Presentation for the SLOAN Consortium and MERLOT Annual Conference on 27th July 2012 in Las Vegas. An overview of open education activities in the Faculty of Health and Life Science at De Montfort University by Viv Rolfe.

1. “Buns and burners”
OPEN STEM EDUCATION in the UK
(Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)

2. 5th Annual International Symposium for Emerging
Technologies for Online Learning
July 25-27, 2012
The Venetian | Palazzo Resort - Las Vegas, Nevada
50 minute presentation by:
Dr Viv Rolfe BSc PhD
National Teacher Fellow

3. Hello Vegas!
Boy I’ve always wanted to say that!
I’m a Principal Lecturer in Anatomy and
Physiology at De Montfort University in the
UK. I develop and use animations and
multimedia resources to support student
learning, and am a great advocate of
OPEN EDUCATION and the sharing
of these resources globally to support
ALL LEARNERS.
I’m looking forward to my trip to Vegas,
and then on to Boston and Newport. I just
wish I could have brought my horn
with me!

4. With the exception of the institutional LOGOS
all materials in this presentation are openly licensed for use:
CC – BY
Please attribute Dr Vivien Rolfe, De Montfort University

5. • De Montfort University
• Education establishment
since 1870
• 25,000 students
• Arts, Science, Business and
Law, Technology
• The Queen visited in March
2012!

6. Outline
1. UK OER and higher education landscape
2. Why support STEM subjects? (Science,
technology, engineering and mathematics)
3. DMU Research and activities
A. Student experience of OER
B. How to creating the best OER
C. Promoting discovery and open technology
D. Growth and other STEM initiatives
4. Summary

7. LANDSCAPE

8. Outline
1. UK OER and higher education landscape
2. Why support STEM subjects? (Science,
technology, engineering and mathematics)
3. DMU Research and activities
A. Student experience of OER
B. How to create the best OER
C. Promoting discovery and open technology
D. Growth and other STEM initiatives
4. Summary

9. UK Higher Education (HE)
• 500,000 entrants each year
• 2.5 million in total in HE
• 400,000 total from outside the UK
Universities UK 2012

10. Open Education in the UK
• Government-funded Jorum.ac.uk
UK Open Educational
Resource Programme UKOER
• £11.8 million
• 3 phases 2009, 2010, 2011
• Open University SCORE
Fellowships
• JORUM national repository

11. Open Education in the UK
• Open University – 600 courses online
• Oxford’s iTunes U materials – over 12 million
downloads
• From De Montfort:
– STEM – life science focus
– Over 500 courses, learning objects, videos,
animations, podcasts and 1000’s of individual assets
– Estimated 30,000 global visitors to our websites
viewing 100,000 pages

12. Outline
1. UK OER and higher education landscape
2. Why support STEM subjects? (Science,
technology, engineering and mathematics)
3. DMU Research and activities
A. Student experience of OER
B. How to create the best OER
C. Promoting discovery and open technology
D. Growth and other STEM initiatives
4. Summary

13. Why Support STEM?
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics
"STEM skills are vital for UK business competitiveness, but
they are in short supply. Over the next three years more
than half of employers expect to have difficulties recruiting
staff with these skills.“ (CBI 2011)

14. Problems “STEM” from Schools
• University science students often have no lab
experience from school (Rolfe 2009).
“A lot of titrations and buns and burner
experiments. Very difficult”.
• Graduate lab skills deficit as highlighted by
professional bodies.
“Practical skills; graduates need excellent laboratory
and technical skills” (ABPI 2008, CBI 2010).

15. Potential Audience for OER
• 1 in 5 students study “lab science” in UK HE so
potential for impact is huge, and then multiply
globally!

16. Outline
1. UK OER and higher education landscape
2. Why support STEM subjects? (Science,
technology, engineering and mathematics)
3. DMU Research and activities
A. Student experience of OER
B. How to create the best OER
C. Promoting discovery and open technology
D. Growth and other STEM initiatives
4. Summary

17. DMU Research and Activity
2009 VAL
Lab skills
UKOER Funding Phase 1
2010 SCOOTER
Blood disorders
UKOER Phase 2
2011 HALS
Medical sciences, forensic
sciences, nursing, midwifery
UKOER Phase 3

18. Outline
1. UK OER and higher education landscape
2. Why support STEM subjects? (Science,
technology, engineering and mathematics)
3. DMU Research and activities
A. Student experience of OER
B. How to create the best OER
C. Promoting discovery and open technology
D. Growth and other STEM initiatives
4. Summary

19. Student Experiences
• Research on the student OER experience is
lacking (Bacsich et al 2011).
• VAL improved knowledge gain and confidence
of science students before going into the lab
(Rolfe 2009).

20. “The future for learning”. (Student)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj6I7wN6zNI&feature=plcp

21. • "It is excellent to see such hard work being
distributed throughout the world for free. These
resources are of very high quality and are valuable
adjuncts to education. I feel proud of the fact that I
study at De Montfort University". (Student in 2010).
• “It would be a good thing because some of the
information here might be explained
differently from another tutor at another
university” (Student in 2010).

22. • “I know it sounds really cheeky
but we live in a day and age
where we’ve got to pay for it,
why should everybody else get
it free”. (Student in 2012).
• “It depends what materials are
shared. If it’s full course
material then I don’t think
that’s right. Any student
studying and paying fees, those
fees are being paid for access £30K for a 3 year
to that course material”. degree course!
(Student in 2012).

23. Learner Perceptions – shifting?
• Students LIKE OER and LIKE the concept.
• With increases in fees students seem more
cautious about sharing materials THEY have
paid for.
• But OER can offer new educational models
and solutions.

24. Outline
1. UK OER and higher education landscape
2. Why support STEM subjects? (Science,
technology, engineering and mathematics)
3. DMU Research and activities
A. Student experience of OER
B. How to create the best OER
C. Promoting discovery and open technology
D. Growth and other STEM initiatives
4. Summary

25. How to Create the BEST OER
Use (unchanged)
Discovery
Publication Improvement
Nathan Yergler 2010

26. Building External Collaborations
• We work with public and private sector -
Leicestershire Police Constabulary, the National
Health Service and the publishing industry with
Oxford University Press.
• OER support employment / employability.
• Quality OER based on real-life scenarios.
• Collaborators are end-users of OER.

27. Hospital
assets / data
Pathology slides from the
Leicester Royal Infirmary
Used for university- DMU
biomedical science teaching
Creates OER
Used for trainee
biomedical scientists
in the hospital
Shared
benefits

28. Out of
publication text
book DMU release
with Creative
Given with kind permission
Commons
by Dr Amy Livingstone
Wittenberg University
Global
resource

29. Fingerprint
Society
Finger print materials
and expert knowledge
DMU
For Forensic Sciences Creates OER
Shared
benefits

30. Motivation for Involvement
External Partner Business Model
Leicestershire Constabulary Graduate employability
National Health Service Graduate employability / staff continual
professional development (CPD)
Oxford University Press Business development / quality
supplementary information
Forensic Focus Business development
The Fingerprint Society Maintaining quality of professional
materials
•Unexpected benefits (research projects, Masters, PhD
opportunities; visiting professorships support undergraduate
teaching).

31. Building STEM Communities

32. Outline
1. UK OER and higher education landscape
2. Why support STEM subjects? (Science,
technology, engineering and mathematics)
3. DMU Research and activities
A. Student experience of OER
B. How to create the best OER
C. Promoting discovery and open technology
D. Growth and other STEM initiatives
4. Summary

33. Promoting Discovery
• SEO = search engine optimisation.
• Means of improving a website’s visibility in
the Google (mainly) rankings.
• Drive organic traffic (through keywords) and
back links (URL on other sites).
• Social networking strategy – Facebook,
Twitter, Posterous, Pinterest, YouTube.
• 2012 changes place importance on authority,
profiles, Google +
• ££££££££££££££$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

34. Our “Bite-sized” SEO Strategy
Rolfe & Griffin 2011

35. Why Adopt this Approach?
• To make OER discoverable.
• Alternative to the institutional repository. 165
HE institutions in the UK. Are they open? Who
maintains them after project funding stops?
• Most users find stuff these days doing a
Google search – not by RSS going to
repositories (Richard Windle, Nottingham
University).

36. Two Examples
SCOOTER UKOER2 HALS UKOER3
Wordpress Direct Blog Wordpress Direct Blog
Static OER HTML pages OER Blog articles with RSS feed
Basic SEO Enhanced SEO (eZine submissions,
press releases)
Posterous (Facebook/Twitter/Blogs) Posterous
(Facebook/Twitter/Blogs)
Google Analytics for basic tracking Enhanced monitoring of site
of site performance performance
£ Pragmatic and time realistic ££ Enhanced SEO campaign

37. Reach and Impact of our OER?
• E.g. Virtual Analytical Laboratory VAL.
• 200 web pages of basic lab skills in multiple file
formats.
• Evaluation through Google analytics / on-line surveys
– WHERE? 21,000 visitors from 134 countries (UK, USA,
Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia, Singapore)
– BACKLIONKS? Oxford university press
– WHO? Stay at home mom. Day care provider. Student.
Trash collector. Accountant. Lifeguard. Unemployed.
– WHY? “I always wanted to know how a microscope
worked”. (Trash collector).

38. Outline
1. UK OER and higher education landscape
2. Why support STEM subjects? (Science,
technology, engineering and mathematics)
3. DMU Research and activities
A. Student experience of OER
B. How to create the best OER
C. Promoting discovery and open technology
D. Growth and other STEM initiatives
4. Summary

39. PROBLEMS with OER
• Many resources ARE NOT OPEN!
– Unusable technical formats (SCORM packaged,
QuestionMarkPerception quizzes).
– Lack of instructions for use / unpackaging.
– Articulate Presenter files interoperable on iPad.
• We need to ensure resources are TECHNICALLY OPEN. What
format? What granularity? What technical skills are required?

40. PROBLEMS with OER
• OPEN does not always mean educationally effective:
– Whilst a video is a fantastic way of learning, if the video
doesn’t contain written information throughout then it
can be difficult to remember what it is being told.
– The animation with voice over is effective as the learning
outcomes are present so you can relate back to them at
the end and see if you have achieved what you wanted to.
(Dyslexic Student, 2012)
• Ensure OPEN means EDUCATIONALLY EFFECTIVE.

41. PROBLEMS with MEDICAL OER
• Becomes outdated.
• How to make sensitive material “open”? E.g. autopsy
photographs, death and palliative care OER all
unreleased.
• Extra scrutiny of materials ©, patient confidentiality
and data protection.
• Ensure OER is HEALTHY.

42. Growth and other STEM initiatives
• 6 month Commonwealth research fellowship
exchange with University of Ibadan, Nigera to
develop a sickle cell health-promotion game.
• Sickle cell schools resources translated into
Portugese, Spanish and Italian.
•
VAL part of UK ESTEEM Project
(£1 million).

43. Outline
1. UK OER and higher education landscape
2. Why support STEM subjects? (Science,
technology, engineering and mathematics)
3. DMU Research and activities
A. Student experience of OER
B. How to create the best OER
C. Promoting discovery and open technology
D. Growth and other STEM initiatives
4. Summary

44. 4. Summary
Enhance Support science TO
STEM Quality of
and THROUGH graduates
education
UK / Global university
Students buy-in
Websites Sensitive to fees and what should be OER
VAL
VAL improves knowledge gain & confidence
SCOOTER
HALS External collaborators – quality OER;
local networks; employability

45. 4. Summary
Enhance Support science TO and Quality of
STEM THROUGH university
education graduates
UK / Global
Use SEO to build global networks.
More fragile, less dialogue.
Monitor impact on learning?
Websites
VAL Multiple formats for longevity,
SCOOTER accessibility, interoperability.
HALS
NEW ROUTES FOR DISCOVERY?
APPS?
Apple Newsstand
Android Newsstand / Market Place

46. References
• ABPI 2008. Skills needs for biomedical research. Available July 2012:
http://www.abpi.org.uk/our-work/library/industry/Documents/skills-biomedical-research.pdf
• Bacsich P 2011. Learner voice literature review. Available July 2012:
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/oer2/LearnerVoice.aspx
• CBI 2010. Set for growth. Available July 2012:
http://www.cbi.org.uk/media/935312/2010.08-set-for-growth.pdf
• CBI 2011. Building for growth. Business priorities for education and skills. Available July 2012:
http://www.cbi.org.uk/media/1051530/cbi__edi_education___skills_survey_2011.pdf
• HALS (Health and Life Science Open Educational Resources). Available July 2012:
http://www.biologycourses.co.uk
• Rolfe V 2009. Development of a Virtual Analytical Laboratory (VAL) multimedia resource to
support student transition to laboratory science at university. Available July 2012:
www.bioscience.heacademy.ac.uk/ftp/casestudies/VRolfe.pdf

47. References
• Rolfe V and Griffin SJ (2011). A Guide to SEO
http://www.sicklecellanaemia.org/teaching-resources/resources/scooter80/SCOOTER80a_SEO_Guid
• Rolfe V, Fowler M and Dyson S (2011). Sickle cell in the university curriculum. Available July
2012:
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/rmp/dhc/2011/00000008/00000004/art00006
• SCOOTER (Sickle Cell Open – Online Topics and Educational Resources). Available July 2012:
http://www.sicklecellanaemia.org
• Universities UK 2012. Overview of the HE sector. Available July 2012:
http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/UKHESector/Pages/OverviewSector.aspx
• VAL (Virtual Analytical Laboratory). Available July 2012: http://www.tinyurl.com/oerval
• Yergler NR 2010. Search and Discovery : OER's Open Loop. Available July 2012:
http://openaccess.uoc.edu/webapps/o2/handle/10609/4852

48. Thank You’s
Staff and students Collaborators
Funding
Leicestershire
Police

49. Thank You Vegas!
Twitter
@DMUViv
Facebook
Viv Rolfe
Email
vrolfe@dmu.ac.uk
YouTube Channels
Biology Courses
Belvoir Academy