This document discusses open education, open educational resources (OERs), and massive open online courses (MOOCs) in Romania. It provides context and definitions for key terms, and outlines several national and institutional initiatives related to OERs and MOOCs in Romania. It describes projects focused on OERs, MOOCs, and integrating MOOCs into formal education. It also discusses drivers and barriers to OER/MOOC development and adoption in Romania. Overall the document aims to provide an overview of Romanian initiatives in the open education space.

1. Open Education, Open Educational Resources
and Massive Open Online Courses.
Romanian Initiatives
Carmen Holotescu
Professor PhD
University „Ioan Slavici” of Timisoara, Romania
CNIV & ICVL
October 29, 2016, Craiova Romania

2. Contents
1. Open Education
2. OERs and MOOCs
3. Romanian Initiatives. Drivers and Barriers
4. Scenarios for integrating MOOCs in formal
education
5. Conclusions and Invitation

3. Open Education Definition
Core and Transversal Dimensions
Open education is a mode of realising
education, enabled by digital technologies
aiming to widen access and participation to
everyone.
It offers multiple ways of teaching and learning,
building and sharing knowledge, as well as a
variety of access routes to formal and non-
formal education, bridging them.
Open education means access to content,
courses, support, assessment and certification
in ways that are flexible, and accommodate
diverse needs. Barriers, as regards for example
entry or cost, are reduced or eliminated.
Source: OpenEdu JRC IPTS Report “Opening up
Education: a support framework for HE
institutions”, 2016
ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/open-education

4. „ICT tools, Open Educational
Resources (OERs), and open
educational practices (OEPs)
allow for an increase in the
effectiveness of education,
allowing for more personalised
learning, a better learning
experience.
Ultimately, opening up
education may lead to a
situation where all individuals
may learn anytime, anywhere,
with the support of anyone,
using any device.”
Open Education Europa
Opening up education through new technologies Initiative
openeducationeuropa.eu
ec.europa.eu/education/policy/strategic-framework/education-
technology_en.htm (Sept 2013)

5. OER 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.org/new/en/communication-and-information/access-to-knowledge/open-educational-resources
UNESCO (2002)

6. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002136/213605e.pdf
What are OERs? Open Educational Resources
„are any type of educational
materials that are in the public
domain or introduced with an open
license.
The nature of these open materials
means that anyone can legally and
freely copy, use, adapt and re-share
them. OERs range from textbooks to
curricula, syllabi, lecture notes,
assignments, tests, projects, audio,
video
and animation.”
Big and Little OERs
(Weller, 2010)
Massive OERs = OpenMOOCs
(ECO Project, OE Consortium + EdX)

7. flickr.com/photos/mathplourde/8620174342/
2008 - 1st cMOOC: George Siemens and Stephen Downes co-taught “Connectivism and
Connective Knowledge” - 25 tuition-paying students at the University of Manitoba, Canada plus
~2300 participants worldwide.
web.archive.org/web/20080629220943/http://ltc.umanitoba.ca:83/connectivism/

8. class-central.com
mooc-list.com
MOOC platforms and directories
Adapted from
slideshare.net/ggrosseck/miniatelier-de-initiere-in-mooc
edx.org/verified-certificate
edx.org/xseries
edx.org/micromasters
udacity.com/nanodegree
coursera.org/specializations
futurelearn.com/programs
In May 2015 - the largest MOOC ever:
440,000 participants in English Language
Learning MOOC
http://tinyurl.com/largestMOOC

9. http://www.openuped.eu/
http://home.eadtu.eu/
Higher Education Online: MOOCs the European
way
Fostering international Higher Education
collaboration though ICT and open education
http://www.menon.org/projects/emundus
The European Multiple MOOC Aggregator
http://platform.europeanmoocs.eu
http://home.eadtu.eu/
The European Association of Distance
Teaching Universities
https://ecolearning.eu/
http://bizmooc.eu/
http://movemeproject.eu/
Adapted from
slideshare.net/ggrosseck/miniatelier-de-initiere-in-mooc
European Projects related to MOOCs
“MOOCs are online courses designed for large
numbers of participants (>148, Dunbar
number), that can be accessed by anyone
anywhere as long as they have an internet
connection, are open to everyone without
entry qualifications, and offer a full/complete
course experience online for free”.
eadtu.eu/documents/Publications/OEenM/Institutional
_MOOC_strategies_in_Europe.pdf

10. OE Initiatives in Romania
educatiedeschisa.ro
poerup.referata.com/wiki/Romania

11. CCR was launched in
September 2, 2008, with
the help of ApTI
(The Association for
Technology and Internet)
http://ro.creativecommons.org/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ro/
http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Romania

12. National OE initiatives
1. Knowledge based Economy Project (2005-2013)
• OER educational policies (recommendations in 2007)
• OE Resources and Practices: in the schools participating in the project
2. OER in the Government Programme
• National Strategy on Digital Agenda for Romania 2020 (Feb 2015):
Strategic Lines of Development for ICT in Education: using OER and Web
2.0 in formal and LLL education - imdd.ro/sites/default/files/library (ro);
• Manifesto for Digital Romania is expected to be adopted on Nov 3, 2016 -
in the Forum "Digital Romania – Industry 4.0" - ithub.gov.ro/industry-4-0/
• Digital textbooks - manuale.edu.ro; don’t use open licences / format
3. Romanian Coalition for OER
Launced in October 2013, gathering persons and organizations that
support and promote the concepts of open access and OER -
educatiedeschisa.ro; guides/workshops; organized 3 National
Conferences for Open Education in 2014-6; four proposals for open
education for the new government inovarepublica.ro/educatie-deschisa-
romania/; OER repository is planned (spring 2016)
4. The Educated Romania (2016-2018)
Project of the Romanian Presidency; a broad public debate on education
and research for a set clear policies presidency.ro/ro/romania-educata

13. Regional and institutional OER initiatives
Related to FLOSS (Free / Libre / Open
Source Software):
• Groups
• Conferences/Events
• Courses / Trainings / Research
• Linux distributions and Open
Source projects development
Related to OER, OEP and Open
Content/Access:
• Courses / Trainings / Programs
• Open Content / Open Access /
Communities for OER and OEP
• Studies

14. Open Educational Resources / Practices (1)
- "OER Awareness Activities for Librarians and
Academics in Romania", funded by CC Affiliate
Project, implemented in 2013-2014 by ApTI
Association for Technology and Internet, Soros
Foundation Romania and National Association of
Libraries and Librarians in Romania:
workshops/events related to OER/MOOC, two
guides
- Projects and sites that offer
information/workshops about copyright issues,
open licenses and OER: Open Educational
Resources Policy in Europe
http://oerpolicy.eu/?s=romania,
http://kosson.ro, http://acces-deschis,
http://oerup.eu, http://copy-me.org,
http://www.ordu.ro,
http://dreptuldeautor.noisieu.ro/creative-
commons , http://culturaineducatie.ro
- Different products developed under CC licenses
http://ro.creativecommons.org
- Digital resources on the KEP portal created
by teachers and pupils in the pre-university
system, by using different Web2.0
technologies, guide “OER for different
disciplines” http://tinyurl.com/KEPOERguide
- KEP launched two guides in 2012, having as
central topics the OER and collaborative
technologies (Web2.0) in education:
"Integration of new technologies in
education" and "Using ICT for educational
activities"
- Open journals related to open education are
http://iteach.ro/experientedidactice,
http://www.elearning.ro
- Open materials and discussions around them:
http://forum.portal.edu.ro, http://didactic.ro,
http://e-scoala.ro, http://www.dascali.ro,
http://educatie.inmures.ro

15. - Teachers training in KEP, Didatec project
(http://ctmtc.utcluj.ro/sites/didatec_ )
received certificates, acknowledging also their
skills in using/creating OER
- Training/courses related to open educational
pedagogies are offered by Moodle Romania,
Didatec, iTeach, Sloop2desc, ActiveWatch
Media Monitoring, UPT Technology Enhanced
Learning hosted by Cirip.eu, Compendiu.ro -
links at
http://poerup.referata.com/wiki/Romania#Re
gional_OER_initiatives
- Projects under CC licenses for Informal
Learning / Serendipity: Romanian Encyclopedia
http://enciclopediaromaniei.ro , Veioza Arte
http://veiozaarte.ro - a video sharing platform
acting as an open source production house for
the Romanian cultural scene, Local Records
http://www.localrec.ro are collections of audio
products, Brașov Creative Commons Film
Festival http://bvccfilmfest.tumblr.com
- City Projects http://cityprojects.ro - community
proposing/working on software projects for
local communities/ smart cities, based on open
data
- Most of the national projects related to OER
are designed / implemented for the pre-
university level, while in academia they are
implemented by a single university or a group
of universities
Open Educational Resources / Practices (2)

16. Projects related to MOOCs (1)
- UniCampus unicampus.ro: Started in April 2014
under the initiative of Politehnica University of
Timisoara and Association of Technical Universities
from Romania (rouni.ro ); offers cMOOCs on a
platform based on Moodle;
- NOVAMOOC novamooc.uvt.ro: Development and
innovative implementation of MOOCs in Higher
Education, West University Timisoara (2015-17);
- MOOC.ro mooc.ro: Developed by Moodle.ro,
currently offers a MOOC about Moodle courses ;
- UniBuc Virtual unibuc-virtual.net: Credis,
Department of Distance Learning of University of
Bucharest, offered 3 MOOCs for Teachers Training on
a platform based on Google Apps;
- eStudent.ro – vlogging platform for courses;
- University "Vasile Goldis" Arad plans to offer
MOOCs in partnership with Fédération
Européenne des Écoles;
- University „Babes Bolyai” Cluj Napoca –
eLIADA eliada.ubbcluj.ro/proiect - materials
for 4 MOOCs;
- MOOCs on Udemy – ONG Management,
Association Young Initiative
udemy.com/management-ong;
- Critical Thinking MOOC was developed and
run in 2014 by Maastricht School of
Management Romania on Iversity
(msmromania.org/content/msmro-produces-
first-mooc-eastern-europe);
- MOOC in medical education – Romanian
Angel Appeal Foundation – raa.ro
- Drivers:
- researchers and teaching staff, seldom the policy makers and managers of the institutions
- the Romanian Coalition for OER;

17. Projects related to MOOCs (2)
- For the next future
- Virtual mobilities through MOOCs
- Pilot for credit tranfer system allowing
students’ participation in MOOCs to count
towards their degrees; at this moment for
some courses the participation in MOOCs
can contribute to the activity mark
- Developing MOOCs together with
companies assuring a better integration in
the labour market.
- Check also:
- Opening Up Education in Romania”
scribd.com/doc/264227758/Opening-up-
education-in-Romania
- OER in Romania
- poerup.referata.com/wiki/Romania
- Experiments for integrating MOOCs in
blended academic courses at Politehnica
University of Timisoara (Web Programming
and Instructional Technologies courses),
University “Ioan Slavici” of Timisoara
(Multimedia and OOP courses);
- Teacher continuing professional
development using MOOCS at University
“Ioan Slavici” of Timisoara - participation in
MOOCs related to OE, but also to topics of
taught courses and research directions;
- MOOCBuddy – the 1st Messenger chatbot
for MOOCs -
facebook.com/MyMOOCBuddy
- Workshops (eLSE) and national
conferences (Open Education, SMART)
related to open education organized by the
Romanian Coalition for OER; pre-MOOCs
with open badges
- Studies, PhD thesis – search MOOC
Romania on GS;

18. Strengths in Romanian OE initiatives
Romania is active in the OE movement:
• trainings/courses related to OER and OEP organized for both pre-
university and university sectors
• formal documents at governamental level related to OER and Web2.0
• national events related to open resources produced by pre-university
teachers; national guides were published too
• directories with open resources (more numerous for pre-university
level)
• projects in development for MOOCs at university level and for
continuing education
• strong communities/events for open source, open access, open data,
open licences.

19. From POERUP elevator pitch (March 2013): 26 countries in 26 minutes, slide 11
http://www.slideshare.net/witthaus/poerup-elevator-pitch

20. Barriers in the OERs/MOOCs development
and adoption
• rigid policies in formal education related to curricular systems and
assessment practices;
• the lack of possibility to officially accredit online courses, in spite of
an impressive number of projects rlated to online courses in the last
15 years, and of the policy proposals coming from different or-
ganizations. Such courses can only be used in a blended aproach in
formal education;
• the lack of strategies at national level related to MOOCs in formal and
continuing education;
• teachers lack of time and interest to explore, understand, evaluate
and use new technologies, OERs and MOOCs in teaching-learning
process;
• a reduced number of training programs for adopting open
educational practices;
• lack of incentives, official recognition and promotion for teachers
implementing open educational practices.

21. Blending MOOCs in university courses - EdX
„We are taking what we are learning and the technologies we are developing in
the large and applying them in the small to create a blended model of
education to really reinvent and reimagine the classroom.”
We need to go from lectures on the blackboard to online exercises, online
videos. We have to go to interactive virtual laboratories and
gamification. To go to completely online grading and peer
interaction and discussion boards.
Everything really has to change.”
Anant Agarwal, 2013. Why massive open online courses (still) matter.
A TED presentation,
ted.com/talks/anant_agarwal_why_massively_open_online_courses_still_matter.html

22. Variants of blending MOOCs in university courses

23. Web Programming, IV – Politehnica University of Timisoara
Multimedia and OOP Courses, II-III –
University Ioan Slavici of Timisoara

24. Mobile learning features
• Allow students to become familiar (aware) with the MOOC phenomenon and
trends:
•the most important players/platforms/offers, types of learning,
interaction and specific pedagogies
•to be able to search and evaluate useful and quality MOOCs;
• To enlarge knowledge/topics of the course: to obtain an auxiliary support for
students’ group project development; for personal/professional development
• Allow students to have concrete views, opinions and proposals on MOOCs
and to critically evaluate their usefulness for personal development and for
different ways of integration in formal higher education courses.
Aims of integrating MOOCs

25. Steps for MOOCs Integration
• 1.MOOCs discovery and selection - #mooc:
•openeducationeuropa.eu
•mooc-list.com
•futurelearn.com
•class-central.com
• 2.Participation in MOOCs –requirement: at least 10%/50% of the activities
• 3.Learning Experience as Digital Story
• 4.MOOCs participation evaluation

26. A Model for MOOCs Integration

27. - For teachers:
- new skills and tasks:
- complex course design/management
- OERs and MOOCs curation
- evaluation of distributed/collaborative
activities of students,
- facilitation of the local learning
community and nurture of its
integration in the global communities of
MOOCs
- improving knowledge in their own area
of expertise
- improving their competencies/skills for
adopting new models of OEP
- For students:
- autonomy in assessing their own
learning needs for choosing the
MOOCs in which to participate
- exposing to:
- high quality materials created with
top educational technologies
- collaboration in global learning
communities
- a broader range of experiences
Benefits/Challenges of MOOCs integration in blended
courses/flipped classrooms
make xMOOCs more close to cMOOCs

28. • Does your institution have an open
education strategy?
If so, what is it?
If not, why is this so?
• How do the OE dimensions fit your
existing/future open education
scenarios?
• How do you integrate OER/MOOC in
your teaching and learning practices?
OEE Good Practices - ~200 scenarios, top locations:
Greece, Romania, Spain, UK, Lithuania, Italy
openeducationeuropa.eu/en/good-practices
OpenCases: catalogue of mini cases on OE in Europe
ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/opencases-catalogue-mini-
cases-open-education-europe
Let’s discuss!
OE Core Dimensions
access content pedagogy
collaboration recognition
research
OE Transversal Dimensions
technology strategy quality
leadership

29. Mulțumesc!
Carmen Holotescu
Twitter: @cami13
tinyurl.com/cholotescu
Invitation
Romanian Coalition for OER - educatiedeschisa.ro
4th SMART Conference + pre-MOOC – Timisoara, 17-20 Nov, 2016 – academia.edusoft.ro
4th eLSE Workshop on Open Education + pre-MOOC, 27-28 April, 2017, Bucharest –
elseconference.eu