a staff guide to open educational resources
DESCRIPTION
From April 2009 – April 2010 Leeds Metropolitan University ran a pilot study into the development of an institutional OER repository. They aimed to build the ‘Unicycle’ model: a prototype mechanism for the export and import of open educational resources at Leeds Metropolitan University. This booklet is one of the outputs of that pilot project which was funded by JISC and the Higher Education Academy.TRANSCRIPT
A staff guide to Open Educational Resources
ReuseRecy
cleRepository
RetrieveDe
posi
t
OER
http://repository.leedsmet.ac.uk/
1. WhatareOpenEducationalResources? 1
2. HowcanOERbenefitacademicstaff? 2
3. HowcanusingOERbenefitthestudentexperience? 3
4. AquickguidetoIPR,copyrightandCreativeCommons 4
5. GuidanceondevelopingOERmaterial 5
6. GuidanceonusingOERmaterial 6
7. ExamplesofOERrepositories 7
Contents
Acknowledgments and contributors:
SimonThomson,LeedsMetropolitanUniversityAlexFenlon,LoughboroughUniversityIsobelBrown,UniversityofHullSarahHall,StaffordshireUniversityEdBremner,UniversityofPlymouthAndyLane,OpenUniversityKateBothwick,UniversityofSouthamptonBernadetteAttwell,OpenUniversityRoseWeb,OpenUniversity
FromApril2009–April2010LeedsMetropolitanUniversityranapilotstudyintothedevelopmentofaninstitutionalOERrepository.Weaimedtobuildthe‘Unicycle’model:aprototypemechanismfortheexportandimportofopeneducationalresourcesatLeedsMetropolitanUniversity.ThisbookletisoneoftheoutputsofthatpilotprojectwhichwasfundedbyJISCandtheHigherEducationAcademy.
TheWilliamandFloraHewlettFoundation,whichhassupportedthedevelopmentofaworldwideOpenEducationalResources(OER)movement,providesthefollowingdefinitionforOER:
“OER are teaching, learning and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property licence that permits their free use or re-purposing by others. Open educational resources include full courses,
course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials or techniques used to support access to knowledge”.
AtLeedsMetropolitanUniversityweareresourcingOERmaterialfromarangeofcourses.EachFacultyhascontributedmaterialandthisincludeswholemodules,workbooks,videos,interactivemediacontentandstudysupportmaterials.
1. What are Open Educational Resources?
Ten key points:1. OERarefreetouseandpubliclyavailable.2. OERcanbeusedinteachingandlearning(usuallywithattributiontotheoriginalcreator).
3. ThemajorityofOERcanbealteredandadapted(‘repurposed’.)
4. UsingOERisnotcheating;infactitcanimprovethequalityoflearningexperiencesbybuildingonotherpeople’swork.
5. OERdevelopmentisaglobalmovement–don’tbeafraidtosearchglobalOERrepositories.
6. OERmaterialsarenotnecessarilyjustteachingmaterials;thereareanumberofstudentsupportmaterialsavailableasOER.
7. OERarenotjustforteacherstouseorrepurpose;studentscanbeencouragedtouseOERtosupporttheirownlearning.
8. LeedsMet’sOERrepositoryisavailablethroughanX-streampowerlinkforuseintheVirtualLearningEnvironment.
9. JISCandtheHigherEducationAcademyhavedevelopedanumberofUK-basedOERrepositoriesaspartofapilotstudy,includingspecificrepositoriesforAcademySubjectCentres(seethelistatthebackofthisbooklet).
10.Don’tknockituntilyouhavetriedit.
Go on, search for an OER today!
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Toooftenstaffarecreatinglearningmaterialsformodulesandcoursesthathavealreadybeendevelopedelsewheretoanexcellentstandard.ByutilisinganumberofOERrepositorieswehopetoenablestafftospendmoretimedesigningthelearningexperienceandsearchOERrepositoriestosourcequalitylearningmaterialswhichtheycanadaptifnecessaryforusewithintheirlearningdesign.
PersonalbenefitsarethatthematerialsthatmembersofstaffofferfortheOERrepositorywillincludemetadatathatidentifiesthemastheoriginalauthor(attribution).BysharingcontentinandbeyondLeedsMet,staffcanbegivenrecognitionfortheirworkbyotherpractitionersandinstitutions.Thiscouldleadtoopportunitiesfordevelopingconferencepapersandworkshops.IfeveryonemakestheirmaterialavailablewithinLeedsMetthenstudentscanseewhatyourcourseoffers,aidingintegrationinlearningdesignandcurriculumdevelopment.
Wehopethatyouwillfindsatisfactioninsharingresourcesinawaythatbuildsacommunityofsharing.ThestrongerwecanbuildtheOERsystem,themorematerialswillbemadeavailableforcolleaguestouseinreturn.
WithinLeedsMet,academicstaffcansetthedevelopmentofOERmaterialsasaSMARTobjectiveintheirPersonalDevelopmentReview.
2. How can OER benefit academic staff?
Ten key points:1. Spendmoretimedesigninglearningratherthancreatingcontent.(Youreallydon’thavetorecreatethewheel.)
2. GetrecognitionforyourownmaterialsbysharingthemasOER.
3. Engageinaglobalcommunityofsharingandusingeducationalresources.
4. CollaboratewithcolleaguestoreleaseOERmaterials.
5. SetyourselfanOERdevelopmenttargetandimplementitasaSMARTobjective.
6. Spendmoretimeworkingtoyourstrengthsandsearchforfreematerialswhereyourowncontentmaybeweaker.
7. EncourageyourstudentstosearchforOERmaterialstosupporttheirownlearning.(Youneverknow,theymightfindsomethingyoucanusenextyear!)
8. EmbedtheuseofOERaspartofyourmodule/coursereviewprocess.
9. BeproudofyourworkandshareitwithothersasOER.10.GetrecognitionforyourworkbybeingattributedbyothersthroughOERrelease.
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ByusingOERmaterialstaffareoftenabletouseawiderrangeofresourcesandmaterialswithinamoduledeliverythantheywouldbycreatingallofthecontentthemselves.
Weareallawarethatstudentshavearangeoflearningstylesandyetquiteoftenweonlyhavealimitedrangeofteachingstyles.
ByusingresourcesthathavebeenreleasedunderOERyouareabletoexpandtherangeoflearning
stylesyoucanreach.Usingarangeoftoolsandresourcescanenhanceastudent’slearningexperienceandinsomecasesitwillbepossibletoprovidethesamecontentinavarietyofformatsbyusingOER.
StudentscanbeencouragedtosourcetheirownOERmaterialasawayofencouragingthemtoexpandtheirownknowledgeandcementtheirunderstandingofasubject.
3. How can using OER benefit the student experience?
Ten key points:1. Engageawiderrangeoflearnersbyaccessingawiderrangeofresources.
2. Spendmoretimeonimprovingthelearningexperiencethroughcurriculumdesign(ratherthancontentcreation).
3. Provideaccesstoresourcesthatyouwouldn’tbeabletoofferwithoutOER(e.g.photosorvideosoflocationsandsituationsyoucan’tcreate/access).
4. EncouragestudentstoaccessandshareOERaspartoftheirdevelopment.
5. Offerarangeoflearningmaterialstostudentsforthesamecontent(soastoencompassmorelearningstyles).
6. UseOERasawayofbuildingarangeofstudentsupportresources(e.g.studyskills,employability,enterprise,dissertationsupport).
7. DevelopcasestudyOERwithstudentsandreleasethem.
8. ImprovestudentfeedbackandassessmentbyusingavailableOERmaterials.
9. Enableprospectivestudentstoseemoredetailofyourcoursebeforetheyregister.
10.Enablestudentstoreviewmaterialandrefreshtheirknowledgeandunderstandingaftertheyhavecompletedtheircourse.
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IntellectualPropertyRights(IPR)providelegalprotectionforthefruitsofhumanimagination,skill,inventionandendeavour.Subsequently,IPRissuesareprevalentwithintheuse,creation,repurposing,alteration,transactionanddisseminationofcontent.
MostIPRrequirenoformalities;notably,copyrightisautomatic.Whenyoutakeaphotoorcreateavideoyouhaveautomaticcopyrightoverthatmaterialunlessyouspecificallydeclareotherwiseorunlessyouarebeingemployedtoproducethematerial.
CreativeCommonsisanon-profitcorporationdedicatedtomakingiteasierforpeopletoshareandbuildupontheworkofothers,whilestillmaintainingownershipandcopyrightcontrol.
Theyprovidefreelicencesandotherlegaltoolstomarkcreativeworkwiththefreedomthecreatorwantsittocarry,sootherscanshare,remix,oruseitcommercially,oranycombinationthereof.
OERmaterialsaregenerallyreleasedunderaCreativeCommonslicence(orequivalent).
4. A quick guide to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), Copyright & Creative Commons
Ten key points:1. WhencreatingOERmaterialitisimportanttoensurethatanymediaorcontentyouusedoesnothaveanythirdpartycopyrightorIPRrestrictions(orthatpermissionhasbeengrantedandrecordedfortheuseofsuchmaterial).
2. GoogleisnotnecessarilythebestplacetosearchforimagesforuseinOERmaterialdevelopment.(Bydefaultitsearchescopyrightmaterials.)
3. www.creativecommons.orghasasearchtoolforarangeofmediacontent.
4. CreativeCommonsisnotaboutgivinguprightstoyourwork,butmakingitavailableundercertainconditions.
5. AllOERmaterialsreleasedatLeedsMetwillautomaticallybeassignedtheCC-BY-NClicence–wherematerialisreused,youwillbeattributedastheauthoroftheoriginalmaterial,andyourmaterial
maynotbeusedforcommercialpurposes.
6. RespectofcopyrightandIPRisbeneficialtoeveryone’swork.
7. Studentsareoftenremindedoftherulesagainstplagiarismandproperacknowledgementofsources–staffshouldapplythesamerulestothedevelopmentoftheirownwork,includingteachingmaterials.
8. ‘Fairdealing’(orfairuse)isacopyrighttermthatallowslimiteduseofcopyrightedmaterialwithoutrequiringpermissionfromtherightsholders.ThismayapplytosomeinstancesinteachingsituationsbutNOTforusinginthedevelopmentofanOER.
9. CreativeCommonslicencesareenforceablebyUKlaw.
10.ThinkCreativeCommons!
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ThethoughtofcreatingOERmaterialcanbedaunting.However,theprocessshouldnotbeconfusedwiththecreationofreusablelearningobjects(RLOs),althoughthetwocanoperatetogether.
Startoffbyidentifyingtwoorthreelearningresourceswhichyouhavecreatedaspartofyourmoduledelivery(thesecouldbeseminars,labsessionsorlectures,forexample).RevisitthematerialandcheckwhethertheremaybeanyissuesofcopyrightorIPRtosortout(askifyouarenotsure).
Makeanynecessarychangestotheworkandthenpublishitthroughtheinstitutionalrepository(eachFacultyinLeedsMethasanOERrepresentative).
OnceyoubecomemoreconfidentyoucanbegintodesignmaterialswithOERreleaseinmind–thisprocessusuallyproduceshigherqualityOERmaterialasitispartofanembeddedapproachtodevelopingmaterialthatcanbefurtherdevelopedasreusablelearningobjects.
5. Guidance on developing OER material
Ten key points:1. Startsmall–offerasmallelementofyourworkasOERfirsttogetafeelfortheprocess(andtoallayanyfearsyoumayhave).
2. CheckyourmaterialforIPRorcopyright(askyourFacultyrepforadviceorcontacttheUniversity’scentralcopyrightclearanceteam).
3. Thinkofresourcesthatyouhavefounddifficulttofind–couldyoucreateoneandshareitasOER?Usuallyyourneedsareanindicationofwhatothersmightalsoneed.
4. CouldyouworkwithcolleaguestoproduceyourfirstOER?Oftenthereissafetyinnumbersandthesupportthatthisoffers.
5. Planlong-termOERrelease.ConsidersettinggoalsofreleasingacertainnumberofOERlearninghoursinanacademicyear.
6. Taggingandkeywords:theseareanimportantpartoffindingOERcontent.WerecommendaminimumoffivekeywordsaswellaslistingbyJACScodeandHigherEducationAcademySubjectCentre.
7. Attribution–besuretomakeitclearwhotheauthor(s)is/are.Don’tforgetthisisyourchancetogetrecognition.
8. UndertakearangeofOERstaffdevelopmentworkshopsatLeedsMettohelpyougetstarted.
9. Explorethedevelopmentofreusablelearningobjects(RLOs)andreleasethemasOER.
10.ConsiderreleasingawholemoduleasOER.Workwiththemoduleteamtoreleaseallofthematerialsasanexampleoftheteachingonyourcourses.
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Openeducationalresourcesaredevelopedwithasenseofsharingand,assuch,buildcommunitiesoflike-mindedpeople.ThecommunitieshelptoencourageuserstocreateOERmaterialaswellasuseit.
FirstyouwillneedtosearchwithinanOERrepository(thereareanumberlistedattheend
ofthisbooklet).Oftenyouwillfindonesrelatingtospecificsubjectareasoritmaybealargerrepositorythathasarangeofmaterials.Youwilleventuallyfindonesthatyouvalueandtrust.
UseOERaspartofyourwiderlearningdesign.SometimesthatdesignmaybebornfromtheinspirationofanOER.
6. Guidance on using OER material
Ten key points:1. AlthoughOERarefree,bemindfulofthelicenceunderwhichtheyhavebeenreleased.Mostimportantly,besuretoattributetheoriginalauthors.
2. SomeOERallowformodificationandrepurposing.Ifso,considerreleasingthatmaterialasanewOERevenifthatisn’talicencerequirement.
3. Itcansometimestakeawhiletofindsuitablematerials,butexperiencehasshownthatthetimespentfindingaresourceisusuallylessthanitwouldtaketodevelopit.
4. Bookmarkyourfavouriterepositories:youwillbegintobuildupausefullistofwhereyoucangetrelevantOER.Besuretosharethatwithcolleagues.
5. Docontactauthorsofmaterialsiftheircontactdetailsareavailable–it’snicetoknowothershavefoundvalueinyourwork.
6. Don’tusematerialsoutsidethescopeoftheirlicences.
7. Spreadtheword–ifyoufindagoodresourceletothersknow.
8. ConsidersettingagoalofusingacertainpercentageofOERmaterialinyourmoduledelivery.
9. RespondtopeoplewhocontactyouaboutyourOER.Itmayleadtonewcollaborations.
10.UseyourstudentstohelpevaluateOERyouuseortohelpyoudevelopfurtherimprovements.
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TherearenumerousopeneducationalresourcerepositoriesintheUKandthroughouttheworld.BelowisalistofUKrepositories.
http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/ManagedbytheOpenUniversity,thisisoneofthelargestOERrepositoriesintheUK,fundedinitiallybytheHewlettFoundation.Manyofthelearningmaterialsaresuitableforopenanddistancelearning.
http://repository.leedsmet.ac.uk/main/index.phpLeedsMet’sOERrepositorybringstogethermaterialsfromallsixFacultiesandstudentsupportservices.Materialsrangefromsinglelecturestowholemodules.Futuredevelopmentswehopetoincludeare“requestanOER”aswellasofferingwholecourses.
www.humbox.ac.ukTheHumBoxisaninspiringcollectionoffreeHumanitiesteachingandlearningresourcescontributedbyover15UKhighereducationinstitutions.Thesitecontainsover1,000videos,images,lecturenotes,presentations,andpodcastsondiversetopicswithintheHumanities.UsingHumBoxisnotonlyaboutdownloadingresources:whenyoujointhesiteyoubecomepartofacommunitywhichiscommittedtoshowcasingitsworkbypublishing,sharing,re-usingandalsoreviewingHumanitiesteachingresources.HumBoxwillletyoupostcommentsonresources,contactauthorsandkeepatrackoftheimpactyourownresourcesarehavingontheworldbyrecordingviews,downloadsandcomments–andcontactingyoutoletyouknowthis!
www.jorum.ac.uk/Jorumprovidesaccesstofreelearningandteachingresources,createdandcontributedbystafffromUKfurtherandhighereducationinstitutions.JorumisaJISC-fundedservice,runbythetwonationaldatacentresMimasandEDINA,andcollectsandshareslearningandteachingmaterials,allowingtheirre-useandrepurposing.
Jorumofferstwocollectionsforsearchanddeposit:
•JorumOpenprovidesaccesstolearningandteachingresourcesmadeavailableforsharingunderCreativeCommons(CC)licences,freetoanyone,worldwide
•JorumUKprovidesaccesstoresourcesfromthosecreators/ownerswhoprefertosharetheirworkonlywithinUKfurtherandhighereducationinstitutions.
ThefulllistofprojectsfundedundertheJISCOERprogrammecanbefoundat:www.jisc.ac.uk/oer.
7. Examples of OER repositories
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For further information contact:
Simon Thomson Principal Lecturer, Technology Enhanced LearningLeeds Metropolitan University Caedmon 105 Headingley Campus Leeds LS6 3QSTel: 0113 81 27425Email: [email protected]
ISBN 978-1-907240-10-2
Disclaimer:This booklet is intended as a guide and as such makes no
claim to provide legal advice. This booklet is released under Creative Commons
and the pdf and text versions are available at http://repository.leedsmet.ac.uk/main/index_oer.php
and enter the search term “unicycle”.
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http://repository.leedsmet.ac.uk/