Presented by Terri Edwards and Alannah Fitzgerald at the Open Educational Resources (OER16) Conference on April 20, 2016 https://oer16.oerconf.org/sessions/from-clarion-calls-to-autocomplete-errors-a-nascent-discourse-on-openness-from-uk-universities-1176/

1. From clarion calls to auto-complete errors:
a nascent discourse on openness from UK universities
http://johnjohnston.info/106/automating-autocomplete-gifs/
Terri Edwards and Alannah Fitzgerald

2. Background and aims of the study
• It all started with our FLAX Language study in 2012 at
Durham
• Since Cambridge2012, as part of an EdD module, decided
to investigate the state of OER in UK HE
• Guardian HE ranking is open and easily accessible
• Discourse analysis (see Selwyn, N. (2015). Minding our
language: why education and technology is full of bullshit
… and what might be done about it. Learning, Media and
Technology, 1–7.
http://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2015.1012523)

3. Context of study
Top and bottom 10 universities on the
Guardian University League Table 2014
Ranking Name of Institution
1 Cambridge
2 Oxford
3 St. Andrews
4 Bath
5 Imperial College London
6 Surrey
7 The London School of Economics (LSE)
8 Durham
9 Warwick
10 Lancaster
107 Southampton Solent
108 Leeds Beckett (formerly Leeds Metropolitan)
109 East London
110 West of Scotland
111 Leeds Trinity
112 London South Bank
113 Bolton
114 Bucks New University
115 Bedfordshire
116 London Metropolitan
Keyword search terms
OER
Open Access
MOOC
Open Content
Open Data
Open Research
Source: The Guardian (2014)
http://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-
interactive/2014/jun/02/university-league-tables-2015-the-
complete-list.

4. Sample of artefacts found
• Clarion calls: MOOC outreach and branding, committee
meeting proposals on openness and minutes, blogs,
guidance for students, staff profiles and outputs on OER
• Top 10 universities: OER discourse clearly present even if
not always aligned to open education policy
• Bottom 10 universities: no results in 3 cases; even for
Open Access self-archiving in some institutions; guidance
for PhDs e.g. taking MOOCs “while they’re still free”
• Auto-complete errors: “MOOC - did you mean...?” (book,
moot), “Open access to computers in the library”

5. Conclusions
• Enough data to suggest openness is under discussion
everywhere but at a glacial pace overall
• Some institutions have dedicated OER teams and
collaborations across institutions
• Some “OER champions” even in the bottom 10
• Some institutions are afraid to jump on the bandwagon
• Others are blissfully unaware the bandwagon is rolling
by...
• Research methods: discourse analysis of openness in
HE can be mined and scaled more accurately across
contexts and datasets

6. References
• Ayres, P. (2014). UCL Library Services [Online]. Retrieved from http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1452206/1/20_October_2014_-
_OA_Principle_and_Practice.pdf
• Bowen, W. G. (2013). Higher Education in the Digital Age. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• ECSSHSCUG1442 (2015). Durham University Faculty of Social Sciences and Health Education Committee (Undergraduate)
Minutes. Retrieved from https://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/academicsupport.office/committees/overview/2015-01-
19_SSH_FECUG_minutes_FINAL.pdf
• Fitzgerald, A. (2013a). Openness in English for Academic Purposes. Case Study with Durham University. The Higher
Education Academy.
• Goodfellow, R. & Lea, M. R. (2013). Literacy in the Digital University: Critical Perspectives on Learning, Scholarship, and
Technology. Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Series. London and New York: Routledge.
• Haywood, J. & Macleod, H. (2015). To MOOC or not to MOOC? University Decision-making and Agile Governance for
Educational Innovation. In: (ed. P. Kim) Massive Open Online Courses: The MOOC Revolution. New York & London:
Routledge.
• London Metropolitan Faculty of Business and Law (2013-14).FBL Research Training Handbook. Retrieved from
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/faculties/faculty-of-business-and-law/london-guildhall-faculty-of-business--law/guildhall-
research-and-enterprise/institute-for-advanced-studies-in-business-management-and-law/research-training/fbl-research-
training-handbook/
• Selwyn, N. (2015). Minding our language: why education and technology is full of bullshit … and what might be done about
it. Learning, Media and Technology, 1–7. http://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2015.1012523
• The Guardian (2014, June 2). University League Table 2015 – the complete list. Retrieved from Rennie, F. & Morrison, T.
(2013). E-Learning and Social Networking Handbook: Resources for Higher Education. 2nd edition. New York & London:
Routledge.
• http://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2014/jun/02/university-league-tables-2015-the-complete-list
• Universities UK (2007). Publishing research results: the challenges of open access. Policy briefing. Retrieved from
http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/highereducation/Documents/2007/PublishingResearchResults.pdf
• Universities UK (2013a). Universities UK report considers development of online courses. Retrieved from
http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/highereducation/Pages/MOOCsHigherEducationDigitalMoment.aspx#.VSkbwLl0zFg
• Universities UK (2013b). Massive Open Online Courses: Higher Education’s digital moment?. Retrieved from
http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/highereducation/Documents/2013/MassiveOpenOnlineCourses.pdf .
• Yuan, L. & Powell, S. (2013). MOOCs and Open Education: Implications for Higher Education. JISC cetis. Retrieved from
http://publications.cetis.ac.uk/2013/667.

7. Thank You
Comments and questions welcome:
Terri Edwards (Durham Uni. English Language Centre) terri.edwards@dur.ac.uk
Alannah Fitzgerald (FLAX Open Language Research): a_fitzg@education.concordia.ca
TOETOE Technology for Open English Blog: www.alannahfitzgerald.org
Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/AlannahOpenEd/
Twitter: @AlannahFitz