Global Tendencies in Open Educational Resources (OER)
Different approaches to OER:
benefits, trends and challenges
from the learner, educator and provider perspectives
UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education
International OER Workshop, 31 May – 1 June 2011, Moscow, Russia
Katarzyna Kozinska, Ph.D. Student
Academic Supervisors: Dr Ann Jones, Dr Patrick McAndrew, Prof Eileen Scanlon
Centre for Research in Education and Educational Technology (CREET)
Institute of Educational Technology (IET)
Presentation licensed under
, individual images’ licenses on slides
Aim: showcase how variety supports diversity
sharing observations from on-going doctoral research
supported by examples of different OER initiatives –
user and provider perspectives
Doctoral research
Focus:
What motivates and influences learning with different OER among
diverse users?
Activity: Studying different OER and their users
Goal:
Learn how different OER support learning among diverse users
through establishing what drives, enhances and impedes various
learning processes in order to know what to improve and preserve
(or not) to help different individuals develop their talents and
interests throughout lives
OER world: Initiatives selected showcasing different
approaches and visions
OpenLearn (2006), The Open University, UK (1969),
OER & social tools
OpenSpires (2009), University of Oxford,
UK (oldest colleges 1249/64),
Open Content Podcasting
OpenStudy, US (2007),
Study Groups
METU OCW (2008), Middle East Technical
University,
Turkey (1956), OpenCourseWare
Wolne Lektury (Free Obligatory School
Readings) (2007), Modern Poland
Foundation, Poland (2001), Web library
3
Different visions….
The Open University - OpenLearn as ‘an extension of the University’s educational mission’
(McAndrew et al., 2009:4) [of widening access, championing progress and social justice]
Aiming to…’reflect the unique nature of the education offered by the
collegiate University’ (Mansell et al., 2010:5)
International character, innovation; ‘we knew that METU students and faculty
were heavily using the MIT OCW courses’ Kursat Cagiltay, Associate
Professor METU, (2003-2011, Education-Portal.com)
MPF 'wants to give thousands of children what is the most valuable:
knowledge and abilities letting them understand modern world and take
advantage of its opportunities'<http://www.wolnelektury.pl/o-projekcie/>
‘Our mission is to make the world one large study group,
regardless of school, location, or background.’ <http://openstudy.com/about-us>
4
…common benefits
Profile
Brand Reputation
Impact
Income
Innovation
Learner and Educator
Appreciation, Use and Enjoyment
http://www.flickr.com/photos/777/330860411/
CC Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0, by Naomi Ibuki
5
Examples of use by learners and educators
(sources of evidence: interviews with users and experts, documents, Websites)
OpenLearn
OpenSpires
METU OCW
Wolne Lektury OpenStudy
(Free
Obligatory
School
Readings)
•Lifelong
learners,
enthusiasts,
•Teachers:
classroom use
and inspiration,
e.g. English
state school
teacher
•METU current
students
•Polish
secondary
school teacher
classroom use:
task - students
using the site to
gather
resources for
revision (of A.
Mickiewicz
works)
•Learners with
limited time/
housebound
•Progress to
formal OU
courses
•Instructors
(Turkey) from
other
universities
•Aspiring
students:
admission
podcasts
(heavily
downloaded)
olnet.org
•Undergraduate
students, e.g.
Georgia Tech
6
What do users value?
CONTENT
VARIETY
QUALITY
USERS
VALUE
ENJOYMENT
‘FREENESS’
7
Variety of OER
combined with various purposes and roles
of individuals and organisations involved
makes it possible to use OER
in many different ways and contexts
OER ‘1.0’ – what is there AND how it is used
cognitive focus, knowledge transfer, structure, formal learning,
e.g. OpenCourseWare, podcasts, digital books,
no registrations
http://www.flickr.com/photos/livenature/273464253/in/photostream
CC Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic
(CC BY-SA 2.0), By Franco Folini
9
OER ‘2.0’ – what is there AND how it is used
Interaction dimension, dialogue, collaboration, observation,
problem-solving, e.g. discussion forums, learning clubs, study
groups; user accounts
! -> 1.0 can be used ‘as’ 2.0, e.g. Web books incorporated in
classroom activities (Wolne Lektury),
http://www.flickr.com/photos/twiga_269/3712490557/,
CC Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0
By twiga269 ॐ FreeTIBET
10
Co-existence of OER 1.0 and 2.0,
What is there AND how it is used,
Trend towards OER 2.0 BUT to enhance
NOT replace 1.0, mixed use,
e.g. MIT OCW enhanced by OpenStudy groups
Researching OER is challenging
•
Various OER –> various evidence -> non-homogenous, different
methods and data, e.g. semi-structured interviews, virtual output,
analytics, indirect observation/ observation with elements of
ethnography
•
Access to participants: no registrations – how do you reach users?
•
Analytics data: statistics only, no insight into motivations
•
Time factor: negotiating access even if registrations available
‘Openness is the enemy of tracking’ Melissa Highton, OpenSpires Project Director, Oxford University
Computing Services
Barriers, concerns, challenges
• Attendance of current students
• Public domain
• Licenses (OER), copyright (academics, units)
• Sustainability
• Research, measuring impact
Each OER is unique and helps users…
• ‘Learn and Live’ (The OU motto), e.g. OpenLearn and OU formal course
learner after a stroke, enthusiasts with work & home duties, limited time
• Improve their teaching, e.g. Wolne Lektury, METU OCW
• Discuss problems with other learners, e.g. OpenStudy, which is believed
to make them ‘feel more engaged and more motivated’ (Preetha Ram,
OpenStudy Co-founder, in interview 2011)
• Revise, gather resources, pursue ‘stationary’ or ‘on-the-move’ learning;
‘15% of accesses to Oxford podcasts come directly from mobile devices’
(Geng, F., Marshall, C., Wilson, R., 2011)
• Pursue dreams, goals, e.g. OpenSpires Oxford admission podcasts
Image (top right) source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_University, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Image (photo) by Dunja Aksentijevic, All Rights reserved
14
Meaning of Diversity
Needs, abilities, ages,
religions, nationalities
Cultures, languages, skills,
‘Globalization is best seen as a multidimensional
and multidirectional process involving accelerated
and increased flows of virtually everything –
capital, commodities, information, ideas, beliefs,
people – along constantly evolving axes’
•
(UNESCO World Report: Investing in Cultural Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue (Executive summary 2009:6)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kynbit/2283232287/
By kynbit, CC Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
olnet.org
15
Conclusions:
Trend towards openness and diversity
WHILE preserving quality and unique character
• Win-to-win of OER provision: (similar) benefits > barriers
• Variety supports diversity: demand across needs, interests and abilities
• OER 2.0 move to participation: enriches rather than replaces content,
‘the collective’ as an extension/ enhancement of the individual, not its
replacement
• OER can be fun: inspiration, encouragement, enjoyment of learning
• Research into OER use is challenging – but necessary
• Institution/Government engagement matters: importance of quality,
trust and credibility as OER is not just ‘free’ material
• So…’Learn and Live’!
(The OU Motto)
Questions? / Вопро́сы?
E-mails and OER
References & links
Dr Patrick McAndrew (OLnet Director):
•
Geng, F., Marshall, C., Wilson, R., (2011) Listening for Impact: Final Report.
A JISC funded study by Oxford University Computing Services into the
impact of podcasting at the University of Oxford. The Learning
Technologies Group, OUCS.
•
Mansell, L., Wilson, R., Highton, M., Robinson, P. (2010) JISC Final Report.
OpenSpires: Open Content at Oxford University. Available from:
http://openspires.oucs.ox.ac.uk/resources
•
McAndrew, P., Santos, A., Lane, A., Godwin, S., Okada, A., Wilson, T.,
Connolly, T., Ferreira, G., Buckingham Shum, S., Bretts, J. and Webb, R.
(2009) OpenLearn Research Report 2006-2008. Milton Keynes, England:
The Open University.
•
UNESCO World Report: Investing in Cultural Diversity and Intercultural
Dialogue (Executive summary) 2009
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001847/184755e.pdf
•
http://openstudy.com/about-us
•
http://www.wolnelektury.pl/o-projekcie
•
Interview with Kursat Cagiltay by Megan Driscoll http://educationportal.com/articles/Open_Education_Around_17the_World_EducationPortalcom_Speaks_with_the_Middle_East_Technical_University.html
•
Quotes from interviews conducted by K.Kozinska with Melissa Highton
(OpenSpires) and Preetha Ram (OpenStudy)
p.mcandrew@open.ac.uk
Dr Ann Jones (OLnet Evaluation):
a.c.jones@open.ac.uk
Prof Eileen Scanlon (OLnet Evaluation):
e.scanlon@open.ac.uk
Katarzyna (Kasia) Kozinska (OLnet member):
k.a.kozinska@open.ac.uk
•
http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/
•
http://openspires.oucs.ox.ac.uk/
•
http://ocw.metu.edu.tr/
•
http://www.wolnelektury.pl
•
http://openstudy.com/
Image by 姒儿喵喵, http://www.flickr.com/photos/crystaljingsr/3914729343/in/photostream/
CC Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0)
olnet.org