticated search options so that resources for age or subject level can be identified.
Digital OER integrate easily into digital learning environments such as school learning management systems and library catalogues.
Teacher librarians can help teachers and students overcome barriers and see the benefits of using OER.
Teacher Librarians can use their skills in discovery, curation and promotion to do this.
Discovery involves searching multiple sources to find and uncover OER relevant to your school community.
The teacher librarians I spoke to identified the following tools and resources for discovering OER.
Twitter was the most popular tool for discovering OER, closely followed by blogs.
Personal recommendations were highly valued and these came from members of their personal learning networks in real life and online
Journal articles in print and online were another good resource
Searching OER repositories was seen as a one-stop-shop for discovering OER
Teacher Librarians are adept at discovering all kinds of resources including OER.
Curation is something teacher librarians have been doing forever with library collections of print and more recently digital materials.
Curation is to select, organize, annotate and present resources to a particular audience.
Curated resources can be presented in a myriad of ways from text in an email or a simple word document, through to visually appealing webpages or web 2.0 platforms such as Pinterest.
Academic, Joyce Valenza has written a number of articles about OER in schools and the GoOpen initiative in the United States of America. She says teacher librarians should take up the curation mandate for OER.
Because digital curation is an amplification of our tradition practice.
The teacher librarians in this case study used a variety of curation platforms.
LibGuides was used by some interviewees to curate OER.
The library website was another popular platform for curating OER, along with school management systems such as Google Classroom and OneNote
The creation of research guides on specific topics was another method used by the teacher librarians interviewed.
These research guides were often housed within LibGuides, the library website or the school learning management system.
Teacher librarians can discover and curate OER all they like but without promotion they will go unnoticed and unused.
All of the teacher librarians interviewed believed talking with teachers about OER was the best approach so that specific curriculum needs could be targeted using a blend of OER and commercial resources.
Speaking at faculty meetings and conducting professional learning were other strategies suggested.
Being an OER role model and leading by example in the area of ethical use of information was seen as an important way of promoting both OER use and creation.
Interviewee, Kelly from the USA felt conducting professional development could raise awareness of OER amongst teachers.
Caroline from Australia felt that teacher librarians should be advocating for ethical use of information and intellectual property and OER is a great vehicle for initiating these conversations.
Repositories (also known as platforms or portals) contain many resources housed together.
Some repositories contain only OER while others may contain a mix of OER and copyright material.
It is important to check the conditions of use on each resource.
I will now run through a selection of repositories that appeared in the LibGuides examined and that were mentioned by the interviewees.
OER Commons has over 50,000 OER. They include K-12 lesson plans, worksheets, and activities. OER Commons also has open textbooks, university courses and interactive simulations. As mentioned earlier OER Commons is a one-stop-shop for OER.
Scootle is an Australian repository with more that 20,000 digital resources aligned to the Australian Curriculum
Curriki is a community for creating sharing and exploring high quality K-12 content. All resources are vetted and they encourage teachers, students and parents to use them.
Share my lesson has over 420,000 lesson plans and activities with Creative Commons licenses.
Khan Academy would probably be one of the more well known repositories.
Their mission is to provide free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere.
They provide practice exercises and instructional videos in many subject areas.
Gooru is an educational non-profit dedicated to making education equally accessible for students using open-source content.
UnbounEd provides free resources for teachers aligned to US standards. UnboundEd also includes teacher training and professional development resources.
Another well known resource for education is TED and TEDEd. The ability to embed these videos into learning management systems or share them in the classroom is fantastic.
Open Culture contains cultural and educational media from all over the web. You can access audiobooks, online courses, ebooks, textbooks and movies.
I have shared many resources with my teachers and students especially in the areas of art, design and history.
Following Open Culture on social media is a good way of discovering unusual resources.
Project Gutenberg offers over 57,000 free ebooks. It contains older works where the copyright has expired in the US.
For those of us outside of the US we must check the copyright status in our own country before downloading or redistributing them.
Cultural institutions are increasingly making their collections available online. Many offer resources that meet some or all of the 5Rs in the 5Rs framework.
There are too many cultural institutions to mention here today so I will highlight two.
The National Library of Australia’s Trove has a huge number of digitized resources available. Newspapers, images, maps, books, diaries, letters and more. Terms of use vary but many items are in the public domain.
Europeana contains material from museums, galleries, libraries and archives from all over Europe. Explore artworks, artefacts, books, videos and sounds by theme or keyword.
You can find many more cultural institutions in my two curated collections linked to this slide.
Open textbooks are mostly aimed at the tertiary sector at present, however teachers and senior students may find them useful. Some repositories do contain high school level material. Search by level to discover them.
As I mentioned earlier most of the images in this presentation are from Pixabay, an image repository that contains public domain images. There are lots of other image sources too.
I have a few listed here and more can be found in my curated collection images and audio.
Music and sound that is in the public domain or has creative commons licenses can be found on the Free Music Archive, Jamendo and ccMixter.
As you have seen there are many repositories to explore.
Do not get overwhelmed, start with one or two of interest to you or your school community and slowly explore more at your own pace.
So how am I using OER?
For a number of years I have been sharing specific OERs that I have discovered through a cultural institutions or via my PLN with individual teachers by email..
I am including OERs in research guides that I create to support the curriculum. These research guides are available on our school library website.
Over time I have been curating repositories, using the web 2.0 curation platform Pearltrees.
I have been sharing what I know with the library team at my school and more widely at external seminars such as this.
I have to admit that I haven’t done a lot to promote OERs to my school community so far. This is my next challenge.
I still have lots to learn and do with OERs.
I encourage you to become the OER experts in your school.
Be a leader, advocate for OER, collaborate with your teachers, conduct professional learning one-on-one or with a group and curate quality content as you discover it.
Thank you for you time this afternoon and enjoy the rest of your time at EduTech.