Talk given at the Virtual Schools Symposium on October 23, 2012 in New Orleans, LA

1. Open Educational Resources
Policy and Development
TJ Bliss
Rep. Scott Hochberg
This work is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Slides 2-38 attributed to David Wiley

2. Education Is Sharing
the technical argument

3. Education Is Sharing
the technical argument

4. Teachers Share With Students
knowledge and skills
feedback and criticism
encouragement

5. Students Share With Teachers
questions
assignments
tests

6. If There Is No Sharing
there is no education

7. Successful Educators
share most completely
with the most students

8. Knowledge is Magical
can be given without being given away

9. Physical Expressions Are Not
to give a book you must give it away

10. Expressions Are Different
To give a book you must give it away

11. When Expressions Are Digital
they also become magical

13. E.g., Online Book
We can all read simultaneously

14. An Indescribable Advance
the first time in human history

15. Both Knowledge and Expressions
can be given without being given away

16. Unprecedented Capacity
we can share as never before

17. Unprecedented Capacity
we can educate as never before

18. What Does “Share” Mean?
online it means copy and distribute

19. Cost of “Copy”
For one 250 page book:
• Copy by hand - $1,000
• Copy by print on demand - $4.90
• Copy by computer - $0.00084

20. Cost of “Distribute”
For one 250 page book:
• Distribute by mail - $5.20
• Distribute by Internet - $0.00072

21. Copy and Distribute are “Free”
this changes everything

22. Educational Sharing
also means adapting or editing

23. Sense-making, Meaning-making
connecting to prior knowledge
relating to past experience
(in an appropriate language)

24. Digital Makes Editing “Free”
editing a printed book or magazine
is difficult and expensive

25. Free Copy, Distribute, Edit
we can share as never before

26. Free Copy, Distribute, Edit
we can educate as never before

27. Except We Can’t
© forbids copying, distributing, and editing

28. © Cancels the Possibilities
of digital media and the internet

29. Internet Copyright
Enables Forbids
what to do?

31. use copyright to enforce sharing

32. The 4Rs
Reuse – copy verbatim
Redistribute – share with others
Revise – adapt and edit
Remix – combine with others

34. Over 400 Million Items
using CC licenses at end of 2010

35. Image Credit:

36. Image Credits: ck12.org; yale.edu;

37. The “Open” in OER
free permission to do the 4Rs

38. Internet OER
Enables Allows
sharing and educating at
unprecedented scale

39. OER Policy
What is it?
Why is it needed?

40. OER Policy
• Allows copyright retention
• Funds development
• Materials definition
• Grants adoption authority
• Encourages/supports adoption

41. K-12 State Policies
Georgia Virtual Learning OER terms of use (GA)
H.B. 2336 (WA) – Form advisory committee on state-led OCW
H.B. 2337 (WA) – Creation of state-led OCW
H.B. 6 (TX) – Instructional Materials Allotment
L.D. 569 (ME) – Establishes clearinghouse for info on use of OER (K12)
Rule R277-111 (UT) – Educators may use CC license on materials produced (K12)
S.B. 6231 (WA) – Appropriation of textbook funds to OER development (K12)
H.B. 1941 (VA) – Permission for state employees to use CC licenses
H.B. 2488 (TX) – Relating to OER adoption in public schools
S.B. 6460 (WA) – Requires model policy for open licensing of courseware

42. Three Unique Cases
Washington
Utah
Texas

43. Washington
Legislative Support
State Board of Education Support
Statewide Initiatives

44. Washington H.B. 2337
• Requires CCSSO to take lead in developing
openly licensed courseware
• Allocates 1.5% of state instructional materials
budget to content development

45. Washington OSPI
• Full-time staff dedicated to implementation
• Project development
• Advisory committee
• Ongoing communication with legislators

46. Potential in Washington
• 294 districts
• 1 million K-12 students
• $130 million textbook budget
• $6 million per book per grade
• A few adoptions in a few districts = $$$ saved
• 1-million student-owned books
– Take home
– Annotate
– Highlight

47. Utah
State Board of Education Support
OER Expertise
District and Statewide Initiatives

48. Utah R277-111-3
• Educators may share materials for
noncommercial use under CC license
• Educators do need permission to share
personally developed materials
• Educators may not sell materials developed
with public funds (i.e. developed within scope
of employment)

49. OER Drivers in Utah
• Individuals
– State Board personnel
– Education researchers (Open Education Group)
• Schools
– Open High School of Utah
• Districts
– Nebo

50. Utah Open Textbook Project
• 3,000 students using open science texts in 2012
• $5 per book
• Realized cost savings = $15,000
• Science expanding to 75,000 students in 2013
• Potential 7-year savings:
– Science only = $3 million
– Science plus other core subjects = $10 million
• The student benefit

51. Texas
Legislative Policy

52. Rep. Scott Hochberg
Texas H.B. 2488

53. iNACOL OER Policy Fellowship
• Research and Authoring Two Reports
1. OER Policy Models, Strategies and
Recommendations
• Practical guide for policymakers related to policies
supporting adoption, use, and development of OER

54. Are you aware of any policies related to
OER at the school, district, or state levels?

55. iNACOL OER Policy Fellowship
• Research and Authoring Two Reports
1. OER Policy Models, Strategies and
Recommendations
• Practical guide for policymakers related to policies
supporting adoption, use, and development of OER
2. OER Collaborative Development Guide
• Practical guide for states, districts, and schools for
content development in the context of the common
core.

56. Collaborative Content Development Guide
– Why it’s important to use/develop OER
– How and why on getting started
– Lessons learned from past/current initiatives
– Steps to take
– Recommendations
– Resources

57. Are you aware of any past or current
content development initiatives that are
using open educational resources (OER)?

58. iNACOL OER Policy Fellow
TJ Bliss
tjbliss@inacol.org