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 EducationInternational OER Workshop, 31 May – 1 June 2011, Moscow, Russia

Katarzyna Kozinska, Ph.D. Student

Academic Supervisors: Dr Ann Jones, Dr Patrick McAndrew, Prof Eileen ScanlonCentre 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 perspectivesDoctoral 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

OpenStudy, US (2007), Study Groups

OpenLearn (2006), The Open University, UK (1969), OER & social tools

OpenSpires (2009), University of Oxford, UK (oldest colleges 1249/64), Open Content Podcasting

METU OCW (2008), Middle East Technical University,

Turkey (1956), OpenCourseWare

Wolne Lektury (Free Obligatory School Readings) (2007), Modern Poland Foundation, Poland (2001), Web library

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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)

‘Our mission is to make the world one large study group, regardless of school, location, or background.’ <http://openstudy.com/about-us>

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/>

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…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

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Examples of use by learners and educators (sources of evidence: interviews with users and experts, documents, Websites)

OpenLearn OpenSpires METU OCW Wolne Lektury (Free Obligatory School Readings)

OpenStudy

•Lifelong learners, enthusiasts,

•Learners with limited time/ housebound

•Progress to formal OU courses

•Teachers: classroom use and inspiration, e.g. English state school teacher

•Aspiring students: admission podcasts (heavily downloaded)

•METU current students

•Instructors (Turkey) from other universities

•Polish secondary school teacher classroom use: task - students using the site to gather resources for revision (of A. Mickiewicz works)

•Undergraduate students, e.g. Georgia Tech

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What do users value?

VARIETY

ENJOYMENT ‘FREENESS’

QUALITY

CONTENT

USERS VALUE

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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 usedcognitive focus, knowledge transfer, structure, formal learning,

e.g. OpenCourseWare, podcasts, digital books,no registrations

http://www.flickr.com/photos/livenature/273464253/in/photostreamCC Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0), By Franco Folini

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OER ‘2.0’ – what is there AND how it is usedInteraction 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 269 ॐ twiga 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

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Meaning of Diversity

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)

Needs, abilities, ages, religions, nationalities

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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? / Вопр сыо́� ?

E-mails and OERDr Patrick McAndrew (OLnet Director): p.mcandrew@open.ac.ukDr Ann Jones (OLnet Evaluation): a.c.jones@open.ac.ukProf Eileen Scanlon (OLnet Evaluation): e.scanlon@open.ac.ukKatarzyna (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/

References & links• 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://education-portal.com/articles/Open_Education_Around_17the_World_Education-Portalcom_Speaks_with_the_Middle_East_Technical_University.html

• Quotes from interviews conducted by K.Kozinska with Melissa Highton (OpenSpires) and Preetha Ram (OpenStudy)

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Image by 姒儿喵喵, http://www.flickr.com/photos/crystaljingsr/3914729343/in/photostream/

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