This document discusses opening up educational resources through open educational resources (OER). It defines OER as openly accessible, freely available, shareable, discrete learning materials that can be reused and contextualized. Using OER allows educators to find existing high-quality resources rather than reinventing materials. While OER provide advantages like cost savings and encouraging best practices, they also have disadvantages like variable quality and need for contextualization. The document provides examples of OER types and templates for incorporating OER into course design. It also discusses trends in OER usage and issues to consider regarding OER and the "attention economy".

1. Opening up Educational Resources
Professor Frank Rennie
Lews Castle College
University of the Highlands and Islands

2. Pedagogic Styles
Distributed Learning
Distance Education
Open Education
f2f
elearning
Blended Learning

3. Self Study
Online Face to
Tuition Educational Technology Face

4. Why strive to be more open?

5. More Interactive/Collaborative
From Euphoria at http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenem/11696663 /

6. Encourages diversity
By clevercupcakes at http://www.flickr.com/photos/clevercupcakes/2980544017/

7. Easier to update resources

8. Build Digital Literacy
By mikecogh at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/5968799566/

9. The essence of OER
• 1) Open access
• 2) Freely available
• 3) Shareable
• 4) Relatively discrete ‘chunks’
• 5)Saves needing to ‘re-invent the wheel’
• 6) Needs to be contextualised
• 7) You can add to the OER pool.

10. Examples of OER

11. Learning Communities

12. Open Courses
YouTube
Online libraries
Journals
Wikipedia
Images
Social networking
Geographical data
Twitter
E-book
repositories Certification

13. OER Template
OER
OER OER
OER OER
Learning Resources
Tutorials Peer-to-peer Assessment Certification
email Dboard TMA Award
LMS skype Exam

14. Using OER in Course Design
1. Identify the main generic
2. Search for
headings for course content
relevant
(key topics for discussion and
resources that
learning)
can be re-
used for these
headings
5. Select the
format for
sharing (wiki
etc) Creative Commons Licence
4. Add your
new materials 3. Write ‘wrap-around’
to the materials that
common pool contextualise and support
(if required) the learning resources

15. Advantages
• Rich and ready-made
resources
• Share the best of what
is available
• Free at point of use
• Encourages best
practice
• Builds a library of
diversity

16. Disadvantages
• Variably quality (but can
be brand-led)
• Can be hard to locate
(need to learn new
skills)
• Can be size problems
(what is appropriate?)
• Need to be
contextualised (content
only is not enough)

17. How OER are used
Open Membership
• Ad hoc (on the fly) • More structured
• Bottom-up • Tend to be top-down
• Low cost (or free) • Can be expensive
• Not always peer reviewed • Usually peer reviewed
• Free to all users • Free to membership
• Weak marketing brand • Strong marketing brand
• Inexpensive to maintain • Expensive to maintain
• Reliant upon individuals • Reliant upon organisations
• May need contextualisation • Probably contextualised
• Wide variation in level • Greater consistency in level

18. Some things to watch
 The Attention Economy
 Self-organisation of learners
 Integration of platforms
 BIG OER meets small OER
 Course components will be owned and shared
 Dominance of Third Places – ubiquitous
learning
 Institutions will provide student support
http://www.flickr.com/photos/desireedelgado/3273760287/

19. Good resources to read
• Gurell S. and Wiley, D. (2010) Open Educational Resources
Handbook 1.0 for educators. Available from
http://wikieducator.org/OER_Handbook/educator_version_one
• Commonwealth of Learning (2005) Creating learning materials for
open and distance learning: A Handbook for Authors and
Instructional Designers. Available from
http://www.col.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/odlinstdesignHB2.pdf
• OECD (2007) Giving knowledge for free: The emergence of Open
Educational Resources. ISBN 978-92-64-03174-6 Available at:
www.sourceoecd.org/education/9789264031746
• Kanwar, A and Uvalic-Trumbic, (2011) A Basic Guide to Open
Educational Resources. Commonwealth or Learning & UNESCO
http://www.col.org/resources/publications/Pages/detail.aspx?PID=
357

20. Useful Links
• sideCAP wiki (with resources)
http://sidecap.wetpaint.com
• Courses on OpenLearn
http://openlearn.open.ac.uk
• The sideCAP report
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1267854
• Creating Open Educational Resources (a free, 15 hour online
course) available on Openlearn at
http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=3636

21. Resources for online learning (amazon.co.uk)
Key Concepts Network ecology Web 2.0 applications

22. View this presentation again at
www.slideshare.net/frankrennie