OPEN UP TO A BETTER
LEARNING ECOSYSTEM
KATIE BRADFORD
@KATIERBRADFORD
ABOUT ME
DIRECTOR, PLATFORM & PARTNERSHIPS
AT INSTRUCTURE
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY ALUMNI
EDUCATION EXPERIENCE:
ELEMENTARY TEACHING
ONLINE COURSE DESIGN
OPEN EVANGELIST
ON THE AGENDA...
OPEN PLATFORM
OPEN CONTENT (OER)
OPEN TOOLS
INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGIES
OPEN
PLATFOR
M
WHAT MAKES GOOD
OPEN CONTENT?
FINDABLE
CLEARLY DESCRIBED
CLEARLY
LICENSED
FROM A TRUSTED SOURCE
EASY TO MODIFY
FREE-STANDING
FREE OF COPYRIGHT CONTENT
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
IMPERFECT
THE GOOD
YOU CAN’T BEAT FREE
MANY QUALITY
CHOICES EXIST
USE WITHOUT FEAR
TRY IT BEFORE YOU BUY IT
UPDATE AND IMPROVE
THE BAD
TIME CONSUMING
VETTING MATERIALS
QUALITY
ACCURACY
CURRENCY
WHERE TO START?
WHAT IS SHARED?
WHO IS
MAINTAINING THE
CONTENT?
EXAMPLES
OER COMMONS
MERLOT
GOOGLE ADVANCED SEARCH
OPEN ED
“Use of OER leads to critical reflection
by educators, with evidence in
improvement of their practice…
OER Impact Map,
oermap.org
EVALUATING
OPEN TOOLS
IS IT FREE?
HOW IS THE
SUPPORT
COMMUNITY?
WHAT DO YOUR
PEERS SAY?
DOES YOUR
PLATFORM PLAY
NICE?
WHAT’S THE
STUDENT
EXPERIENCE?
THE GOOD
BROAD ADOPTION OF LTI
HUNDREDS
OF CHOICES
AVAILABLE TO ALL
INTUITIVE FOR LEARNERS
THE BAD
TOOLS AREN’T ALWAYS MAINTAINED
SOME LMSs ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS
LARGE GAPS IN CERTAIN SKILL AREAS
CAN BE
PROHIBITIVELY
EXPENSIVE
LOOK OUT
FOR THE
UPSELL
EXAMPLES
GOOGLE
MICROSOFT
VOCAREUM
It is becoming progressively
easier for many users to get
precisely what they want by
designing it for themselves
Eric von Hippel,
Democratizing Innovation
STRATEGIES FOR
INSTITUTIONAL
ADOPTION
START SMALL
FIND A CHAMPION
BE PATIENT
FOCUS ON THE
PRACTICAL
INVOLVE STUDENTS
GIVE STUDENTS A STRONG PARTNER & GOAL
INVOLVE STUDENT GOVERNMENT
FOCUS GROUPS/DISCUSSIONS
EDUCATION ABOUT OER
QUESTIONS?
@KATIERBRADFORD
KATIE@INSTRUCTURE.COM

Open up to a better learning ecosystem

Editor's Notes

  • #8 In the Canvas world, as in a fair amount of the education world, we adhere to the standards set forth by IMS, a non-profit organization whose goal it is to define how innovation can occur in education technology through interoperability. By interoperability, I’m talking about plugging in different apps and tools so they work seamlessly within your platform. These apps work using standards like LTI, Common Cartridge, and others.
  • #9 And with over 225 different applications listed in the Eduappcenter, a centralized app repository for standards-based tools that integrate in a variety of LMS platforms, teachers, schools, and universities have tons of choice for building their ecosystems.
  • #10 What this really means for a teacher or a school or a university is that you can build your own, unique, and personally innovative learning environment by implementing a collection of technology solutions together and creating an ecosystem.
  • #11 OPEN CONTENT OVERVIEW Who here is using OER in their online courses right now?
  • #12 ACCORDING TO OPENLEARN FROM THE OPEN UNIVERSITY This info is designed to help you identify good open content, but also to help you understand how to be a mindful creator of open content. If you are interested in using open content, then I hope that means you’re also willing to share your own content! Even if you find some content and modify it to meet your needs, you can help the community by sharing your modified content. Use the following tips to understand how you can be a conscientious user and contributor to the body of OER.
  • #13 One of the biggest complaints that I hear from teachers - one of the biggest hurdles they have to overcome, and therefore don’t even bother trying - is simply finding OER. OER sits in so many different places, and there’s no simplified, streamlined process for finding the best stuff. -learning registry
  • #14 What topics are covered What standards apply (if applicable) What materials are included? Quizzes, syllabus, videos, lessons, what else?
  • #18 Don’t’ put your content in a walled garden, this goes against the core values of “open” – put it where everyone can find it and use it, like an open repository
  • #22 FROM ADAM COLEMAN OF CLARK COLLEGE
  • #23 This benefits both students and instructors Students save money buying textbooks– OpenStax 68 mill since 2012 (42 mill in 15-16 schoolyear alone) Instructors have access to course materials, quizzes, syllabi, etc
  • #24 Thousands of online courses from quality institutions MIT OCW Yale Open Courses HarvardX MERLOT OERCommons More to come later
  • #25 With the help of open licenses the course material is shared so you don’t have to contact the author to use it
  • #26 You get to see and experiment with course materials before going through a lengthy and expensive procurement process and easily pick and choose what works for you Students often don’t know what they’re getting in to when they sign up for a course – if the course is opened and shared, students can take a look at it ahead of time to know whether it’s a good fit
  • #27 Courses and materials can be reviewed by your peers and colleagues. Material can be easily updated at any time as the field changes.
  • #29 Finding the exact material that you are looking for can be time-consuming – searching the internet for the right material can take more time than it’s worth – putting together exactly the right combination of materials takes time
  • #30 Anyone can post anything they want on the internet. It’s hard to know whether the content is accurate and relevant without poring over it with a fine tooth comb. How do you know if the material has been verified? This is why it’s so important to work with repositories that you trust, and with material that has been reviewed.
  • #31 Finding a course that builds on prerequisite knowledge is difficult at best. With so many resources to choose from, it’s unlikely that you’ll be using just one course or one resource. You’ll be using multiple sources, multiple resources, and putting them together is overwhelming and difficult. The material can feel disjointed and getting over that hump can be very challenging.
  • #32 Students and instructors don’t understand what should be shared in the public domain. What content is owned by the instructor, what by the university? What am I allowed to share, and what am I allowed to use?
  • #40 “Use of OER leads to critical reflection by educators, with evidence in improvement of their practice…” OER Impact Map, oermap.org The most exciting thing about contributing to and using open content is that it has shown to increase the innovation in teaching and learning, as well as the improvement in practice.
  • #41 OVERVIEW OF OPEN TOOLS - MAINLY ENABLED THROUGH LTI
  • #60 GOOGLE
  • #61 MICROSOFT
  • #62 WIRIS
  • #64 UNPLAG
  • #65 (quote “it is becoming progressively easier for many users to get precisely what they want by designing it for themselves” Eric von Hippel, Democratizing Innovation In the end, this too can have a significant impact on productiveness by improving social welfare.
  • #66 Institutional strategies
  • #71 Showcases research to widest possible audience Enhances reputation of university and teacher Allows for peer review Incorporate remedial modules Incorporate skills modules (study skills, library skills, etc) Set up case studies as modules Use versioning to store and retrieve past versions of courses Use to curate flipped courses