1. OERs and Curriculum: Revisiting Course
Design in Distance and e-learning
Alan Tait
The Open University UK
ICDE Bali 2011
ICDE 2011 - Alan Tait

2. The Aspirations
• Learning Resources provided by other organisations
would support individual learning, underpinned by
accreditation where wanted.
• Move away from content to learning strategy
• Would reduce cost in both North and South, and support
efficiency and social justice.
ICDE 2011 - Alan Tait

3. The Aspirations
• Ethos supported by “Creative Commons” license would
allow easy local tailoring and versioning.
• Peer-content from learners would begin to accompany
institutionally produced content.
ICDE 2011 - Alan Tait

4. Realities
• Small number of wealthy institutions provide OERs
• Risk of Western cultural dominance
• OERs gaining significant informal usage by individuals
• Limited evidence of progression through to study
• Limited evidence of lower proportion of content (but not
none)
• Significant evidence of marketing/study choice usage
• Lack of sustainable business model
ICDE 2011 - Alan Tait

5. Barriers and challenges
• Academic resistance to removal of key element of
academic identity in DE.
• Difficulty in imagining pedagogy of lower content model
in OU’s
• Difficulty in constructing new understandings of Quality
• Challenge of Internationalisation and entry of for-profits
puts pressure on heavy resource models
• Universities’ difficulties in collaboration - new models
needed?
ICDE 2011 - Alan Tait

6. Revisiting the Possibilities
• Wider context of freely available materials: on-line
libraries and archives, Wikipedia, freely available
databases along with OER repositories
• Rise of non-course delivered credit (e.g. APL/PLA in
USA)
• Development of new pedagogies (for instructor-led and
learner-led models
ICDE 2011 - Alan Tait

7. Constructing a plan
• Embedding of importance of Investigation as key student
learning outcome
• Deliver defined efficiencies in curriculum production, e.g.
30%
• Recognise disciplinary differences
• Design partnerships for change with academic and support
communities
• Work with student community to ensure audience moves
with institution.
ICDE 2011 - Alan Tait