This presentation identifies motivations for and myths about open educational resources. The presentation was shared for a workshop "Open Education for Collaboration, Flexibility, and Global Visibility", which I gave at University of Nairobi on August 27, 2013. All of the materials for the workshop are available at http://openmi.ch/uon-aug2013.

1. Kathleen Ludewig Omollo
University of Michigan - Open.Michigan Initiative
Audience: University of Nairobi School of Public Health
Download slides: http://openmi.ch/uon-aug2013
Except where otherwise noted, this work is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Copyright 2013 The Regents of the University of Michigan.
1
Open Education - Designing the
Learning Experience
Open Education for Collaboration,
Flexibility, and Global Visibility

2. Objective
2
• Examine approaches to designing learning
experiences that promote social-cognitive
learning

3. Illustration is All Rights Reserved Susan E. Haviland, 2008. From the article: Minds on Fire, by John Seely Brown
and Richard P. Adler, 2008, at
http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/minds-fire-open-education-long-tail-and-learning-20. The text of this article is
shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. 3

4. Open
Education
Ecosystem
Validating
learning
through OE
Validating
learning
through OE
Certifi-
cates
Certifi-
cates
CreditsCredits
BadgesBadges
http://www.oer-europe.net/
http://www.fgv.br/fgvonline
https://p2pu.org/en/






Slide from: “Opening Up – Enabling Innovation and New Ways of Learning through Open Education in Africa”, CC BY, Igor Lesko, Open
Courseware Consortium, elearning Africa 2013,
http://www.slideshare.net/OCWConsortium/opening-up-enabling-innovation-and-new-ways-of-learning-through-open-education-in-africa.
4

5. Small Group Learning
• What conditions are necessary in order for
small group discussions to be successful
learning experiences?
5

6. Small group learning should
support cooperation &
collaboration
6
Cooperation Collaboration
Task based work Roles change
Separate roles Undefined goals
Structured tasks Solutions negotiated by participants
through communication
Specific end or goal Open-ended questions/problems
Close-ended questions/problems Can involve arguing, tension, etc. in the
process
(Egbert, 2009)
Slide adapted from: “Empowering the Medical School Educator to Teach More Effectively”, CC BY Chris Chapman, University of
Michigan, http://open.umich.edu/education/med/resources/teach-effectively/2012/.

7. Small group learning should
encourage multiple perspectives.
7
Slide adapted from: “Empowering the Medical School Educator to Teach More Effectively”, CC BY Chris Chapman, University of
Michigan, http://open.umich.edu/education/med/resources/teach-effectively/2012/.

8. Small group decision making
should be transparent.
8
Slide adapted from: “Empowering the Medical School Educator to Teach More Effectively”, CC BY Chris Chapman, University of
Michigan, http://open.umich.edu/education/med/resources/teach-effectively/2012/.
Type Description
Command Group leader or other trusted individual makes final decision.
Consult An external authority or expert in the field of interest
evaluates the information generated by the group and makes
the decision.
Vote Use when there are several good options to choose from. Do
not use if some group members will not support the final
vote.
Consensus Use with high stakes/complex issues or when everyone must
support the final decision.
(Patterson, Grenny, McMillian, & Switzler, 2002)
Jonan Donaldson
Oregon State University Ecampus

9. Digital literacies
are built through
digital portfolios.
Slide from: Building
Digital Literacies
through Digital
Portfolios, Jonan
Donaldson
Oregon State
University
Ecampus, CC BY

10. Learning is an increase in knowledge.
“a change in what the learner knows, caused by a
learning experience”
“a change in what the learner knows, caused by a
learning experience”
10
Source: Mayer, R. E. (2011). Applying the science of learning. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, p. 14.

11. Illustration is All Rights Reserved Susan E. Haviland, 2008. From the article: Minds on Fire, by John Seely Brown
and Richard P. Adler, 2008, at
http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/minds-fire-open-education-long-tail-and-learning-20. The text of this article is
shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. 11

12. Illustration is All Rights Reserved Susan E. Haviland, 2008. From the article: Minds on Fire, by John Seely Brown
and Richard P. Adler, 2008, at
http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/minds-fire-open-education-long-tail-and-learning-20. The text of this article is
shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. 12

13. Learning As Social Activity
• Learning is not possession of a collection of
facts, it’s the expression of a capacity
• Learning is recognized by a community of
experts in a network
13
We recognize our understandings…
…by the way we use them in our social network
Learning analytics
Slide adapted from: “OERS, MOOCs, and the Future”, CC BY NC SA, Stephen Downes, May 25, 2013,
http://www.slideshare.net/Downes/2013-05-25-couros-course2013.

14. 14
Illustration is All Rights Reserved Susan E. Haviland, 2008. From the article: Minds on Fire, by John Seely Brown
and Richard P. Adler, 2008, at
http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/minds-fire-open-education-long-tail-and-learning-20. The text of this article is
shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.

15. Instruction is intentional.
• “Manipulating what the learner experiences with
the intention to cause a change in the learner’s
knowledge”
• “Manipulating what the learner experiences with
the intention to cause a change in the learner’s
knowledge”
15
Source: Mayer, R. E. (2011). Applying the science of learning. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, p. 52.

16. Learning vs Instruction
16
Source: Mayer, R. E. (2011). Applying the science of learning. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, p. 52.
Slide from: “Empowering the Medical School Educator to Teach More Effectively”, CC BY, Chris Chapman,
http://open.umich.edu/education/med/resources/teach-effectively/2012.

17. Memory retention is best at start and
end of lecture.
17
Sousa, D. A. (2006). How the brain learns (3rd
Edition). Thousand Oaks, Ca: Corwin Press. Figure 3.4

18. Working Memory is the cognitive system that
holds and processes new information.
18
Babbage Baddeley’s model of working memory. Wikipedia
Slide from: “PowerPoint Supported by the Science of Learning”, CC BY Barbara Eckstein, University of Michigan,
http://www.slideshare.net/ummedicalschool/powerpoint-supported-by-the-science-of-learning-using-the-assertionevidence-model-to-make-your-po

19. Working Memory is the cognitive system that
holds and processes new information.
19
Controls Focus of Attention
Slide from: “PowerPoint Supported by the Science of Learning”, CC BY Barbara Eckstein, University of Michigan,
http://www.slideshare.net/ummedicalschool/powerpoint-supported-by-the-science-of-learning-using-the-assertionevidence-model-to-make-your-po
Babbage Baddeley’s model of working memory. Wikipedia

20. Working Memory is the cognitive system that
holds and processes new information.
20
Processes Language – Visual
and Audio
Slide from: “PowerPoint Supported by the Science of Learning”, CC BY Barbara Eckstein, University of Michigan,
http://www.slideshare.net/ummedicalschool/powerpoint-supported-by-the-science-of-learning-using-the-assertionevidence-model-to-make-your-po
Babbage Baddeley’s model of working memory. Wikipedia

21. Working Memory is the cognitive system that
holds and processes new information.
21
Processes Images and Orients
Person in Space
Slide from: “PowerPoint Supported by the Science of Learning”, CC BY Barbara Eckstein, University of Michigan,
http://www.slideshare.net/ummedicalschool/powerpoint-supported-by-the-science-of-learning-using-the-assertionevidence-model-to-make-your-po
Babbage Baddeley’s model of working memory. Wikipedia

22. Working Memory is the cognitive system that
holds and processes new information.
22
Moves Information to
Long Term Memory
Slide from: “PowerPoint Supported by the Science of Learning”, CC BY Barbara Eckstein, University of Michigan,
http://www.slideshare.net/ummedicalschool/powerpoint-supported-by-the-science-of-learning-using-the-assertionevidence-model-to-make-your-po
Babbage Baddeley’s model of working memory. Wikipedia

23. Proven Instructional Principles for
Multimedia
• Coherence:
– Extraneous material not related to the focus of
the lesson overloads the processing channels and
impedes learning
• Visual: unnecessary colors, complicated drawings,
irrelevant pictures or on-screen text
• Auditory: background music or sound effects
24Slide adapted from: “Instructional Design Tips for Computer-Based E-Learning”, CC BY Cary Engleberg, University of Michigan,
http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/guides/instructional-design-tips/2010.

24. There are multiple ways in which a presentation
can overload working memory.
25
Words
Eyes
Ears
Visuo-Spatial
Sketchpad
Phonological
Loop
Slide from: “PowerPoint Supported by the Science of Learning”, CC BY Barbara Eckstein, University of Michigan,
http://www.slideshare.net/ummedicalschool/powerpoint-supported-by-the-science-of-learning-using-the-assertionevidence-model-to-make-your-po

25. There are multiple ways in which a presentation
can overload working memory.
26
Eyes
Ears
Visuo-Spatial
Sketchpad
Phonological
Loop
Images
Slide from: “PowerPoint Supported by the Science of Learning”, CC BY Barbara Eckstein, University of Michigan,
http://www.slideshare.net/ummedicalschool/powerpoint-supported-by-the-science-of-learning-using-the-assertionevidence-model-to-make-your-po

26. There are multiple ways in which a presentation
can overload working memory.
27
Words
Eyes
Ears
Visuo-Spatial
Sketchpad
Phonological
Loop
Images
Slide from: “PowerPoint Supported by the Science of Learning”, CC BY Barbara Eckstein, University of Michigan,
http://www.slideshare.net/ummedicalschool/powerpoint-supported-by-the-science-of-learning-using-the-assertionevidence-model-to-make-your-po

27. Information received through images and sound can be
processed and supports understanding and retention.
28
Words
Eyes
Ears
Visuo-Spatial
Sketchpad
Phonological
Loop
Images
Slide from: “PowerPoint Supported by the Science of Learning”, CC BY Barbara Eckstein, University of Michigan,
http://www.slideshare.net/ummedicalschool/powerpoint-supported-by-the-science-of-learning-using-the-assertionevidence-model-
to-make-your-point

28. Proven Instructional Principles for
Multimedia
• Signaling
– Limited text, highlighting, or arrows to focus the
learners attention enhances learning
• Redundancy
– Elimination of on-screen text of the narration with
the video or animation impairs learning
29Slide from: “Instructional Design Tips for Computer-Based E-Learning”, CC BY Cary Engleberg, University of Michigan,
http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/guides/instructional-design-tips/2010.

29. Proven Instructional Principles for
Multimedia
• Spatial Contiguity
– Placing text or labels next to the object they label
improves learning
• Temporal Contiguity
– When narration and animation are present
simultaneously, learning is improved
30Slide from: “Instructional Design Tips for Computer-Based E-Learning”, CC BY Cary Engleberg, University of Michigan,
http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/guides/instructional-design-tips/2010.

30. Proven Instructional Principles for
Multimedia
• Segmenting
– Breaking up complex presentations into learner-
controlled segments improves learning
• Pre-training
– Making learners aware of terms and definitions prior
to explaining a process improves learning
• Modality
– Pictures and voice are better assimilated than
pictures and printed words
31Slide from: “Instructional Design Tips for Computer-Based E-Learning”, CC BY Cary Engleberg, University of Michigan,
http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/guides/instructional-design-tips/2010.

31. Proven Instructional Principles for
Multimedia
• Personalization
– Narration should be directed personally at the
learner, using the pronouns “you” and “I” rather
than a passive voice.
• Voice principle
– A human, familiar voice in narrations enhances
learning
32Slide from: “Instructional Design Tips for Computer-Based E-Learning”, CC BY Cary Engleberg, University of Michigan,
http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/guides/instructional-design-tips/2010.

32. There are three conditions for writing a clear
assertion-evidence slide.
1. The assertion sentence makes sense by itself.
2. The assertion sentence is clear and specific.
3. The visual reference directly illustrates or
supports the assertion.
33
Slide from: “PowerPoint Supported by the Science of Learning”, CC BY Barbara Eckstein, University of Michigan,
http://www.slideshare.net/ummedicalschool/powerpoint-supported-by-the-science-of-learning-using-the-assertionevidence-model-
to-make-your-point

33. Nursing’s culture of accountability continues to result
in near perfect compliance.
34
Assertion
Slide from: “PowerPoint Supported by the Science of Learning”, CC BY Barbara Eckstein, University of Michigan,
http://www.slideshare.net/ummedicalschool/powerpoint-supported-by-the-science-of-learning-using-the-assertionevidence-model-
to-make-your-point

34. Nursing’s culture of accountability continues to result
in near perfect compliance.
Evidence
Slide from: “PowerPoint Supported by the Science of Learning”, CC BY Barbara Eckstein, University of Michigan,
http://www.slideshare.net/ummedicalschool/powerpoint-supported-by-the-science-of-learning-using-the-assertionevidence-model-
to-make-your-point

35. Students learn best when we stop trying to teach them and
instead give them a framework in which to discover.
Slide from: Building Digital Literacies through Digital Portfolios, Jonan Donaldson
Oregon State University Ecampus, CC BY

36. Questions?
37