Presentation given at SAIDE (South African Institution of Distance Education) in Johannesburg, 15 June 2012. The audience included friends of mine from the University of the Witwatersrand and consultants in the fields of adult basic education and training, and so I included an overview of the whole field of OERs before sharing what I had learnt about the OER university through my TOUCANS research. Presentation overview: Part 1: OERs... the story so far Part 2: The OERu from the inside out (views of people working within OERu network institutions) Part 3: The OERu from the outside in (UK HEI views on the OERu concept) Please note that this is work in progress and findings are indicative.

1. The OER university
from the inside out
and the outside in
A seminar at SAIDE by Gabi Witthaus, 15 June 2012

2. Introduction
Testing the OER
university
Concept: a
National Study
www.le.ac.uk/toucans
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwarby/7188563020/

3. Overview
• Part 1: OERs… the story so far
• Part 2: The OERu from the inside out
• Part 3: The OERu from the outside in (UK HEI
views on the OERu concept)
Health and safety alert: work in progess 

4. Part 1: OERs - the story so far…

5. This kid wants to go
to university one
day…. So does
this
one...
Image by Steve Jurvetson

6. A traditional university education
Image by ttarasiuk

7. In 2001, MIT disrupted the model…
http://ocw.mit.edu/

8. In 2006, the OU tried it in the UK
http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/

9. And then…
Enrolments increased…

10. So were they
just blowing…
their own
trumpets?
Image by Sara Björk

11. Or was it a
situation?

12. In 2008, it became a movement
http://www.capetowndeclaration.org

13. Because some things don’t
need reinventing…
Image by Thomas Guest

14. And some
things are
rather
specialised.
Image by Steve Jurvetson

15. From 2009 to present: UKOER

16. www.creativecommons.org

17. At first, there were a lot of headaches…
Metadata
Copyright
To brand or not to brand?
Tracking
Formats reuse
Image by JD Hancock

18. But we soon found… we  sharing
Image by D.Begley

19. #ukoer

20. So what does it mean
for him?
And for
him?
Image by Steve Jurvetson

21. Anyone can access OERs with a
computer and an internet
connection
Image by Babak Fakhamzadeh

22. So now…

23. We’ve moved from this:
Image by ttarasiuk

24. To this:
You can look…
Image by Elvert Barnes
Image by Elvert Barnes

25. But you can’t enjoy the
sweet taste of success.
Image by Ralph Daily

26. 100 million adults
eligible for university
who can’t afford it
(UNESCO)
Image by James Cridland

27. Will this…
ever be possible for the 100 million?
Image by Pete Birkinshaw

28. Maybe…

29. Because openness is infectious…

30. The OER
university
(OERu)
concept
http://wikieducator.org/File:OER-University-concept.png

31. OERu partners are all accredited by
national accrediting bodies
http://wikieducator.org/Oeru

32. What is the OERu?
Image by normanack on flickr

33. Local
assessment
and
credentialling
Friesen & Murray, 2011: http://tinyurl.com/openlearning2-0

34. This is… “Open Learning 2.0”: … Any
student can study any content, supported
in any number of instructional
arrangements… The “local” institutional
evaluation and accreditation… (remain)
at the centre of the model… Even though
learning is achieved through flexible
arrangements, it can… still be rigorously
assessed and credentialed. (Friesen and
Murray, 2011)
http://tinyurl.com/openlearning2-0

35. Cost to learner:
Less than 25% of usual fees
Cost to institution:
OERu - less than 0.5% of their total offerings

36. Part 2: from the inside looking out

39. Curriculum?
Image by Jayel Aheram

41. Assessment?
Image by flippinyank

43. Accreditation and credit transfer?
Image by IvanWalsh.com

45. But will it work for the learners?
Help!!!!!
Photo by Erik Charlton

46. Volunteers to the rescue?
Photo by MisterJamie

48. What’s the business model?
Image by Gabi Witthaus cc-by

50. So perhaps this…
is a real possibility for the 100 million?
Photo by Dallas Vegan

51. Many thanks to the following people for their generous sharing of information:
•Prof. Terry Anderson (Professor and Canada Research Chair in Distance Education,
Athabasca University, Canada)
•Dr Elizabeth Archer (Specialist: Institutional Research at the University of South Africa)
•Kevin Bell (Innovation Team: Leader of Learning and Development, Southern New
Hampshire University, USA)
•David Bull (Director: University Preparatory Programs, University of Southern
Queensland, Australia)
•Irwin DeVries (Director, Instructional Design, Thompson Rivers University, Canada)
•Vasi Doncheva (Flexible Learning Manager, Northtec Polytechnic, New Zealand)
•Wayne Mackintosh (Director: International Centre for Open Education, Otago
Polytechnic, New Zealand, and Founding Director of the OER Foundation)
•Prof. Rory McGreal (Associate Vice-President, Athabasca University, Canada)
•Prof. Joyce McKnight (Associate Professor, State University of New York/ Empire
State College, USA. Speaking in her personal capacity as a scholar.)
•Terry Neal (Flexible Learning Manager, Open Polytechnic, New Zealand)
•Paul Stacey (Director, Curriculum Development, BC Campus, Canada)
•Herbert Thomas (Electronic Learning Media Team Leader, Canterbury University, New
Zealand)
•Prof. Sandra Wills (Executive Director, Learning and Teaching, Wollongong University,
Australia)
Thanks also to Dr Patrick McAndrew at the Open University and colleagues at the
University of Leicester, especially Dr Ming Nie and Dr Alejandro Armellini, for their
support in this research.

52. Part 3: from the outside looking in

53. Research methodology
• Interviews with OERu network partner
members (14)
• Interviews with UK HEI thought leaders (9)
• Survey among UK HEIs (42 respondents)
• Weightings allocated by “expert group” to
generate “compatibility” benchmarking tool
• Sample institutional compatibility scores
calculated

54. The survey
Bournemouth University University of Bath,
Coventry University University of Cambridge
De Montfort University University of Huddersfield,
Institute of Education University of Hull,
King's College London University of Leeds,
Leeds Met University (2) University of Leicester (5)
Loughborough University University of Manchester
Middlesex University University of Nottingham (2)
Newcastle University University of Oxford
Open University (4) University of Southampton
Southampton Solent University of Surrey
University Plus eight others

55. The respondents (N=42)

56. Is your institution in the OERu network?

57. The interviews
• Leicester: Christine Fyfe (PVC), Dave Hall
(Registrar), Prof. Grainne Conole (Director, BDRA)
• OU: Andrew Law (Dir, Open Media)
• Salford: Prof. Martin Hall (VC)
• Edinburgh: Prof. Jeff Haywood (CIO)
• Nottingham: Prof. Wyn Morgan (Dir, Teaching &
Learning)
• Derby: Julie Stone
• JISC (personal capacity): Amber Thomas
• JISC (personal capacity): David Kernohan

58. Response theme (1)

59. Response theme (2)

62. With many thanks to…
Andy Lane, Vivien Rolf, Terese Bird, Grainne
Conole, Christine Fyfe, Fred Garnett, Graham
Gibbs, Dave Hall, Martin Hall, Jeff Haywood,
David Kernohan, Andrew Law, Wayne
Mackintosh, Patrick McAndrew, Angela
Murphy, Ming Nie, Amber Thomas and
Stephen Walker for all the help and support in
carrying out this research.

63. What do you think?
Could this be an opportunity…

64. To shape the future
for them…
and for them?
Images by by Steve Jurvetson, James Cridland, Walt Stoneburner

65. www.toucansproject.wordpress.com