Authors: Sandra Schaffert, Guntram Geser.
In the last few years, Open Educational Resources (OER) have gained much attention. From January 2006 to December 2007 the 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.
Innovating Open Education: Critical Pathways and Communities of PracticeRobert Farrow
This presentation from Open Education Global 2021 provides an overview of the ENCORE+ project (https://encoreproject.eu/) and discusses the relationship between open educational resources (OER) and innovation, identifying strategies for knowledge exchange.
From OER to OEP: Shifting Practitioner Perspectives and Practices with Innova...Shironica Karunanayaka
Winner of an ICDE Prize for Innovation and Best Practice - 2015
“From OER to OEP: Shifting Practitioner Perspectives and Practices with Innovative Learning Experience Design” - Shironica P. Karunanayaka, Som Naidu, J.C.N. Rajendra & H.U.W. Ratnayake
The Open University of Sri Lanka
ICDE Report: UNESCO Chairs in OER, International Meeting Krakow, Poland April...icdeslides
The UNESCO Open Educational Resources (OER) Chairs Meeting is being held within the framework of the Open Education Global Conference 2016 in Poland.
Participants in this global conference were able to hear from thought leaders in open education and had the opportunity to share ideas, practices and discuss issues important to the future of education worldwide. Sessions cover new developments in open education, research results, innovative technology, policy development and implementation, and practical solutions to challenges facing education around the world.
OER - Open Educational Resources: finding, reusing, sharingLangOER
Slides of the webinar organised within the I-LINC project learning event 'First Steps for use of technology in the classroom – Towards Digital Citizenship and Inclusion'
Pathways to Learning: International Collaboration Under Covid-19Robert Farrow
The Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (OER) (UNESCO) emphasizes in its key aims the importance of (i) “developing the capacity of all key education stakeholders to create, access, re-use, re-purpose, adapt, and redistribute OER, as well as to use and apply open licenses in a manner consistent with national copyright legislation and international obligations” and (ii) “fostering and facilitating international cooperation [by] supporting international cooperation between stakeholders”.
Both these aspects were present in a recent open education research collaboration between The African Council for Distance Education and The Open University (UK). Pathways to Learning: new approaches in higher education (OpenLearn) hosted two free professional development programmes for university lecturers, instructional designers, technical and professional staff, managers, and heads of department who share responsibility for providing quality distance and online learning.
The evaluation of the Pathways to Learning project provides a great touchstone for reflecting on the kinds of agile, open collaboration that can build international capacity for OER projects and the communities that sustain them.
Innovating Open Education: Critical Pathways and Communities of PracticeRobert Farrow
This presentation from Open Education Global 2021 provides an overview of the ENCORE+ project (https://encoreproject.eu/) and discusses the relationship between open educational resources (OER) and innovation, identifying strategies for knowledge exchange.
From OER to OEP: Shifting Practitioner Perspectives and Practices with Innova...Shironica Karunanayaka
Winner of an ICDE Prize for Innovation and Best Practice - 2015
“From OER to OEP: Shifting Practitioner Perspectives and Practices with Innovative Learning Experience Design” - Shironica P. Karunanayaka, Som Naidu, J.C.N. Rajendra & H.U.W. Ratnayake
The Open University of Sri Lanka
ICDE Report: UNESCO Chairs in OER, International Meeting Krakow, Poland April...icdeslides
The UNESCO Open Educational Resources (OER) Chairs Meeting is being held within the framework of the Open Education Global Conference 2016 in Poland.
Participants in this global conference were able to hear from thought leaders in open education and had the opportunity to share ideas, practices and discuss issues important to the future of education worldwide. Sessions cover new developments in open education, research results, innovative technology, policy development and implementation, and practical solutions to challenges facing education around the world.
OER - Open Educational Resources: finding, reusing, sharingLangOER
Slides of the webinar organised within the I-LINC project learning event 'First Steps for use of technology in the classroom – Towards Digital Citizenship and Inclusion'
Pathways to Learning: International Collaboration Under Covid-19Robert Farrow
The Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (OER) (UNESCO) emphasizes in its key aims the importance of (i) “developing the capacity of all key education stakeholders to create, access, re-use, re-purpose, adapt, and redistribute OER, as well as to use and apply open licenses in a manner consistent with national copyright legislation and international obligations” and (ii) “fostering and facilitating international cooperation [by] supporting international cooperation between stakeholders”.
Both these aspects were present in a recent open education research collaboration between The African Council for Distance Education and The Open University (UK). Pathways to Learning: new approaches in higher education (OpenLearn) hosted two free professional development programmes for university lecturers, instructional designers, technical and professional staff, managers, and heads of department who share responsibility for providing quality distance and online learning.
The evaluation of the Pathways to Learning project provides a great touchstone for reflecting on the kinds of agile, open collaboration that can build international capacity for OER projects and the communities that sustain them.
Open Technology - The 3rd Pillar of Open EducationClint Lalonde
Presentation to KPU March 30, 2017 for Open Education Week.
The Open Education movement has gained a great deal of traction in the 10 years since the groundbreaking 2007 Capetown Declaration on Open Education, due largely in part to the increasing acceptance and use of Open Educational Resources (OER), like open textbooks. Recently, a second wave of open educators have begun to emphasize the importance of a new emerging pedagogical model enabled by open education, referred to as open pedagogy.
In addition to OER and open pedagogy, a third pillar of the open education movement revolves around the importance of open technologies. The 2007 Capetown Declaration sates that, "open education is not limited to just open educational resources. It also draws upon open technologies that facilitate collaborative, flexible learning and the open sharing of teaching practices that empower educators to benefit from the best ideas of their colleagues."
In British Columbia, a small ad hoc group of educators known as the BC Open EdTech Collaborative has been quietly experimenting with different open technologies that have the potential to support open education practices, and with different models to be able to support users of open education technologies.
In this session, Clint Lalonde will talk about the connection between open education and open source software, the importance of open technologies to the open education movement, and will demonstrate some of the open education technologies that the BC Open EdTech Collaborative have been exploring.
This presentation summarises several theories of innovation; explaining their relevance and potential for open education in Europe. These frameworks are likely to be of interest to practitioners wishing to have a stronger theoretical and practical understanding of how OER can support innovative practice.
Ramirez-Montoya (2020) recently presented a review of literature pertaining OER and educational innovation, noting that although definitions of openness vary across sectoral spaces, the crossover between openness and innovation is an area of increasing interest. A core part of the story of open educational resources is that they can be used to create spaces for innovation in teaching and learning (Orr et al., 2015; Pitt & Smyth, 2017; Weller et al., 2015). As Coughlan et al. (2018) argue, there has been a lack of detailed analysis of the specific function of OER as a driver of innovation, and a single model has not yet captured the multi-faceted relationship between openness and innovation.
Several theories of innovation - including the Task-Artefact Cycle (Carroll, Kellog & Rosson, 1991); the "diffusion of innovations" (Rogers, 2010); the SAMR framework (Puentedura, 2006; Orr et al., 2015); the Cyclic Innovation Model (Berkhout, 2007); and the Forms of innovation in OER (Coughlan, Pitt & Farrow, 2018) - will be outlined and contextualised. These will be used to describe ways to think about innovation in the context of open education.
This presentation contributes to the European Network for Catalysing Open Resources in Education (ENCORE+, 2021), a pan-European Knowledge Alliance funded under the Erasmus+ programme. The project is running from 2021 to 2023 to support the modernisation of education in the European area through OER.
https://i-he2021.exordo.com/programme/presentation/28
This talk was given at a multiplier event organised by the University of Wolverhampton as part of the MOONLITE project (refugees, languages and moocs). In this presentation I share the experiences and approaches used to design one of the first MOOCs allround, and the first MOOC focused on mobile learning. The presentation looks at pedagogy, technology, community and impact of the course.
Show & TEL Ethics & Technology-Enhanced Learning Robert Farrow
This presentation reviews the state of the art with respect to the use of artificial intelligence in education, reflecting on the ethical aspects and implications with particular reference to distance education.
Building the 21st Century OER EcosystemRobert Farrow
This presentation offers insights into realizing a European-wide OER Ecosystem. ENCORE+ (European Network for Catalysing Open Resources in Education, www.encoreproject.eu) is building a regional Ecosystem for OER, focused along four engaging circle communities on the following four topics: OER Technology, Policies & Practice, Quality and Innovation & Business Models. The initiative is open to anyone interested in furthering the implementation of the OER Recommendation.
The presentation will highlight results from a pan-European stakeholder survey on OER to give a state of play for the sector. The survey, due completed in September 2021, will be mapping the perceived value of using open educational resources, including its potential and current implementation. At the time of the conference, the project will have hosted two events, specifically events for the circle communities on Policies & Practice and Innovation & Business Models. Results and discussions from these two events will be shared with the Open Education Conference audience, giving an opportunity to continue the discussions after the presentation.
The collaborative community model, described as circle communities, is the ENCORE+ approach to engaging a wide range of stakeholders in and outside Europe. The community will be coming together to solve issues and catalyse change through identifying innovation potential, collaboration opportunities and in general increasing the awareness, implementation and potential of OER.
The presentation focuses on findings from research and circle community events on community needs, collaboration and innovation potential within OER. This will give the participants unique insights into real experiences of building a cross-sectoral, multistakeholder community for OER. The presentation will be split into shorter segments, giving broad insights into the ongoing work with the Ecosystem. Engagement with the audience, through available channels, during and after the presentation will give an opportunity for the participants to elaborate and discuss points of the presentation, including findings, and the ecosystem model overall.
https://opened21.sched.com/event/moQZ/building-the-21st-century-oer-ecosystem
The Global OER Graduate Network (GO-GN): Engaging Doctoral Research with Open...Robert Farrow
This workshop was led by the Global OER Graduate Network (GO-GN) team (http://go-gn.net/). GO-GN is a network of PhD candidates around the world whose research projects include a focus on open education. These doctoral researchers are at the core of the network while around them, experts, supervisors, mentors and interested parties connect to form a community of practice. Considering the growth of open research and the commitment of research funders to follow this approach, there is a need to understand what open research practices imply. This involves understanding the benefits and challenges of making research more visible to increase impact and opportunities for collaboration with other researchers when doing a PhD and when pursuing a career in academia.
The workshop will focus on introducing the network possibilities for PhD students, including worldwide support to those researching in the different areas of open education. We will expose the values of the network promoting equity and inclusion in the field of open education research and introduce the different types of events we host such as an annual face-to-face workshop and online events. As well, we will discuss the support for alumni and members with a funded fellowship scheme and the acknowledgement of our members’ achievements through our annual awards. At the second part of the workshop, we will have a practical exercise with the audience to promote the co-authoring of research publications with our members. Two examples of those which will be disclosed are the research methods handbook, awarded with the 2020 Open Education Award for Excellence Winner, and the Research Review Summer 2020.
How can OER enhance the position of less used languages on a global scale?
Workshop at the OCW Consortium global conference, Ljubljana 25 April 2014
Gard Titlestad, Secretary General, International Council For Open and Distance Education, ICDE
Towards the connected and collaborative educational landscapeicdeslides
At the International Association of Universities, IAU, International Conference 29 October 2015, a session discussed e-learning and cross-border higher education. This presentation gives and global overview of the development, trends, driving forces and gives examples of major changes pointing towards the connected and collaborative educational landscape. However, direction and action is needed so sound policies are to be decided and implemented to harvest the benefits from quality online, open and flexible higher education.
Intro to and overview of Open Educaiton with an empnasis on the Why, from philosophical to economic arguments. Practicing what we preach - this is a mash-up using openly licensed presentations from other open education advocates along with original ones (and lots of pics). All licenses (except screenshots) are attached to the relvant slides. Any questions, just contact us at feedback@oeconsortium.org.
The big gaps in education, the trends in online, open and flexible education and the drivers for open creates the background for benchmarking the Nordic countries towards the globe. Competitiveness and innovation, Human capital, Network and technology readiness are benchmarks. So what: What are key concept to approach to go digital? Online, Open and Analytics are game changers - but not without leadership for change.
Developing an online course on telecollaboration for teachers: A reflection o...Angelos Konstantinidis
Telecollaboration is flourishing yet there are still few courses in higher education that offer to in-service teachers the fundamental theoretical and practical knowledge necessary to organise and conduct a telecollaborative project in their own educational settings. This paper aims to provide a resource to teacher educators and course designers who seek to design a course on telecollaboration in higher or post-secondary education. Through reflective practice (Bolton, 2018) and adhering to the principles of educational design research (McKenney & Reeves, 2012), the process of design and development of an online master’s course for language teachers is described. The article begins by describing the context and discussing the underlying rationale and overall course aims and learning outcomes, while the syllabus and assessment tasks are reviewed next. Course evaluation throughout the years is briefly reported as well as other outcomes. The study concludes by pondering on the challenges faced.
Building an Open Operations Room for the OER Community #opened16Robert Farrow
Presentation of the OER World Map project from Open Education 2016 held in Richmond, VA (USA) in November 2016. These slides were written by Jan Neumann (lead) and Rob Farrow.
Enhancing Research Communities Through Open Collaboration: The GO-GN Guide to...Robert Farrow
Research plays a key role in our understanding of open education, and is highlighted in the Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (OER) (UNESCO, 2019) as essential for describing the impact of open education; building awareness among key stakeholders; enhancing quality; and forming connections and communities.
The Global OER Graduate Network (GO-GN) is a network of PhD candidates and experts around the world whose research projects include a focus on open education. The Network has more than 300 global members who form a community of practice and support. GO-GN is currently funded through the OER programme of The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and administered by the Open Education Research Hub from the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University, UK.
One central aim for the Network is supporting research in the emergent area of open education, and our researchers are encouraged to explore openness as a research vector. The resources produced by the Network reflect this. Last year, GO-GN produced a well-received guide to Research Methods in Open Education (Farrow et al., 2020) which was recognised as a winner in the Open Education Awards for Excellence.
In 2021 GO-GN publishes a companion volume. The GO-GN Guide to Conceptual Frameworks (Farrow et al., 2021) again combines an accessible narrative and visual style with real-life insights gleaned from practising researchers who are using these theories, concepts and models in cutting edge work.
This presentation provides an overview of the new guide and the open, collaborative production process, emphasizing practical strategies for completing research projects. It will be of interest to anyone who conducts research and/or forms policy in the open education space, but particularly for doctoral level researchers.
Ramirez-Montoya (2020) recently presented a review of literature pertaining OER and educational innovation, noting that although definitions of openness vary across sectoral spaces, the crossover between openness and innovation is an area of increasing interest. A core part of the story of open educational resources is that they can be used to create spaces for innovation in teaching and learning (Orr et al., 2015; Pitt & Smyth, 2017; Weller et al., 2015). As Coughlan et al. (2018) argue, there has been a lack of detailed analysis of the specific function of OER as a driver of innovation, and a single model has not yet captured the multi-faceted relationship between openness and innovation.
This presentation will present an overview of several major theories of innovation as they relate to contexts of open education, making clear connections to open educational practice and showing how innovation theories can apply to OER. The presentation is likely to be of interest to practitioners wishing to have a stronger theoretical and practical understanding of how OER can support innovative practice.
• Task-Artefact Cycle (Carroll, Kellog & Rosson, 1991)
• The diffusion of innovations theory (Rogers, 2010)
• SAMR framework (Puentedura, 2006; Orr et al., 2015)
• Cyclic Innovation Model (Berkhout, 2007)
• Forms of innovation in OER (Coughlan, Pitt & Farrow, 2018)
This work contributes to the European Network for Catalysing Open Resources in Education (ENCORE+). ENCORE+ is a pan-European Knowledge Alliance funded under the Erasmus+ programme. The project will run from 2021 to 2023 to support the modernisation of education in the European area through OER.
Enhancing patients’ employability through informal eLearning while at hospitaeLearning Papers
Author: Holger Bienzle.
Access to lifelong learning provisions for all citizens and enhancement of their employabilty are central aims of European policies in education and training. eHospital, a European pilot project seeks to bring learning opportunities to people who do not normally have the chance to learn: adult patients who are forced to spend a longer period of time in hospitals.
Rapid e-learning, as an informal educational tool for advanced studentseLearning Papers
Author: Nicolò Antonio Piave.
This article deals with the possibility of introducing rapid e-learning software, usually used by teachers and content producers, into a hybrid learning paradigm and informal educational tool.
Open Technology - The 3rd Pillar of Open EducationClint Lalonde
Presentation to KPU March 30, 2017 for Open Education Week.
The Open Education movement has gained a great deal of traction in the 10 years since the groundbreaking 2007 Capetown Declaration on Open Education, due largely in part to the increasing acceptance and use of Open Educational Resources (OER), like open textbooks. Recently, a second wave of open educators have begun to emphasize the importance of a new emerging pedagogical model enabled by open education, referred to as open pedagogy.
In addition to OER and open pedagogy, a third pillar of the open education movement revolves around the importance of open technologies. The 2007 Capetown Declaration sates that, "open education is not limited to just open educational resources. It also draws upon open technologies that facilitate collaborative, flexible learning and the open sharing of teaching practices that empower educators to benefit from the best ideas of their colleagues."
In British Columbia, a small ad hoc group of educators known as the BC Open EdTech Collaborative has been quietly experimenting with different open technologies that have the potential to support open education practices, and with different models to be able to support users of open education technologies.
In this session, Clint Lalonde will talk about the connection between open education and open source software, the importance of open technologies to the open education movement, and will demonstrate some of the open education technologies that the BC Open EdTech Collaborative have been exploring.
This presentation summarises several theories of innovation; explaining their relevance and potential for open education in Europe. These frameworks are likely to be of interest to practitioners wishing to have a stronger theoretical and practical understanding of how OER can support innovative practice.
Ramirez-Montoya (2020) recently presented a review of literature pertaining OER and educational innovation, noting that although definitions of openness vary across sectoral spaces, the crossover between openness and innovation is an area of increasing interest. A core part of the story of open educational resources is that they can be used to create spaces for innovation in teaching and learning (Orr et al., 2015; Pitt & Smyth, 2017; Weller et al., 2015). As Coughlan et al. (2018) argue, there has been a lack of detailed analysis of the specific function of OER as a driver of innovation, and a single model has not yet captured the multi-faceted relationship between openness and innovation.
Several theories of innovation - including the Task-Artefact Cycle (Carroll, Kellog & Rosson, 1991); the "diffusion of innovations" (Rogers, 2010); the SAMR framework (Puentedura, 2006; Orr et al., 2015); the Cyclic Innovation Model (Berkhout, 2007); and the Forms of innovation in OER (Coughlan, Pitt & Farrow, 2018) - will be outlined and contextualised. These will be used to describe ways to think about innovation in the context of open education.
This presentation contributes to the European Network for Catalysing Open Resources in Education (ENCORE+, 2021), a pan-European Knowledge Alliance funded under the Erasmus+ programme. The project is running from 2021 to 2023 to support the modernisation of education in the European area through OER.
https://i-he2021.exordo.com/programme/presentation/28
This talk was given at a multiplier event organised by the University of Wolverhampton as part of the MOONLITE project (refugees, languages and moocs). In this presentation I share the experiences and approaches used to design one of the first MOOCs allround, and the first MOOC focused on mobile learning. The presentation looks at pedagogy, technology, community and impact of the course.
Show & TEL Ethics & Technology-Enhanced Learning Robert Farrow
This presentation reviews the state of the art with respect to the use of artificial intelligence in education, reflecting on the ethical aspects and implications with particular reference to distance education.
Building the 21st Century OER EcosystemRobert Farrow
This presentation offers insights into realizing a European-wide OER Ecosystem. ENCORE+ (European Network for Catalysing Open Resources in Education, www.encoreproject.eu) is building a regional Ecosystem for OER, focused along four engaging circle communities on the following four topics: OER Technology, Policies & Practice, Quality and Innovation & Business Models. The initiative is open to anyone interested in furthering the implementation of the OER Recommendation.
The presentation will highlight results from a pan-European stakeholder survey on OER to give a state of play for the sector. The survey, due completed in September 2021, will be mapping the perceived value of using open educational resources, including its potential and current implementation. At the time of the conference, the project will have hosted two events, specifically events for the circle communities on Policies & Practice and Innovation & Business Models. Results and discussions from these two events will be shared with the Open Education Conference audience, giving an opportunity to continue the discussions after the presentation.
The collaborative community model, described as circle communities, is the ENCORE+ approach to engaging a wide range of stakeholders in and outside Europe. The community will be coming together to solve issues and catalyse change through identifying innovation potential, collaboration opportunities and in general increasing the awareness, implementation and potential of OER.
The presentation focuses on findings from research and circle community events on community needs, collaboration and innovation potential within OER. This will give the participants unique insights into real experiences of building a cross-sectoral, multistakeholder community for OER. The presentation will be split into shorter segments, giving broad insights into the ongoing work with the Ecosystem. Engagement with the audience, through available channels, during and after the presentation will give an opportunity for the participants to elaborate and discuss points of the presentation, including findings, and the ecosystem model overall.
https://opened21.sched.com/event/moQZ/building-the-21st-century-oer-ecosystem
The Global OER Graduate Network (GO-GN): Engaging Doctoral Research with Open...Robert Farrow
This workshop was led by the Global OER Graduate Network (GO-GN) team (http://go-gn.net/). GO-GN is a network of PhD candidates around the world whose research projects include a focus on open education. These doctoral researchers are at the core of the network while around them, experts, supervisors, mentors and interested parties connect to form a community of practice. Considering the growth of open research and the commitment of research funders to follow this approach, there is a need to understand what open research practices imply. This involves understanding the benefits and challenges of making research more visible to increase impact and opportunities for collaboration with other researchers when doing a PhD and when pursuing a career in academia.
The workshop will focus on introducing the network possibilities for PhD students, including worldwide support to those researching in the different areas of open education. We will expose the values of the network promoting equity and inclusion in the field of open education research and introduce the different types of events we host such as an annual face-to-face workshop and online events. As well, we will discuss the support for alumni and members with a funded fellowship scheme and the acknowledgement of our members’ achievements through our annual awards. At the second part of the workshop, we will have a practical exercise with the audience to promote the co-authoring of research publications with our members. Two examples of those which will be disclosed are the research methods handbook, awarded with the 2020 Open Education Award for Excellence Winner, and the Research Review Summer 2020.
How can OER enhance the position of less used languages on a global scale?
Workshop at the OCW Consortium global conference, Ljubljana 25 April 2014
Gard Titlestad, Secretary General, International Council For Open and Distance Education, ICDE
Towards the connected and collaborative educational landscapeicdeslides
At the International Association of Universities, IAU, International Conference 29 October 2015, a session discussed e-learning and cross-border higher education. This presentation gives and global overview of the development, trends, driving forces and gives examples of major changes pointing towards the connected and collaborative educational landscape. However, direction and action is needed so sound policies are to be decided and implemented to harvest the benefits from quality online, open and flexible higher education.
Intro to and overview of Open Educaiton with an empnasis on the Why, from philosophical to economic arguments. Practicing what we preach - this is a mash-up using openly licensed presentations from other open education advocates along with original ones (and lots of pics). All licenses (except screenshots) are attached to the relvant slides. Any questions, just contact us at feedback@oeconsortium.org.
The big gaps in education, the trends in online, open and flexible education and the drivers for open creates the background for benchmarking the Nordic countries towards the globe. Competitiveness and innovation, Human capital, Network and technology readiness are benchmarks. So what: What are key concept to approach to go digital? Online, Open and Analytics are game changers - but not without leadership for change.
Developing an online course on telecollaboration for teachers: A reflection o...Angelos Konstantinidis
Telecollaboration is flourishing yet there are still few courses in higher education that offer to in-service teachers the fundamental theoretical and practical knowledge necessary to organise and conduct a telecollaborative project in their own educational settings. This paper aims to provide a resource to teacher educators and course designers who seek to design a course on telecollaboration in higher or post-secondary education. Through reflective practice (Bolton, 2018) and adhering to the principles of educational design research (McKenney & Reeves, 2012), the process of design and development of an online master’s course for language teachers is described. The article begins by describing the context and discussing the underlying rationale and overall course aims and learning outcomes, while the syllabus and assessment tasks are reviewed next. Course evaluation throughout the years is briefly reported as well as other outcomes. The study concludes by pondering on the challenges faced.
Building an Open Operations Room for the OER Community #opened16Robert Farrow
Presentation of the OER World Map project from Open Education 2016 held in Richmond, VA (USA) in November 2016. These slides were written by Jan Neumann (lead) and Rob Farrow.
Enhancing Research Communities Through Open Collaboration: The GO-GN Guide to...Robert Farrow
Research plays a key role in our understanding of open education, and is highlighted in the Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (OER) (UNESCO, 2019) as essential for describing the impact of open education; building awareness among key stakeholders; enhancing quality; and forming connections and communities.
The Global OER Graduate Network (GO-GN) is a network of PhD candidates and experts around the world whose research projects include a focus on open education. The Network has more than 300 global members who form a community of practice and support. GO-GN is currently funded through the OER programme of The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and administered by the Open Education Research Hub from the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University, UK.
One central aim for the Network is supporting research in the emergent area of open education, and our researchers are encouraged to explore openness as a research vector. The resources produced by the Network reflect this. Last year, GO-GN produced a well-received guide to Research Methods in Open Education (Farrow et al., 2020) which was recognised as a winner in the Open Education Awards for Excellence.
In 2021 GO-GN publishes a companion volume. The GO-GN Guide to Conceptual Frameworks (Farrow et al., 2021) again combines an accessible narrative and visual style with real-life insights gleaned from practising researchers who are using these theories, concepts and models in cutting edge work.
This presentation provides an overview of the new guide and the open, collaborative production process, emphasizing practical strategies for completing research projects. It will be of interest to anyone who conducts research and/or forms policy in the open education space, but particularly for doctoral level researchers.
Ramirez-Montoya (2020) recently presented a review of literature pertaining OER and educational innovation, noting that although definitions of openness vary across sectoral spaces, the crossover between openness and innovation is an area of increasing interest. A core part of the story of open educational resources is that they can be used to create spaces for innovation in teaching and learning (Orr et al., 2015; Pitt & Smyth, 2017; Weller et al., 2015). As Coughlan et al. (2018) argue, there has been a lack of detailed analysis of the specific function of OER as a driver of innovation, and a single model has not yet captured the multi-faceted relationship between openness and innovation.
This presentation will present an overview of several major theories of innovation as they relate to contexts of open education, making clear connections to open educational practice and showing how innovation theories can apply to OER. The presentation is likely to be of interest to practitioners wishing to have a stronger theoretical and practical understanding of how OER can support innovative practice.
• Task-Artefact Cycle (Carroll, Kellog & Rosson, 1991)
• The diffusion of innovations theory (Rogers, 2010)
• SAMR framework (Puentedura, 2006; Orr et al., 2015)
• Cyclic Innovation Model (Berkhout, 2007)
• Forms of innovation in OER (Coughlan, Pitt & Farrow, 2018)
This work contributes to the European Network for Catalysing Open Resources in Education (ENCORE+). ENCORE+ is a pan-European Knowledge Alliance funded under the Erasmus+ programme. The project will run from 2021 to 2023 to support the modernisation of education in the European area through OER.
Enhancing patients’ employability through informal eLearning while at hospitaeLearning Papers
Author: Holger Bienzle.
Access to lifelong learning provisions for all citizens and enhancement of their employabilty are central aims of European policies in education and training. eHospital, a European pilot project seeks to bring learning opportunities to people who do not normally have the chance to learn: adult patients who are forced to spend a longer period of time in hospitals.
Rapid e-learning, as an informal educational tool for advanced studentseLearning Papers
Author: Nicolò Antonio Piave.
This article deals with the possibility of introducing rapid e-learning software, usually used by teachers and content producers, into a hybrid learning paradigm and informal educational tool.
A digital literacy proposal in online Higher Education: the UOC scenarioeLearning Papers
Authors: Montse Guitert, Teresa Romeu.
Universities have a key role in providing students with strategies and competences to allow them to be part of the current information society and hence to be able to develop a productive career.
The underground rivers of innovative e-Learning: a preview from the HELIOS Ye...eLearning Papers
Authors: Claudio Dondi.
The article is a preview of the HELIOS Yearly Report 2007, the final publication of the HELIOS project, which will present the main e-Learning developments of the past two years in Europe and review the debate on ICT-related innovation in education and training systems.
Author: Richard Straub.
We talk about open societies, open innovation, open standards, open ecosystems, open source and open architectures. The idea of “openness” is emerging as a dominant attribute of key developments in our economic and social fabric. Richard Straub argues in this paper that “openness” is the defining quality of 21st century globalisation.
Reflections on sustaining Open Educational Resources: an institutional case s...eLearning Papers
Author: Andy Lane.
This paper reviews some of the literature on the sustainability of Open Educational Resources (OER) and what it has to say about successful or sustainable open content projects on the internet.
Digital Literacy for the Third Age: Sustaining Identity in an Uncertain WorldeLearning Papers
Author: Allan Martin.
The world in which we live – the world of late modernity – is characterised by a deep uncertainty; uncertainty not only about the foundations of social structure, but also about individual identity.
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.
OER Models that Build a Culture of Collaboration: A Case Exemplified by CurrikieLearning Papers
Author: Barbara (Bobbi) Kurshan.
This article explores the impact that Open Educational Resources (OER) can have on eliminating the “Education Divide.” Advances in information technologies have created unique opportunities for the free exchange and access to knowledge on a global scale.
Presentation of Andreia Inamorato, European Commission, Joint Research Centre, for the Open Education Week's third day webinar on "Ongoing initiatives for Open Education in Europe" - 6 March 2019
Recordings of the discussion are available: https://eden-online.adobeconnect.com/pcpo9gbaq1t1/
Author: Patrick McAndrew
OER are becoming accepted as part of the range of materials that learners and educators can use.
However, the methods and practices that enable learners, teachers and institutions to best engage with OER are not yet established and may well be more important in enabling change in education systems than the availability of the resources themselves.
Open Education & Open Educational Services (short)Andreas Meiszner
An introduction to Open Education & Open Educational Services, including information on the openSE & openEd 2.0 projects.
Short version for European Learning Industry Group meeting (Cambrige, 13 – 14 September 2010)
OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR ONLINE LANGUAGE TEACHER TRAINING: CONCEPTUAL F...IJITE
This paper discusses a conceptual framework for the design of Open Educational Resources (OERs) for
online language teacher training including an example of practical implementation. The authors identify in
the principles of micro- and macro- learning, cognitive load theory and Threshold Concepts (TCs), the key
elements that lead to the creation of effective OERs designed for the Lilac Project which aims to support
language teachers in managing online learning environments. Data from questionnaires and focus groups
were utilised to establish a set of TCs connected to online language teaching. These were then crossreferenced with existing TCs, and utilised to create micro learning content that does not negatively impact
the cognitive load, but, at the same time, is positioned within a larger macro structure that allows for the
development of deeper knowledge and competences. The structure of Lilac OERs will be presented as a
practical example of how the potential of technologies to support learning can be embedded in online
contexts.
Examples of successful Open Education strategies in Higher EducationFabio Nascimbeni
The presentation introduces some successful strategies of universities that have opened up their offer, together with some reflections on how this could be done in the Mediterranean region.
The document is a guideline intended at policymakers, outlining a list of measures required for Open Educational Practices to reach their full potential in education systems.
Original available at www.efquel.org
It was released as part of Open Education Week, based on work done in the OPAL (www.oer-quality.org) project.
ENCORE+: Your Place in the Open EcosystemRobert Farrow
The objective of this workshop is to give the participants an opportunity to imagine and recreate their work and business as Open. The workshop is focused on Open Educational Resources (OER), and on its applicability and benefit to business, innovation and technology in lifelong learning.
This workshop is designed to take the participants through a simulation experience, where each participant will imagine the business potential, innovation potential and technological changes available and possible for their work to be open (more open).
The workshop is facilitated by the European Network for Catalysing Open Resources in Education (ENCORE+). ENCORE+ is a European Commission funded project, aimed at establishing a European OER Ecosystem, for both academia and business.
The participants will be presented with research and findings from the project, directly linked to enabling their work to be open, profitable and innovative. Representatives from ENCORE+ business partners will showcase real-life examples of how OER is integral to their work and business as part of the introduction to the workshop.
The workshop is suited to all participants who are interested in OER, regardless of knowledge and experience with OER. The workshop is interactive, with practical simulation tasks guided by ENCORE+ facilitators and ENCORE+ OER research.
OER in the Mobile Era: Content Repositories’ Features for Mobile Devices and ...eLearning Papers
Learning objects and open contents have been named in the Horizon reports from 2004 and 2010 respectively, predicting to have an impact in the short term due to the current trend of offering open content for free on the Web. OER repositories should adapt their features so their contents can be accessed from mobile devices. This paper summarizes recent trends in the creation, publication, discovery, acquisition, access, use and re-use of learning objects on mobile devices based on a literature review on research done from 2007 to 2012. From the content providers side, we present the results obtained from a survey performed on 23 educational repository owners prompting them to answer about their current and expected support on mobile devices. From the content user side, we identify features provided by the main OER repositories. Finally, we introduce future trends and our next contributions.
Designing and Developing Mobile Learning Applications in International Studen...eLearning Papers
This paper reports on an international collaboration in which students from different universities designed and developed mobile learning applications, working together in interdisciplinary teams using social and mobile media. We describe the concept, process and outcomes of this collaboration including challenges of designing and developing mobile learning applications in virtual teams.
This paper reports on the current challenges the professional sector faces when going mobile. The report discusses the role of mobile devices in the workforce and addresses challenges like compatibility, security and training. It also provides a comprehensive review of the mobile landscape, and reviews current best practices in mobile learning.
Standing at the Crossroads: Mobile Learning and Cloud Computing at Estonian S...eLearning Papers
This paper studies the impact of mobile learning implementation efforts in Estonian school system – a process that has created a lot of controversy during the recent years. Best practices in mobile learning are available from the entire world, forcing schools to keep up the push towards better connectivity and gadgetry. Even in the best cases where the schools are provided with the necessary tools, the process has met a lot of scepticism from teachers who are afraid to implement new methods. Teachers are often cornered with the ‘comply or leave’ attitude from educational authorities, resulting in a multi-sided battle between involved parties.
We have surveyed students, teachers, parents and management at five Estonian front-runner schools to sort out the situation. The results show different attitudes among students, school leaders and staff – while all of them mostly possess necessary tools and skills, teachers almost completely lack motivation to promote mobile learning. We propose some positive and negative scenarios – for example, we predict major problems if teacher training will not change, e-safety policies are inadequately developed or authorities will continue the tendency to put all the eggs into one basket (e.g. by relying solely on closed, corporate solutions for mobile learning platforms).
M-portfolios: Using Mobile Technology to Document Learning in Student Teacher...eLearning Papers
We briefly analyse the enhancement of eportfolio processes defined by Zubizarreta (2009) with the introduction of mobile technology. We give some examples of appropriation of mobile device usage in eportfolio processes carried out by student teachers. These examples become the evidence of the enhancement possibilities of one of the portfolio processes defined by Zubizarreta (2009), that of documentation.
GGULIVRR: Touching Mobile and Contextual LearningeLearning Papers
The quest of today’s learning communities is to creatively uptake and embed the emerging technologies to maintain the pace of change, of learning content and platforms, while satisfying learners’ needs and coping with limited resources. As information is delivered abundantly and change is constant, education focuses on driving 21st century fluency.
Project GGULIVRR, Generic Game for Ubiquitous Learning in Interactive Virtual and Real Realities, initiates the study of ubiquitous learning, investigating mobile and contextual learning, challenging small devices with sophisticated computing and networking capacities, testing the pervasive internet and exploring intelligent tags.
The goal of project GGULIVRR is to present learning communities a framework enabling learners to practice and enhance 21st century skills while generating and playing mobile contextual games.
Project GGULIVRR entices learners to get in touch. To play the contextual game one needs to physically go to a ‘touchable’ location, where real objects are tagged with an intelligent tag. By touching a tag one gets in touch with the contextual content. Through playing and developing GGULIVRR games one meets other gamers and developers as the project format induces interdisciplinarity, inter-social and intercultural communication and collaboration empowering local people to unlock contextual content with a minimal technical threshold.
Reaching Out with OER: The New Role of Public-Facing Open ScholareLearning Papers
Open educational resources (OER) and, more recently, open educational practices (OEP) have been widely promoted as a means of increasing openness in higher education (HE). Thus far, such openness has been limited by OER provision typically being supplier-driven and contained within the boundaries of HE. Seeking to explore ways in which OEP might become more needs-led we conceptualised a new ‘public-facing open scholar’ role involving academics working with online communities to source and develop OER to meet their needs.
To explore the scope for this role we focused on the voluntary sector, which we felt might particularly benefit from such collaboration. We evaluated four representative communities for evidence of their being self-educating (thereby offering the potential for academics to contribute) and for any existing learning dimension. We found that all four communities were self-educating and each included learning infrastructure elements, for example provision for web chats with ‘experts’, together with evidence of receptiveness to academic collaboration. This indicated that there was scope for the role of public-facing open scholar. We therefore developed detailed guidelines for performing the role, which has the potential to be applied beyond the voluntary sector and to greatly extend the beneficial impact of existing OER, prompting institutions to release new OER in response to the needs of people outside HE.
Managing Training Concepts in Multicultural Business EnvironmentseLearning Papers
Companies that need training and development services increasingly often operate in a context that consists of more than just one country, language and culture. While business operations are becoming international, companies expect their service providers being capable of catering them where needed. Succeeding in a very complex multinational customer-tailored training project takes more than a good concept. The concept must be flexible so that when language and cultural changes vary from country to country they do not endanger the content to be delivered. There can be several localised versions of the training concept under simultaneous delivery. Challenge is how to manage the concept.
Reflective Learning at Work – MIRROR Model, Apps and Serious GameseLearning Papers
This report discusses the initial results of a 4-year FP7 research project that developed a theoretical model and worked on the creation and evaluation of a range of ‘Mirror’ apps based on our Mirror reflection model. The findings divulge how the apps and serious games can facilitate reflectionº at work, by empowering employees to learn by reflection on their work practice and on their personal learning experiences.
SKILL2E: Online Reflection for Intercultural Competence GaineLearning Papers
The project SKILL2E aims to equip students on international work placements with intercultural competences. The model proposes a double loop learning cycle in which a shared online diary using guided questions is used for reflection. Preliminary results illustrate how this collaborative approach is conducive to the development of intercultural competences.
Experience Networking in the TVET System to Improve Occupational CompetencieseLearning Papers
This paper aims at considering the development and strengthening of networks in (T)VET systems as a means of improving employability and mobility of workers, through a system where occupational competences, required by the Labour Market, described in terms of Learning Outcomes that can be assessed and validated in all different contexts (formal, non formal and informal) developed following quality standards, will be abreast with changes and innovations of the global context requirements, in order to respond to those shortcomings that limit the potential growth of countries with serious implications for the participation in global markets, job growth, economical and social stability.
Leveraging Trust to Support Online Learning Creativity – A Case StudyeLearning Papers
The insights shared through this article build on data collected in real life situations. The work described here attempts to understand how trust can be used as leverage to support online learning and creative collaboration. This report explores this understanding from the teacher perspective. It examines trust commitments in an international setting within which learners from different European countries collaborate and articulate their learning tasks and skills at a distance. This research endeavour aims to recognize both individual and group vulnerabilities as opportunities to strengthen their cooperation and collaboration. We believe that by understanding how to assess and monitor learners’ trust, teachers could use this information to intervene and provide positive support, thereby promoting and reinforcing learners’ autonomy and their motivation to creatively engage in their learning activities.
The results gathered so far enabled an initial understanding of what to look for when monitoring trust with the intention of understanding and influencing learners’ behaviours. They point to three main aspects to monitor on students: (1) their perception of each others’ intentions, in a given context, (2) their level of cooperation as expressed by changes in individual and group commitments towards a particular activity; and, (3) their attitudes towards the use of communication mediums for learning purposes (intentions of use, actual use and reactions to actual use).
Innovating Teaching and Learning Practices: Key Elements for Developing Crea...eLearning Papers
This paper looks at how to innovate teaching and learning practices at system level. It describes the vision for ‘Creative Classrooms’ and makes a consolidated proposal for their implementation, clarifying their holistic and systemic nature, their intended learning outcomes, and their pedagogical, technological, and organisational dimensions for innovation. ‘Creative Classrooms’ (CCR) are conceptualized as innovative learning environments that fully embed the potential of ICT to innovate learning and teaching practices in formal, non-formal and informal settings.
The proposed multi-dimensional concept for CCR consists of eight encompassing and interconnected key dimensions and a set of 28 reference parameters (‘building blocks’). At the heart of the CCR concept lie innovative pedagogical practices that emerge when teachers use ICT in their efforts to organize newer and improved forms of open-ended, collaborative, and meaningful learning activities, rather than simply to enhance traditional pedagogies, such as expository lessons and task-based learning.
A preliminary analysis of two existing cases of ICT-enabled innovation for learning is presented in order to show (i) how the proposed key dimensions and reference parameters are implemented in real-life settings to configure profoundly diverse types of CCR and (ii) to depict the systemic approach needed for the sustainable implementation and progressive up-scaling of Creative Classrooms across Europe.
Website – A Partnership between Parents, Students and SchoolseLearning Papers
The website developed by the 1.b class at the Augusta Šenoa elementary school is, first and foremost, a pioneering work stemming from cooperation among teachers and parents. The purpose of the website is to inform, activate, and involve parents, students and teachers who work in the classroom. Each activity is documented, giving insight into the everyday activities, and making the classroom visible and transparent to everyone. The project uses new technology (forum, gallery of student work, class mail), and enlists a partnership of parents, who made parts of the website.
Academic Staff Development in the Area of Technology Enhanced Learning in UK ...eLearning Papers
This paper reports on a study on staff development in the area of technology enhanced learning in UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) that took place in November, 2011. Data for this study were gathered via an online survey emailed to the Heads of e-Learning Forum (HeLF) which is a network comprised of one senior staff member per UK institution, leading the enhancement of learning and teaching through the use of technology. Prior to the survey, desk-based research on some universities’ publicly available websites gathered similar information about staff development in the area of technology enhanced learning. The online survey received 27 responses, approaching a quarter of all UK HEIs subscribed to the Heads of e-Learning forum list (118 is the total number). Both pre-1992 (16 in number) and post-1992 Universities (11 in number) were represented in the survey and findings indicate the way this sample of UK HEIs are approaching staff development in the area of TEL.
The Ageing Brain: Neuroplasticity and Lifelong LearningeLearning Papers
The role of adult education is becoming increasingly important in the framework of policies to promote lifelong learning. Adult participation in training activities, however, is still rather low, despite the incentives and initiatives aimed at allowing all citizens access
to education and training at all ages in their lives.
Participation tends to decrease concomitantly with increasing age: the major difficulty that elderly people have in learning is due to a deterioration of brain function, causing a progressive weakening of concentration, memory and mental flexibility. Today, advanced
researches in neuroscience show that brain ageing may be reversible: the brain
is plastic in all stages of life, and its maps can restructure themselves through learning experiences.
Checklist for a Didactically Sound Design of eLearning ContenteLearning Papers
The design of elearning content requires several areas of educational psychology to be
integrated. In order to enhance the design process, checklists can be used as a means of formative evaluation. We present a checklist for the design and formative evaluation of elearning modules.
It covers the content, segmenting, sequencing and navigation, adaptation to target audience,
design of text and graphics, learning tasks and feedback, and motivation. In the context of a project on designing elearning modules on renewable energies, this
checklist was successfully used for providing formative feedback to the developers.
The International Student and the Challenges of Lifelong LearningeLearning Papers
Although few people would oppose the view that lifelong learning is intended to be a positive experience, it should be borne in mind that an ageing student body might require the development of additional tools and skills for the online educator.
In this short paper we present two cases of challenges faced by international learners who brought with them into the learning environment some issues that were the product, not only of the age of the learner in question, but also of the geographical environment
in which they studied. The names of the learners have been changed.
Fostering Older People’s Digital Inclusion to Promote Active AgeingeLearning Papers
Within the framework of the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations, ECDL Foundation will partner with AGE Platform Europe to promote older people’s digital inclusion.
This collaboration involves the launch of an updated ICT training programme adapted to older people’s needs: a revised version of the ECDL Foundation’s accessible ICT training programme, EqualSkills.
eLearning and Social Networking in Mentoring Processes to Support Active AgeingeLearning Papers
Mentoring is a human resources development process often used to induct, introduce and guide staff into places of employment.
Training people on the job or using elderly people as mentors can be organised to address aspects like skill shortage in organisations, recruiting and retaining personal with the necessary knowledge and active involvement of older people. In this paper we present some aspects of mentoring, particularly the ICT support of such process and
give examples.
Read| The latest issue of The Challenger is here! We are thrilled to announce that our school paper has qualified for the NATIONAL SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE (NSPC) 2024. Thank you for your unwavering support and trust. Dive into the stories that made us stand out!
Francesca Gottschalk - How can education support child empowerment.pptxEduSkills OECD
Francesca Gottschalk from the OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation presents at the Ask an Expert Webinar: How can education support child empowerment?
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.
How to Make a Field invisible in Odoo 17Celine George
It is possible to hide or invisible some fields in odoo. Commonly using “invisible” attribute in the field definition to invisible the fields. This slide will show how to make a field invisible in odoo 17.
2024.06.01 Introducing a competency framework for languag learning materials ...Sandy Millin
http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/iateflwebinar2024
Published classroom materials form the basis of syllabuses, drive teacher professional development, and have a potentially huge influence on learners, teachers and education systems. All teachers also create their own materials, whether a few sentences on a blackboard, a highly-structured fully-realised online course, or anything in between. Despite this, the knowledge and skills needed to create effective language learning materials are rarely part of teacher training, and are mostly learnt by trial and error.
Knowledge and skills frameworks, generally called competency frameworks, for ELT teachers, trainers and managers have existed for a few years now. However, until I created one for my MA dissertation, there wasn’t one drawing together what we need to know and do to be able to effectively produce language learning materials.
This webinar will introduce you to my framework, highlighting the key competencies I identified from my research. It will also show how anybody involved in language teaching (any language, not just English!), teacher training, managing schools or developing language learning materials can benefit from using the framework.
Safalta Digital marketing institute in Noida, provide complete applications that encompass a huge range of virtual advertising and marketing additives, which includes search engine optimization, virtual communication advertising, pay-per-click on marketing, content material advertising, internet analytics, and greater. These university courses are designed for students who possess a comprehensive understanding of virtual marketing strategies and attributes.Safalta Digital Marketing Institute in Noida is a first choice for young individuals or students who are looking to start their careers in the field of digital advertising. The institute gives specialized courses designed and certification.
for beginners, providing thorough training in areas such as SEO, digital communication marketing, and PPC training in Noida. After finishing the program, students receive the certifications recognised by top different universitie, setting a strong foundation for a successful career in digital marketing.
Macroeconomics- Movie Location
This will be used as part of your Personal Professional Portfolio once graded.
Objective:
Prepare a presentation or a paper using research, basic comparative analysis, data organization and application of economic information. You will make an informed assessment of an economic climate outside of the United States to accomplish an entertainment industry objective.
1. Open Educational Resources and Practices
Dr. Sandra Schaffert and Dr. Guntram Geser
Salzburg Research Forschungsgesellschaft, Dept. EduMedia
Summary
In the last few years, Open Educational Resources (OER) have gained much attention. From
January 2006 to December 2007 the 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.
In this paper 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. Moreover, the roadmap provides recommendations on required measures and
actions to support decision making at the level of educational policy and institutions.
The roadmap emphasises that the knowledge society demands competencies and skills that
require innovative educational practices based on open sharing and the evaluation of ideas,
fostering creativity and teamwork among the learners. Collaborative creation and sharing
among learning communities of OER is regarded as an important catalyst of such educational
innovations.
The OLCOS project also developed free online tutorials for practitioners. The objective of these
tutorials is supporting students and teachers in the creation, re-use and sharing of OER. To
promote hands-on work, the tutorials advise on questions such as the following: How to search
for OER? Which materials may be re-used and modified? How to produce and license own
OER? The tutorials will be accessible and, potentially, will evolve beyond the end of the OLCOS
project, because they are published on an open and successful Wiki based platform
(Wikieducator.org) and can be updated by anybody.
Keywords: Open Educational Resources, Open Content, Open Source, Educational Policy,
Roadmap, Tutorials, collaborative creation
1 Definition and Background
In the last few years Open Educational Resources (OER) gained much attention, though, an
authoritatively accredited definition of such resources does not yet exist. However, at the
UNESCO-IIEP Forum (2001) it was agreed that OER include Open Course Content, Open
Source development tools, and Open Standards and licensing tools. (cf. The International
Institute for Educational Planning/UNESCO 2001)
Stephen Downes observes that “there is a great deal of debate extant concerning the definition
of ‘open’ resources”. (Downes 2007a, p. 299) In the OLCOS project, Guntram Geser (2007)
argued that experts who understand OER as a means of leveraging educational practices and
outcomes will define OER based on the following core attributes (see also figure 1):
1
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2. − quot;that access to open content (including metadata) is provided free of charge for
educational institutions, content services, and the end-users such as teachers, students
and lifelong learners;
− that the content is liberally licensed for re-use in educational activities, favourable free
from restrictions to modify, combine and repurpose the content; consequently, that the
content should ideally be designed for easy re-use in that open content standards and
formats are being employed;
− that for educational systems/tools/software is used for which the source code is
available (i.e. Open Source software) and that there are open Application Programming
Interfaces (open APIs) and authorisations to re-use Web-based services as well as
resources.quot; (Geser 2007, p. 20)
Figure 1: The meaning of “open” in “Open Educational Resources”, own illustration following
Geser 2007, p. 20
These are rather demanding principles and, in fact, repositories of educationally relevant
resources often do not fully abide by them. Hence, readers should be aware that when we refer
to quot;openquot; resources, there may be several criteria that current OER projects do not meet while
still being developed in the spirit of the current Open Access movement.
Following Geser (2007), OER are understood to be an important element of policies that want
to leverage education and lifelong learning for the knowledge society and economy. This
expectation is to some degree influenced by the observation that the huge investments made
so far in ICT-enabled teaching and learning have not brought about profound changes in
educational practices. In particular, notions that the use of ICT would promote student-centred
and collaborative approaches have not been fulfilled. Rather there is a considerable mismatch
between teaching and learning as framed and maintained by typical educational institutions and
the fabric of work in a knowledge-based economy “out there”. In addition, there is an obvious
gap between current educational practices and what a younger generation of students uses
almost naturally to communicate and form communities of interest outside “the classroom”.
In this context, the importance of Open Content and Open Source Software tools that enhance
learning processes has been acknowledged by international initiatives and organisations. For
example, the OECD (2007) published a study about OER based on an international survey, and
the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation commissioned a review about the OER movement
(Atkins, Brown and Hammond 2007). Furthermore, there are some projects co-financed by the
European Commission, for example OLCOS (focus on open educational content) and Bazaar
(focus on Open Source tools).
Open e-Learning Content Observatory Services (OLCOS), a project that ran from January 2006
to December 2007 under the eLearning Programme, explored how OER can make a difference
in teaching and learning. The project consortium comprised the European Centre for Media
Competence (Germany), the European Distance and E-Learning Network (Hungary), the
2
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3. FernUniversität in Hagen (Germany), the Mediamaisteri Group (Finland), the Open University of
Catalonia (Spain) and the project co-ordinator Salzburg Research, EduMedia Group (Austria).
The project aimed at promoting OER through different activities: OLCOS produced a roadmap
to provide educational decision makers with orientation and recommendations on how to foster
the further development and use of OER. This study can be downloaded freely from the project
website, www.olcos.org. Furthermore the OLCOS project developed free online tutorials for
practitioners. The objective of these tutorials is to support students and teachers in the creation,
re-use and sharing of OER.
2 Open Educational Practices
The OLCOS road mapping has been carried out to inform and support a transformation in
educational practices that brings learning processes and their outcomes closer to what
individuals will need to participate successfully in the knowledge society. The OLCOS
Roadmap 2012 on Open Educational Practises and Resources (Geser 2007) explores possible
pathways towards a higher level of production, sharing and usage of OER and provides
recommendations on required measures to support decision making at the level of educational
policy and institutions.
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. Collaborative creation and sharing
among learning communities of OER is regarded as an important catalyst of such educational
innovations. Therefore, OER should become a key element of policies that aim to leverage
education and lifelong learning for the knowledge society and economy.
However, the project also emphasises that for achieving this goal it is crucial to promote
innovation and change in educational practices. In particular, OLCOS warns that delivering
OER to the still dominant model of teacher-centred knowledge transfer will have little effect on
equipping teachers, students and workers with the competences, knowledge and skills to
participate successfully in the knowledge economy and society.
Therefore the OLCOS project focuses on open educational practices that are based on a
competency-focused, constructivist paradigm of learning and promote a creative and
collaborative engagement of learners with digital content, tools and services in the learning
process.
Recommendations for Open Educational Practices and Resources
The OLCOS Roadmap 2012 provides recommendations on measures different stakeholders
from educational policy makers and funding bodies to individual teachers and students can
apply to promote and support open educational practices and benefit from sharing and re-using
OER.
3 Recommendations for educational policy makers and funding bodies
− Promote open educational practices that allow for acquiring competences and skills that
are necessary to participate successfully in the knowledge society
− Foster the development of OER, e.g. through creating a favourable environment for
Open Access to educational content
− Support the development of widely used, state-of-the-art and sustainable open access
repositories
− Demand public–private partnerships to concentrate on ventures for innovating
educational practices and resources
In particular, educational policy makers and funding bodies should demand that academic and
educational resources that have been fully or to a larger part publicly funded are made freely
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4. accessible under an appropriate license (e.g. Creative Commons or similar). With respect to
educational open access repositories, funding criteria should demand an in-depth
understanding of how an as broad as possible active usage of the repository can be
established. Funding schemes should provide for a longer-term perspective, through initial
funding for achieving full operation, and further funding based on a critical assessment of
factual usage.
Recommendations for boards, directors and supervisors of educational institutions
− Scrutinise whether educational institutions are employing innovative approaches beyond
teacher-centred knowledge transfer
− Promote sharing and re-using of Open Educational Resources and experiences from
open educational practices
− Establish reward mechanisms and supportive measures for developing and sharing of
Open Educational Resources and experiences
− Clarify copyrights and define licensing schemes for making Open Educational
Resources available
As very critical in initiatives for OER are considered reward mechanisms and supportive
measures to drive the development and sharing of resources on the institutional level. Boards,
directors and supervisors will need to question established values, traditions and practices, for
example, the greater value that is often attached to research than to teaching, particularly when
it comes to academic promotion.
The roadmap also urges that in many institutions it is far from clear who owns IPR/copyrights
and what licenses should be employed when making resources available to others. A
recommendation here is that contracts of employed researchers and educators should
acknowledge the IPR of authors, but require non-exclusive copyrights for the institution to make
accessible educational resources under appropriate licenses.
Recommendations for teachers
− Clarify the professional role, appropriate approaches and required skills of a teacher in a
knowledge society
− Employ open educational practices to help learners acquire competences for the
knowledge society
− Make use of tools and services that support collaborative learning processes and
learning communities
− Share proven learning designs, content and experiences through open access
repositories and open licenses
In particular, teachers should change their role from dispensers of knowledge to facilitators of
open educational practices that emphasise learners’ own activities in developing competences,
knowledge and skills. Hence, teachers should favour learning designs that make use of novel,
low-barrier tools and services (e.g. Weblogs, Wikis, RSS-based content provision, etc.) for
collaborative learning and sharing of ideas, experiences and study results.
The roadmap also suggests that teachers should share within a community of practice
experiences, lessons learned and suggestions on how to better foster the development of
students’ as well as their own competences and skills. This would be part of a new
understanding of teachers’ professional work that includes a permanent questioning, evaluation
and improvement of educational practices and resources.
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5. Recommendations for learners and students
− Demand educational approaches that allow for acquiring competences and skills for the
knowledge society
− Suggest open learning practices using new tools and services
− Develop one’s own ePortfolio and make study results accessible to others
− Respect IPR/copyright of others and make one’s own creative work accessible under an
open content license
Students should demand educational approaches that ensure that learning experiences are
real, rich and relevant, for example through addressing real world problems, working
collaboratively, using new tools and information services, and critically discussing content and
study results. Students will also benefit from an own e-portfolio for documenting and reflecting
the progress and results of their study work, and to make results they are proud of accessible
through an open access repository under an open content license (see also Attwell, Chrzaszcz,
Hilzensauer, Hornung-Prähauser & Pallister 2007).
Recommendations for educational repositories
− Do not follow a top-down strategy of delivering learning objects; empower teachers and
learners
− Support individual content creators and communities of practice with useful tools and
services
− Make licensing of content as easy as possible
− Allow for easy discovery of and access to resources
− Assist open content initiatives in the creation of rich metadata and provide semantically
enhanced access to resources
The key point with respect to educational repositories is that they should abandon the currently
dominant top-down approach of trying to deliver learning objects to teacher-centred education,
as this reinforces the still dominant knowledge transfer model of education and will not promote
innovation in teaching and learning. Instead, repositories should promote open educational
practices and empower teachers and learners to do and achieve something themselves. This is
not about repository users as consumers but as potential co-creators of shared, commons-
based resources.
Recommendations for developers and implementers of e-learning tools and environments
− Involve teachers and students in the development of learning tools
− Promote open educational practices through help in setting up appropriate tools
− Favour institutional learning environments that support group-based, collaborative
learning practices
− Closely observe the development and consider testing of Learning Design based
systems
At present there is a considerable gap between developers of e-learning tools and teachers and
students. Developers should actively seek to involve teachers and students in collaborative
development, which could help greatly in making tools more usable in educational contexts. In
fact, for the adoption of a tool it will be important that the users develop a sense of ownership
and take an interest in its further development.
Within educational institutions implementers of e-learning tools should favour environments that
support collaborative, self-managed learning practices and allow for making use of a variety of
information sources. Such practices do not require large, centrally managed systems; rather,
they will make use of easy to implement and manage tools and services such as Wikis,
Weblogs, Web-based e-portfolios, RSS feed aggregators, and others.
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6. 4 How-to Guidance through Tutorials
Besides the roadmap and recommendations, the OLCOS project developed a series of free
online tutorials for practitioners. (Córcoles, Ferran Ferrer, Hornung-Prähauser, Kalz, Minguillón,
Naust-Schulz & Schaffert, 2007) These tutorials provide information and guidance on how to
plan, search, produce/re-use, share and publish open educational content for e-learning. In
addition, an OLCOS collection has been built that presents and provides links to many online
resources such as OER repositories.
To support the idea of OER, the OLCOS tutorials had to be open, free and collaboratively
developed. The project team decided to use the WikiEducator project as a suitable platform to
collaborate with authors external to the project and involve other interested parties. The
WikiEducator is a community project “working collaboratively with the Free Culture Movement
towards a free version of the education curriculum by 2015”. Its technical infrastructure is
supported by the Commonwealth of Learning, which is an intergovernmental organisation
created by Commonwealth Heads of Government to “encourage the development and sharing
of open learning and distance education knowledge, resources and technologies”.
(WikiEducator, 2007)
The choice of this platform has been fruitful for both parties, as can be seen from the fact that
the launch of the OLCOS tutorials in September 2006 was a highlight for the WikiEducator team
with an average of 1000 hits per day; today, the hits are often even higher. (WikiEducator 2007)
In December 2007, Steven Downes in his Weblog named WikiEducator as “best educational
wiki”: “Numerous educational wikis could have taken the podium here – Curriki, Wikiversity,
more. WikiEducator is chosen as the most (apparently) active of these initiatives.” (Downes
2007b)
Concerning the content of the OLCOS tutorials, the basic concept is that through practical
information and case descriptions the learners should be enabled to themselves solve some
concrete assignments. The didactical templates of the WikiEducator (e.g. assignment, web-
resources) as well as links to existing content on the Web have been used. The tutorials have
been tested and evaluated in several workshops. Originally written in English, since August
2007 they also are available in German and Spanish.
Figure 2: Screenshot of the tutorials
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7. Users of the tutorials firstly are introduced to basic definitions and to the overall planning of
didactical, technical and legal aspects. Then the tutorials show how open content practices can
be developed.
The top-level topics for this development are as follows:
− Find and evaluate existing Open Content
− Create Open Content with Open Source tools
− Publish and share of the content
− Technical considerations and planning
− Legal/license considerations and planning
In the following, the tutorials are described briefly.
4.1 Introduction: PLAN the use of OER
The introductory section provides a definition of OER, information about benefits of using OER,
and instruction on how to plan the (re-)use and creation of open content in the daily work of
teachers, trainers, students and learners.
In addition, we present some exemplary collections of
- Open e-learning content repositories
- Institutions with OER policy
- Open Content licensing approaches
- Open formats, educational standard and tools for producing open educational content
4.2 Tutorial: Search & Find OER
The first learning scenario we use in this tutorial is the following: In a project, a group of
students is working on a presentation about pollination of apples. The group is trying to find
materials which they can use for a project webpage. They not only want to collect hyperlinks,
but also want to re-use the materials. For this purpose they need more information and advice.
The tutorial provides practical information and guidance on how to find Open Content that can
be re-use in a project. It shows efficient ways of searching the Internet for relevant material and
how to keep up-to-date about resources of interest.
4.3 Tutorial: Produce & Remix OER
Following the advice of the first tutorial, a user may find a course module or learning unit which
fits her or his requirements very well. Usually, however, one will create own material by mixing
and adapting Open Content. Therefore, it is important to be aware of what is permitted by the
content creators. In addition, Open Content is often produced collaboratively, which means that
several teachers and learners work together in an open process. Furthermore, this tutorial
provides information on content formats that can be published as OER, tools that support this
process, and how to use standards and metadata.
4.4 Tutorial: Share OER
There are many possibilities to publish and to share Open Content. But one should bear in mind
that employers might have interests and rights in one’s work. This means that authors may
have to ask before publishing their work as Open Content. This tutorial provides information
and practical tasks in publishing and sharing OER, and how to facilitate the sharing of the new
content by using suitable formats, licenses, educational metadata, and visibility strategies.
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8. 4.5 Tutorial: Choose a License
Before authors publish their content or before they start to build up a collaborative community
creating Open Content, they should decide about the legal requirements for re-using the
learning material. This is needed, because the established international copyright requires to
ask the owner of the copyright of the material for permission to use, copy, modify the content,
and to enter into a contractual relationship. With an Open Content licensing scheme such as
Creative Commons the authors and users can benefit in several ways: From clear descriptions
of the rights of the author(s) and the users, licensing formulations which are approved by legal
practitioner, the awareness level of the license and the possibility (for others) to more easily
discover the content with the most popular search engines. This tutorial provides information
and practical tasks for choosing one of the most common licensing models, the Creative
Commons licenses, and how they can be attached to learning materials.
4.6 Tutorial: Use open source tools
Open Source Software is based on and supports open standards and, hence, particularly suits
the creation of Open Educational Content. As ever more such tools become available, this
tutorial provides information about other services and lists that offer useful overviews and
recommendations on which tools to use for particular purposes.
5 Summary
Open Educational Resources (OER) can be an important element of policies that want to
leverage education and lifelong learning for the knowledge society and economy. The urgency
of the lifelong learning agenda in Europe and beyond makes OER initiatives targeted at driving
participation particularly welcome. The OLCOS road mapping work was conducted to provide
decision makers with an overview of current and likely future developments in OER and
recommendations on how various challenges in OER can be addressed.
In particular, OLCOS emphasises that besides offering OER it is crucial to also promote
innovation and change in educational practices. Because delivering OER to the still dominant
model of teacher-centred knowledge transfer will have little effect on equipping teachers,
students and workers with the competences and skills to participate successfully in the
knowledge society and economy. Teachers should change their role from dispensers of
knowledge to facilitators of open educational practices that foster learners’ own activities in
developing competences and skills.
Today the digital environment offers many opportunities for a creative and collaborative
engagement of learners with digital content, tools and services in the learning process (“e-
learning 2.0” instead of “click & learn”). One such opportunity is the collaborative creation,
evaluation and sharing of open content and learning experiences. A new generation of easy-to-
use Web-based tools and services, e.g. Wikis, Weblogs, platforms for content sharing, RSS-
based content provision, makes this easier then ever before.
Literature
Atkins, Daniel E.; Brown, John S. & Hammond, Allen L. (2007). A Review of the Open
Educational Resources (OER) Movement: Achievements, Challenges and New Opportunities.
Report to The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. URL:
http://cohesion.rice.edu/Conferences/Hewlett/emplibrary/A%20Review%20of%20the%20Open
%20Educational%20Resources%20%28OER%29%20Movement_BlogLink.pdf (2007-09-01).
Graham Attwell, Agnieszka Chrzaszcz, Wolf Hilzensauer, Veronika Hornung-Prähauser, John
Pallister (2007). Grab your future with an e-portfolio – Study on new qualifications and skills
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9. needed by teachers and career counsellors to empower young learners with the e-portfolio
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and Tutorials. OLCOS materials. URL: http://www.wikieducator.org/Open_Educational_Content
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Downes, Steven (2007a). Models for Sustainable Open Educational Resources. In:
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Downes, Steven (2007b). Not the Edublog Award Winners. Weblog Post. 2007-12-17. URL:
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Geser, Guntram (2007). Open Educational Practices and Resources - OLCOS Roadmap 2012.
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Learning Content: A Roadmap for Educational Policy and Institutions and Hands-On Tips for
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The International Institute for Educational Planning/UNESCO (2001). IIEP Virtual Institute
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10. Authors
Dr. Sandra Schaffert
Salzburg Research Forschungsgesellschaft
Dept. EduMedia
sandra.schaffert@salzburgresearch.at
Dr. Guntram Geser
Salzburg Research Forschungsgesellschaft
Dept. EduMedia
guntram.geser@salzburgresearch.at
Citation instruction
Schaffert, Sandra and Geser, Guntram (2008). Open Educational Resources and Practices.
eLearning Papers, Nº 7. ISSN 1887-1542. www.elearningpapers.eu
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nd/2.5/
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ISSN: 1887-1542
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