Trends in OER

Jonathan Lopez
2:49am 4 March 2009

Trends in OER Panel Discussion

James Wooliscroft
Dean University of Michigan Medical School

Why should Michigan engage in online education? The question is, is there a better way to learn? The students are quite engaged in online capabilities, such as in podcasts, or sharing websites, etc. There are a number of technological options available. We are dealing with a global economy, and cultures will intermingle and mix. Faculty must be brought into the 21st century. The teachers are now, in some respects, the learner. How do we continue the relationship with graduates? Sustainability is another important factor that must be addressed.

Christine Ngugi
ED OER Africa

What is the relevance of open education? The keys are access, openness, and collaboration. African educational institutions can develop and adapt material from other countries, however, material developed locally in Africa will help reinforce the benefits of OER materials. A key benefit is not just the material produced but also the methodology. Short-term proof of pilot projects may prove an effective mechanism in stimulating investments. Substantial advances can be made by students, policy makers, and others who share their solutions, challenges and knowledge.

Rachel Wise
Director of Secondary Education Omaha Public Schools

Credit recovery is indicative of the lack of success. We found that the content in the curriculum of the old tool was not up to date for standards set in the state of Nebraska. Students who need credit recovery were students who were failing traditional courses. We have had a lot of success with this new tool. With the tools available, we can start to align a variety of resources with the curriculum structure to create a more engaging environment for students. Enriching content, moving away from credit recovery towards “in progress”. We transition young people who may not be successful and challenge them to look at content in a new light and get back on track towards high school completion. We have been working on project-based learning, such as with the Omaha Media Science Project.


Q&A session

Q- One of the challenges is explaining OER in a simple manner. When you think back to how you began your initiatives, what were some of the main motivations in kicking off an OER effort?

Rachel- When teachers started to see the quality available, it opened our eyes to what kind of options were out there. It gave us an opportunity to rethink curriculum and instruction design, as well as working with limited resources.

Christine- These institutions are supposed to create the future leaders, and they are not accomplishing that. When we started talking about OERs, many of the faculty saw it as an opportunity to expand the skills that they have. Creating spaces in which people can take time to do this was the main push for us.

James- For us, it was the hope that in the future, we could have at the shoulder of our learners teachers who could coach the learners.

Q- What are some common challenges?

James- Some faculty embrace the challenges in using this, but not all faculty. As we go forward, how do we make sure this information stays current? How do we come up with a sustainable funding model? This also means a fundamental change in what it means to be a professor. How do we work through the sociological changes that go along with that switch? Instead of the traditional idea of a professor, the concept is more of a coach.

Q- Have you talked about an assessment that goes along with your OER?

James– OER is one building block. The other is an academy of professors. We had to think up prototypes that emulate the work of being a doctor. OER is a tool, the assessment is the other, thinking differently about the academy is the last.

Q- In the context of Africa, how do you see some of the challenges facing professors and the academy?

Christine- Just the same as anyone else. When people are forced to rethink where they stand and what they are supposed to do within the academy, we must explain what is OER and answer the question of what is in it for me? Why must I share? The answer is why not share it, also it is the potential of building upon what you have, fill the gaps, that kind of sharing makes sense to people.

Q- For Omaha, you have high quality content. It sounds like it must now be aligned to separate standards. What is necessary to pushing faculty towards their new role?

Rachel- We’ve redesigned our curriculum so that it is designed around key concepts, learning experiences, etc. We align this with our standards and then our teachers can use that creativity to suit their needs. It’s an evolution, not necessarily something that is complete. We see it as a process that must be refined over time.

Q- What do you as the particular challenges for collaborations across institutions?

Christine- We’ve been working with collaboration networks that already exist. In terms of challenges, we have universities that are long established, and within that network you have much less funded institutions, as well as several different languages. Different resource bases, different languages, and then communication are the challenges. How do you get people together? You eventually need to be face-to-face, and that is expensive. Opportunities are immense, especially with meeting people with similar challenges. Solving challenges together can be much more successful.

Q- What are the things that I need to think about for collaborating with northern institutions?

Christine- It doesn’t matter where we are from, the common problem unites us. If someone comes with an idea for a new project, you hope somehow the project will be most valuable to you. Are they collaborating just for the sake of it, or can there be other benefits?

Q- Collaboration within medical school- how can institutions use OER for more collaboration?

James- Promotion and tenure are very important to think about for this. We are wrestling with the question of how do we solve this? We don’t have the answers. On campus, we are trying to create boundaries that wouldn’t be graded. How do we get the medicine department to rub shoulders with engineering?

James- One thing to remember is not to get seduced by the technology and the newness of the OER concept. One problem is that students access material from across the globe. The Vodcast gives students the opportunity to modify the content. The Vodcast could be played at 1.5x to 2x normal speed. Problem areas could also be concentrated upon- they would slow down when running into problems. This has proven successful in attaining higher marks.

Rachel- The human connection is another aspect to consider. Social networking could help promote solutions there.

Q- With the emergence of social media, there are also changes within the relationships between teachers and students, as well as between students. There is an emergence of several different types of relationships which involve bringing in several other resources to collaborate. Do you see any changes such as these?

James- Learning occurs in the context that we as teachers want to replicate from what they will experience in the field. Frequently, the content expert may not be present. The focus is going to the literature, however, the focus must also change to the individual so that they can emulate the role that we want them to.

Q- One of the advantages of OER could be for students coming from high schools that use OER going to universities that use OER, and how comfortable they are using it and trying to find it.

Rachel- This could definitely be the case. The challenge could be students that have these resources available going somewhere where those resources are not available.

Gary- There is some data available of students coming to community college looking for the kind of OER resources they are used to.

Q- How will the current economic crisis affect the transformation of education?

Christine- Opportunities for using OERs will only increase as time goes along.

James- Innovation can come to the forefront. Teacher-to-teacher interactions can prove a great opportunity to rethink how we do things. Part of OER is the globalization movement and ubiquity trumping proprietary ownership.

Rachel- From my perspective, when resources are limited, you start to look at objects in the budget that you must alter. The impact is on the student. Typically, that’s professional development and resources materials and textbook and how can we continue to meet those needs in a different way?

Christine- With funding coming directly from the government, what other ways are there to fund the important things for an institution?

OER Africa
10:36pm 4 March 2009

http://www.oerafrica.org/content/Current/OERAfricaNewss.aspx.