1. OER and associated practices
– opportunities and challenges
Gráinne Conole,
The Open University, UK
g.c.conole@open.ac.uk
OPAL research panel
Paris, 8-9th November 2010

2. Purpose
• 20 international experts to discuss a roadmap
and guidelines on the question how to make
OER first rate choices in educational
organizations and surrounding issues.

3. Basic definition
The open provision of educational resources, enabled by
information and communication technologies, for
consultation, use and adaptation by a community of users
for non-commercial purposes (UNESCO 2002)
Broader definition
Learning resources
Courseware, content modules, learning objects, learner
support & assessment tools, online learning communities
Resources to support teachers
Tools for teachers and support materials to enable them to
create, adapt and use OER; training materials for teachers
Resources to assure the quality of education and educational
practices (UNESCO 2004)

4. cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/2209
Twitter: OPAL10

5. OER - a vision of transformation
Beyond content – focus on activity and use
Learners as self-directed and autonomous
More of a focus on sharing, refinement,
iteration, critical reflection
OER as a potential catalyst to transforming
educational practice
Improvements in social inclusion, quality and
innovation

6. From resources to practices

7. The OPAL vision
7
Open Educational Resource Practice
OEP constitute the range of practices around the
creation, use and management of OER with the intent
to improve quality and innovate education.
Focus on the practice around OER rather than the
resources
Better understanding will lead to improvements in the
quality of OER and more innovation

8. Abstracting dimensions of Practice
Open Educational Practices
(OEP)
Practices around the creation, use and
management of Open Educational
Resources
Approach
60+ case studies of OER collected
Dimensions of OEP derived
Online consultation process
http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/2105

9. Open Educational Practice Dimensions
Strategies and policies
Quality Assurance models
Partnership models
Business models/sustainability strategies
Barriers and success factors
Tools and tool practices
Skills development and support
Innovations
Strategies and polices
Barriers and success factors
Tools and tool practices
Skills development and support
Strategies and policies
Quality Assurance models
Partnership models
Business models/sustainability strategies
Barriers and success factors
Tools and tool practices
Skills development and support
Innovations

10. The OEP cube model
• THE DIMENSION: What?
– Strategies and Policies
– Barriers and Success Factors
– Tools and Tool Practices
– Skills Development and Support
• THE CONTEXT: Where?
– Macro level (society)
– Meso level (organisation)
– Micro level (individuals)
• MATURITY: How well is it established?
– Initial (not yet started)
– Managed
– Defined
– Optimizing (embedded / advanced)
CONTEXT
10

11. Refining the dimension
11
Strategies & Policies
Barriers and Success Factors
Tools & tool practices
Skills Development & Support
QA models
Partnership Models
Business Models
Sustainability Strategies
Barriers
Success Factors
Tools
Tool Practices
Digital Literacy
Support structures and processes
12 skills of evolving digital literacy
Henry Jenkins
CYBERLEARNING REPORT
CONTEXT

12. Maturity View
• INITIAL (not yet started): Process
unpredictable, poorly controlled
and reactive
• MANAGED: Process characterized
for projects and is often reactive.
• DEFINED: Process characterized
for the organisation and is
proactive (Projects tailor their
process from the organisation’s
standard)
• OPTIMIZING (embedded /
advanced): Process is measured
and controlled, the focus on
process improvement
12
CONTEXT

13. Maturity model 13
Macro-level:
Societal
Meso-level:
Organisation
Micro-level:
Individual
Levels
OER
embedded
in strategy
Institutional OER
repository
Adapted from diagram by T. Koskinen

14. Uses and benefits
• Three uses
– Benchmarking
– Guidance
– Reflection and comparison
• Benefits
– Guides users in understanding how to think about
the key issues.
– Flexible enough to cover the multiple stakeholders
– Sub-cubes provide practical illustrative examples
– Useful as a mechanism for institutions to self-
benchmark
14

15. Mapping the case studies
15
Micro Meso Macro
Strategies and
policies
Personal
motivations
and goals
Institutional
strategies and
policies in place
Embedded in
national policy
and funding
Barriers and
success factors
Tension
between
research and
teaching
Lack of
appropriate
structure
Lack of funding
or rewards
Tools and tool
practices
Use of web 2.0
tools to discuss
OER
Institutional
OER repository
National
repository
available
Skills
development
and support
Peer review
and discussion
Institutional
workshops on
OER
Hewett OER
projects and
OCW

16. Question 1
• What opportunities do OER offer from your
perspective?

17. Question 2
• What do you think are the key challenges to
achieving this vision?

18. Question 3
• 4 dimensions of OEP (strategy and policy,
barriers and success factors, tools and tool
practice, staff development/support)
• What are your views on these?
• Is there anything else we should include?

19. Question 4
• What kind of guidelines derived from these
dimensions of OEP would be useful for those
involved in creating, using and managing OER?

20. Breakout Groups – Room XV
• Ulf Ehlers
• Tom Wambecke
• Tim Unwin
• Ricarda Reimer
• Dirk Schneckenberg
• Maruja Guttierez-Dias (Tuesday)
• Thomas Richter
• Jan Pawlowski
• Diego Leal

21. Breakout Groups – Room 36 level 13
• Chris Pegler
• David Storti
• Indrajit Banerjee
• Zeynep Varoglou
• Andy Lane
• Ville Venäläinen
• Jose Luis Ramos
• Julia Minguillion Alfonso
• Steve Ryan

22. Breakout Groups – Room 19 level 6
• Anna-Kaarina Kairamo
• Goncalo Silva
• Abel Caine
• Susan D’Antoni
• Hans Põldoja
• Eta De Cicco
• Seb Schmoller