OEP Roadmap for Learners
Introduction
Openness is one of the most influential drivers of change in education and training today. Learners can access free content for learning more easily than ever before. Many Universities have started OER programs and also in the field of adult learning and lifelong learning OERs are more commonly used by learners all around the globe. Not only within educational organizations learners are today more frequently encouraged to learn with OER but also in private and informal learning activities OER are a valuable source to learn and develop oneself. In addition to learning with OER learners are also provided more frequently now with possibilities to publish study materials which they have collected themselves, reassembled into their own learning and knowledge portfolio.
Open learning practices are entailing
- Using OER for your learning
- Publishing your own portfolios of learning materials collections for others to use them
- Knowing how and where to find OER
- Experience in assessing the value of OER for your own learning
- Knowing about open licenses
- Being an autonomous learner, experienced in learning methods, organizing and assessing your own learning
- Competent in using tools for accessing and publishing learning and exchanging experiences with others
This “open learning” is changing learning because it takes away the focus of educational organizations and teaches as the sole source for learning and encourages earners all around the world to become professional autonomous lifelong learners. One identified barrier, however, for adopting open practices on your own learning is quality – do you, as a learner, trust OER being first rate materials and openness being a suitable path for your learning? The Open Educational Quality Initiative (OPAL) has therefore developed this Guideline on Quality and Innovation through Open Educational Practices for learners. It is outlining those dimensions which we feel could help you to improve your own learning capabilities with OER.
OPAL starts from the premise that it is necessary to raise awareness and build trust into the quality of how open learning ecologies, tools and content can support the use, creation and re-use of OERs. It is evident that the OER movement has begun to move well beyond an initial focus on mere access to practices. The initiative aims to provide guidance to learners, educators, leaders of educational institutions, and policy makers on how to strengthen Open Educational Practices (OEP) within their specific contexts.
Open educational practices (OEP) are defined as practices which support the (re)use and production of open educational resources (OER) through institutional policies, promote innovative pedagogical models, and respect and empower learners as co-producers on their lifelong learning path. This guide includes concrete advice on how to strengthen OEP for your learning.
The OPAL guidelines are based on a rigorous analysis of over 100 real-life case studies on the use of OER and have been assessed by a group of experts on OER. The Guidelines move beyond the question of how to access OER into the question of how open learning ecologies, tools and content can support the use, creation and re-use of OERs.
The OPAL Guide to Open Educational Practices consists of three main parts that pave the way to transform your learning. The three step process begins with an assessment exercise that helps you to understand your current situation with regard to organizational OEP development. The second step provides a reflection on your vision towards openness and assists you in setting the goal. The third part includes advice on implementing the change. Your will find the three parts accessible directly from this introductory section.
Step 1: Positioning your Organization in the OEP Trajectory
OEP consists essentially of the use of open educational resources in open learning environments/ architectures. The maturity matrix allows for positioning your organization according to the uptake of OEP. For learners, this means answering the following questions:
- To what extent are you using and repurposing OER in your organization?
- To what extent are you sharing OER and open educational practices in your organization?
Step 2: Creating a Vision of Openness and a Strategy for OEP in an Organization
We believe that OEP can be supported through strategic planning. This second part of the OEP guideline helps you to better understand the strategy within your own context. This section is designed to analyze your strategic environment in relation to relevant dimensions of open educational practice strategy of your organization. For learners, this means answering the following questions:
- Is a vision for OEP shared across organization?
- Are you involved in any partnerships in relation to OEP?
- Are OEP perceived as relevant across the organization?
Step 3: Implementing and Promoting OEP
The third section contains dimensions which are important to create a favorable environment for OEP within your context. For learners, this means answering the following questions:
- Are OEP used?
- What level of knowledge and skills do teachers have in relation to open learning architectures and OEP?
- Level of digital literacy skills
Background
In 2012 it will be 10 years since the UNESCO has coined the term “open educational resources” (OER)(UNESCO 2002). A few years down the line the concept had become popular. The OECD suggested with their report in 2007 that the concept of “Giving away knowledge for free” had made a considerable carrier and outlined areas in which further work would be necessary to boost openness for educational resources, amongst them predominantly emphasizing to improve access to OER on a global scale (OECD 2007). The public debate on OER became more and more aligned with the UNESCO decade program “Education for All” which strives for universal access to primary education by 2015. It aims at building equal access for everyone to education.
Although (OER) are high on the agenda of social and inclusion policies and supported by many stakeholders of the educational sphere, their use in higher education (HE) has not yet reached a critical threshold. This has to do with the fact that the past, and largely also the current, focus in OER is mainly put on building more access to digital content. There is too little consideration of whether this will support educational practices, promote quality and innovation in teaching and learning. We consider that OER are moving from a first phase in which the emphasis was on ‘opening up access and availability’ to a second phase with the focus will be on ‘improving learning quality’ through OER. We therefore suggest extending the focus beyond ‘resource access’ to ‘innovative open educational practices’ (OEP).
In short, open educational practices constitute the adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER) within open learning ecologies. The creation, use, and re-use of open educational resources, as well as the exploitation of open learning ecologies can be challenging for learners and educators, but also for leaders of educational institutions. Policy makers, as well, often need to be made aware of and understand both concepts, and can play a strategic role in fostering a rapid uptake of OER and enabling a timely adoption of OEP.
- From OER to OEP
In order to facilitate the shift from OER to OEP, it is important to outline all factors which are influencing the actual creation, use, sharing and reuse of OER for learners, educational professionals and organizational leaders in one common framework. The OPAL OEP Framework is such a framework. It outlines all dimensions which need to be taken into account when wanting to stimulate a vibrant use of OER and when aiming to transform education and learning in your organisation.
Best Practices
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| Case Name | Institution | Topic | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| CCCOER: The Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources | Using OER | Creation of OER, Using OER, Repurposing OER, Tools for Sharing, Support Mechanisms | |
| U-NOW, University of Nottingham | Using OER | Creation of OER, Using OER, Usage of OER, Tools for Sharing, Quality Concepts | |
| Selection of E-learning Personalization Strategies | Innovation | Using OER, Support Mechanisms | |
| OpenSpires – Oxford University | Using OER | Creation of OER, Using OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER | |
| Multimedia Training Videos, University of Westminster | Innovation | Vision of OEP, Strategy and/or Policy for OEP, Relevance: How to Convince Others of OEP?, Open Educational Practices, Tools for Sharing | |
| Open Learning Environment for Low Countries Early Modern History, University College London | Learning | Creation of OER, Using OER, Digital Literacy | |
| Mobile internet and web apps for real-life contexts in Mozambique | Learning | Usage of OER, Business Model for OEP, Quality Concepts, Digital Literacy | |
| Open Science Resources: Eratosthenes' Measurement of Earth's circumference | Using OER | Using OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Vision of OEP, Open Educational Practices, Commitment, Mindsets and Attitudes, Tools for Sharing | |
| Using OER in academic study | Using OER | Creation of OER, Using OER, Repurposing OER, Sharing OER | |
| We are an independent knowledge dissemination initiative operating on a very limited budget - our free video web cast talks reach hundreds and thousands of English language teachers globally and provide historically unprecedented free access to cutting edge leaders in the field and other writers and researchers. http://www.tesolacademic.org/ | Using OER | Using OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Open Educational Practices | |
| Jose Vladimir Burgos Aguilar, Liaison Officer of Innovation and Educational Technology at the Innov@TE Center – Center for Innovation in Technology and Education. Project manager of OCW Tecnológico de Monterrey (http://ocw.itesm.mx) | Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) | Something Else | Creation of OER, Using OER, Repurposing OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Vision of OEP, Strategy and/or Policy for OEP, Partnerships, Relevance: How to Convince Others of OEP?, IPR Framework for OEP, Incentives and/or Motivation, Open Educational Practices, Tools for Sharing, Quality Concepts, Skills and Knowledge for OEP, Digital Literacy, Support Mechanisms |
| OER@AVU: AVU contributing to global knowledge through open textbooks | African Virtual University | Using OER | Creation of OER, Using OER, Repurposing OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Partnerships, Relevance: How to Convince Others of OEP?, Incentives and/or Motivation, Open Educational Practices, Quality Concepts, Digital Literacy, Support Mechanisms |
| Teaching Resources on Undergraduate Economics (TRUE), Bristol University and 13 other HE partners | Learning | Creation of OER, Using OER, Sharing OER | |
| OER4Schools Project – Cambridge University | Using OER | Creation of OER, Using OER, Usage of OER | |
| The National Digital Learning Repository | Improving Quality | Creation of OER, Using OER, Repurposing OER, Sharing OER, Vision of OEP, IPR Framework for OEP, Open Educational Practices, Tools for Sharing, Skills and Knowledge for OEP | |
| OpenER, a Dutch initiative in Open Educational Resources | Using OER | Using OER, Repurposing OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, IPR Framework for OEP, Commitment, Mindsets and Attitudes, Tools for Sharing, Quality Concepts | |
| wikiwijs | Using OER | Creation of OER, Using OER, Sharing OER | |
| KELDAmed | Sharing OER | ||
| CampusContent | Innovation | Usage of OER, Vision of OEP, Strategy and/or Policy for OEP, Relevance: How to Convince Others of OEP?, Open Educational Practices, Tools for Sharing, Skills and Knowledge for OEP | |
| Podcampus | Innovation | Creation of OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Tools for Sharing, Quality Concepts | |
| Zentrale für Unterrichtsmedien | Using OER | Using OER, Repurposing OER, Usage of OER, Incentives and/or Motivation, Commitment, Mindsets and Attitudes, Tools for Sharing, Quality Concepts | |
| EducaNext | Innovation | Creation of OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Partnerships | |
| UnisulVirtual | Learning | Creation of OER, Using OER, Repurposing OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Vision of OEP, Strategy and/or Policy for OEP, Incentives and/or Motivation, Open Educational Practices, Commitment, Mindsets and Attitudes, Tools for Sharing, Quality Concepts, Support Mechanisms | |
| Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources and the CCOT project | Using OER | Using OER, Usage of OER, Strategy and/or Policy for OEP, Relevance: How to Convince Others of OEP?, Open Educational Practices, Tools for Sharing, Quality Concepts, Digital Literacy | |
| EDU.FI – online learning materials service offered by the National Board of Education in Finland | Learning | Usage of OER, Vision of OEP, Strategy and/or Policy for OEP, Commitment, Mindsets and Attitudes, Tools for Sharing, Quality Concepts, Digital Literacy, Support Mechanisms | |
| AVO and SOMETU - Open networks for learning | Learning | Vision of OEP, Strategy and/or Policy for OEP, Business Model for OEP, Partnerships, Open Educational Practices, Tools for Sharing | |
| Small steps - giant leap: writing a book collaboratively. | Aalto University School of Economics | Innovation | Creation of OER, Using OER, Repurposing OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Vision of OEP, Relevance: How to Convince Others of OEP?, Open Educational Practices, Tools for Sharing |
| Socialearn | Using OER | Creation of OER, Using OER, Repurposing OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Business Model for OEP, Incentives and/or Motivation, Open Educational Practices, Tools for Sharing, Quality Concepts | |
| Opening Textbooks to Personalize Learning | Using OER | Creation of OER, Using OER, Repurposing OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Strategy and/or Policy for OEP, Partnerships, Open Educational Practices, Tools for Sharing, Quality Concepts, Digital Literacy | |
| Utilizing senior students in adapting teaching and learning materials as open educational resources at the University of Cape Town | University Of Cape Town | Innovation | Using OER, Open Educational Practices, Digital Literacy, Support Mechanisms |
| Exposing practice through blogging | University Of Cape Town | Something Else | Vision of OEP, Open Educational Practices, Skills and Knowledge for OEP, Digital Literacy, Support Mechanisms |
| UNESCO OER Programme | UNESCO | Innovation | Creation of OER, Using OER, Repurposing OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Vision of OEP, Strategy and/or Policy for OEP, Open Educational Practices |
| Free and Open Educational resources - Treasure chest or irrelevance for adult learners? - national debate. | Something Else | Creation of OER, Usage of OER, Vision of OEP | |
| selection & difussion of professional research articles related to pedagogy (from theory to practice). | Using OER | Using OER | |
| The Curriki Community Process for social knowledge creation | Curriki | Innovation | Creation of OER, Using OER, Repurposing OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Vision of OEP, Strategy and/or Policy for OEP, Business Model for OEP, Partnerships, Relevance: How to Convince Others of OEP?, Incentives and/or Motivation, Open Educational Practices, Tools for Sharing, Quality Concepts, Skills and Knowledge for OEP, Digital Literacy, Support Mechanisms, Any other area |
| Self-Growing Learning Community Technological Manual | Learning | Using OER, Open Educational Practices, Tools for Sharing, Skills and Knowledge for OEP | |
| Peoples-uni | Using OER | Using OER | |
| SlideSpeech | Innovation | Creation of OER, Using OER, Sharing OER, Tools for Sharing | |
| Health Education and also Practicle course development | Bangladesh Open University | Improving Quality | Using OER, Sharing OER, Vision of OEP, Quality Concepts, Skills and Knowledge for OEP |
| OCW in University of Cantabria | Universidad de Cantabria | Innovation | Creation of OER, Sharing OER, Open Educational Practices, Tools for Sharing |
| Connecting the Dots in the Open Education Space: Repurposing, Aligning, Framing, and Supplementing Open Content to Produce End-to-End Open Access Courses | The Saylor Foundation | Using OER | Creation of OER, Using OER, Repurposing OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Quality Concepts |
| OER Rubrics and Evaluation Tool | Improving Quality | Usage of OER, Tools for Sharing, Quality Concepts, Support Mechanisms | |
| DIDASknol | DIDASCA - The First Italian Cyber Schools for Lifelong Learning | Learning | Creation of OER |
| Using OER in Entrepreneurship Training | Innovation | Creation of OER, Using OER, Partnerships, Open Educational Practices | |
| Professional Education, Testing and Certification | PEOI | Learning | Creation of OER, Using OER, Vision of OEP, Strategy and/or Policy for OEP, Business Model for OEP, Relevance: How to Convince Others of OEP?, Tools for Sharing, Quality Concepts |
| EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE AND PEASANTS | Using OER | Incentives and/or Motivation | |
| Math Future Network | Something Else | Creation of OER, Sharing OER, Vision of OEP, Partnerships, Commitment, Mindsets and Attitudes, Tools for Sharing, Digital Literacy, Support Mechanisms | |
| connecting the unconnected | Innovation | Creation of OER, Strategy and/or Policy for OEP, Partnerships, Open Educational Practices, Tools for Sharing, Quality Concepts, Skills and Knowledge for OEP, Digital Literacy | |
| Improved stoves supply in Katoro village | Learning | Creation of OER, Using OER, Repurposing OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Vision of OEP, Strategy and/or Policy for OEP, Business Model for OEP, Partnerships, Relevance: How to Convince Others of OEP?, IPR Framework for OEP, Incentives and/or Motivation, Open Educational Practices, Commitment, Mindsets and Attitudes, Tools for Sharing, Quality Concepts, Skills and Knowledge for OEP, Digital Literacy, Support Mechanisms, Any other area | |
| Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) | Innovation | Creation of OER, Using OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Vision of OEP, Strategy and/or Policy for OEP, Business Model for OEP, Partnerships, Relevance: How to Convince Others of OEP?, IPR Framework for OEP, Incentives and/or Motivation, Open Educational Practices, Commitment, Mindsets and Attitudes, Tools for Sharing, Skills and Knowledge for OEP, Digital Literacy, Support Mechanisms | |
| Blogging | Creation of OER | ||
| OER university | Innovation | Creation of OER, Using OER, Repurposing OER, Sharing OER, Vision of OEP, Strategy and/or Policy for OEP, Business Model for OEP, Partnerships, Relevance: How to Convince Others of OEP?, IPR Framework for OEP, Incentives and/or Motivation, Open Educational Practices, Tools for Sharing, Quality Concepts | |
| Describing teachers' experiences in using OER | Using OER | Using OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Strategy and/or Policy for OEP, Open Educational Practices, Commitment, Mindsets and Attitudes | |
| Recognizing and accrediting learning from OERs: Thompson Rivers University Open Learning | Something Else | Vision of OEP, Open Educational Practices, Commitment, Mindsets and Attitudes, Any other area | |
| An online platform for sharing best practices on ICT for Active Teaching and Learning | Learning | Creation of OER, Usage of OER, Partnerships, Incentives and/or Motivation, Open Educational Practices, Tools for Sharing, Digital Literacy | |
| ERP lecture scripts of UDE open for reuse | Duisburg Essen University | Something Else | Creation of OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Open Educational Practices |
| MOOC: New Literacies and New Connectivist Environments | University of Valencia | Learning | Vision of OEP, Business Model for OEP, Open Educational Practices, Commitment, Mindsets and Attitudes, Tools for Sharing, Digital Literacy |
| USP FLOSS Competence Center | University of São Paulo | Learning | Creation of OER, Using OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Open Educational Practices, Commitment, Mindsets and Attitudes |
| Combining OER with paid for resources for self-paced, online students | Western Governors University | Using OER | Using OER |
| Creation, Repurpose, Assurance and Sharing of OER Initiative - WOU | Wasasan Open University | Innovation | Creation of OER, Using OER, Repurposing OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Relevance: How to Convince Others of OEP?, Open Educational Practices, Tools for Sharing, Quality Concepts, Skills and Knowledge for OEP, Support Mechanisms |
| Open development of master course materials on Free Technologies | Improving Quality | Creation of OER, Using OER, Sharing OER, Business Model for OEP, IPR Framework for OEP, Quality Concepts | |
| iNTERCATIVE LEARNING OF PHYSICS | Learning | Usage of OER, Relevance: How to Convince Others of OEP?, Incentives and/or Motivation, Open Educational Practices | |
| An OERs-Based Digital Textbook for Instructional Technology | Using OER | Creation of OER, Using OER, Sharing OER, Incentives and/or Motivation, Open Educational Practices, Tools for Sharing, Digital Literacy | |
| #metaOER: Open Resources on Open Educational Resources | Universitat Oberta de Catalunya | Using OER | Creation of OER, Using OER, Repurposing OER, Sharing OER, Commitment, Mindsets and Attitudes, Digital Literacy |
| BCcampus OER | BCcampus.ca | Innovation | Creation of OER, Using OER, Repurposing OER, Sharing OER, Usage of OER, Partnerships, Incentives and/or Motivation |
| Open courses offered by FGV Online | FGV Online | Using OER | Using OER, Sharing OER, Vision of OEP, Open Educational Practices |
