Irwin DeVriesTRU Open Learning

David PorterBCcampus

Getting the Mix Right: Implementing Open Education Practices

Image licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 2.5 generic license

How are instructors implementing OER to support teaching and learning needs within British Columbia post-secondary institutions?

How do we design and build open courses for use in massively open university programs

EcologyHow do we move news, good or innovative ideas forward in the higher education ecosystem?

From “What” to “How”

From the “what” to the “how” of openness”

Open Educational Practices (OEP)

“a set of activities and support around the creation, use and repurposing of Open Educational Resources” (Conole 2010)

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Why Open?

• Removing barriers from access to learning and credentials

• Being able to implement sharing and use of educational resources

• Moving toward open and collaborative processes

Similar concepts to Free and Open Source Software

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What is the OERu?6

• Global partnership of like-minded postsecondary institutions – not university per se

• Committed to free courses and programs based on OERs

• Optional support, assessment and credible credentials through partner institutions

• Sponsored by a not-for-profit foundation in New Zealand (OERu Foundation)

• Virtual presence in WikiEducator wiki

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How does it work?“Parallel learning universe” (Taylor, 2007)

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OERu logic high level. Wayne Mackintosh. Licensed under Creative Commons 3.0 BY-SA Unported.

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OERu collaborations

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Diagram showing high-level logic model for OERu. By Wayne Macintosh. Licensed under Creative Commons 3.0 BY-SA Unported.

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Open design process

• Sample processes• Planning for OERu prototypes• Learning design consultation• Open planning• Design artifacts

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ART100 prototype• TRU’s first contribution:

ART100 Art Appreciation and Techniques

• Redesigned from existing OER– Course from Saylor.com

via WA State Board of Community Colleges Open Course Library

– Modified/revised/remixed content, activities, assessments, etc.

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Research design12

• Comparative case study– Scope: one course developed over a

fixed period of time in OERu– Similar case study in OSS used for

comparison: (von Krogh et al., 2003)– Highlight “relationships, contrasts and

similarities– Extend learning from one case to the

other (Khan & VanWynsberghe, 2008)

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OSS design and development• Based on collaboration and communities

of volunteers– Commitment to philosophy of sharing– Personal and professional benefits– Induction processes for newbies– Communication and versioning systems– Decentralized but with some leadership – Visible design rules

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Masque aux lépreux Bwa. Village de Boni. By Ji-Ell . Licensed under Creative Commons 3.0 BY-SA Unported.

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Sharing learning design knowledge

“Traditionally design has been an implicit process, how do we shift to a process of design that is more explicit and hence shareable?”

(Conole, 2008)

Quietly listening to the wind in the pines, 1246. Ma Lin. Public Domain.

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Collaborative design in other fields15

• Architecture, expert systems, telecommunications, engineering– Multiple points of negotiation and evaluation (Kvan, 2000)– Explicit sharing of design information using communication

tools (Chiu, 2002)– Design teams need to explore and integrate differences

(Sonnenwald, 1996)– Intentional communication processes are essential (Hixon,

2008)

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Aspect Open Design and Development Traditional Instructional Design

ContributorsVolunteers, motivated by open philosophy and personal /organizational benefit

Paid faculty or staff

Makeup of design team Distributed Centralized

Induction into the development team No specific method Employment orientation and

training

Access to contributeMember community open to public including students downstream

Private — but some possible input by students

Roles of design team members

Loosely defined, overlapping, broad skills Specialized, clearly defined

Organizational structure

Flat, collaborative, representational, some meritocratic

Hierarchical or faculty based

Communication F-F and virtual meetings, mailing lists, wiki pages, microblogs

Mostly business communication tools (email, meetings)

Intended usesAs originally intended or repurposed for multiple uses and settings

Defined purpose determined in learner, job, institutional or market analysis

Traditional/Open design and development comparison

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Aspect Open Design and Development

Traditional Instructional Design

Content copyright Open licensing (CC) with some rights reserved Mostly rights reserved

Content versions Multiple possible via forks Official version

Design processes Informal design processes More formal design processes and documentation

Authoring environment Open source social software Proprietary

Delivery environment Wiki, LMS, other options Dedicated proprietary

application

PedagogyVaried, depending on individual development teams and their preferences

Generally in line with overarching institutional model

Maintenance Ongoing, community based Episodic, managed

Traditional/Open design and development comparison

Citizenship in an OER ecosystem• Design challenges with use

of OER– File formats– LMS– Multiple versions– Schedules and timetables– Embedded cohort model– Copyright issues– Cultural biases

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• Developing as OER– Maintain editable source files– Open environment– Transparent versions/forks– Maintain flexiblity– Design for choices– Go CC!– Consider cultural diversity

Community• Importance of developer

community– Developer motivations

(want to make a contribution)

– A community of volunteers (attrition) – needs to grow

– Division of labor - developer specializations (multiple roles)

– Mentoring– Shared and standardized

communication habits (essential for shared understanding of project)

– Mediating artifacts19

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“When code [open curriculum] and community do not develop in parallel, the learning curve can be steep” (O’Mahoney, 2007)

Institutional cultures

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http://wikieducator.org/Art_Appreciation_and_Techniques/Module_3a

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

PICK 3 Assignments (Summative)

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Interpret examples of visual art using a five-step critical process that includes description, analysis, context, meaning, and judgment.

Also use Module 4 Assignment 3 (Saylor)

2Identify and describe the elements and principles of art.

Assignment "Worksheet 3" Module 3 (Saylor) - tweak it -

3Use analytical skills to connect formal attributes of art with their meaning and expression. Assignment 5 0 Module 7 (Saylor)

4Explain the role and effect of the visual arts in societies, history, and other world cultures. Assignment 1 (Saylor) Module 1 -

5Articulate the political, social, cultural, and aesthetic themes and issues that artists examine in their work. Assignment 4, Module 5 (Saylor)

6Identify the processes and materials involved in art and architectural production.

Formative quiz in relevant modules

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Utilize information to locate, evaluate, and communicate information about visual art in its various forms.

Worksheet 6 - Module 6 (Saylor) and Discussion Question 12 from Module 8 (Saylor) and Worksheet 10, Module 10 (Saylor)

End of course Final comprehensive assignment

Build portfolio through course - integrate as final portfolio piece - Curatorial statements - Assignment 6, Module 10 (Saylor)

ActivitiesModule Goals Individual GroupDefine ‘art’ within a cultural perspective. Quizzes for each Module (Optional)

Reflective questions Discussion questions

Assignment example

Institutional constraints – assessment and credit, curricular oversight- Need for new

flexibility- Change

management and advocacy

- Policy- Culture

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Potential and promises

• Collaboration towards open learning opportunities beyond traditional constraints

• Develop global community of instructional design and development expertise using OER

• See OER from viewpoints of creation and reuse• A new way of thinking and working together• Process stays grounded at grassroots level• Use OER projects as catalyst for institutional innovation

Join us!

• Planning groups under way

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Demonstration of Reification in Perception. S. Lahar. Public Domain.

David’s research

Looking at open systemically

How it began

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WABAC_machine

• 1996 - 2001

• Reusable content will revolutionize higher education

• New pathways to learning for students can be created

...For most institutions, courses continue to be the standard units of instruction, the “one-size-fits-all” building blocks of academic credit, even within the virtual education arena

Research question

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What is the lived experience of educators who are implementing OER to support teaching and learning needs within British Columbia post-secondary educational institutions?

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2003-2012

$10 million invested144 grants awarded100% participation across system83% partnerships47 credentials developed in whole or part via OPDF355 courses, 12 workshops, 19 web sites/tools and 396 course components (learning objects, labs, textbooks, manuals, videos)

100% open license for free and open sharing and reuse by all BC post-secondary institutions

Online Program Development Fund (OPDF)

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Review of literature

• Open educational resources, open licenses and OER projects

• Issues, criticisms, gaps in knowledge about OER use

• Methodological challenges and potential approaches to research

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Status of scholarship

• Culture of sharing and collaboration

• Quality assurance• Localization

requirements

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• Instructional design and development processes

• Technologies and tools• Business models and

policy structures

Culture of sharing and collaboration

• Establishing “openness” as a virtue (Carey, 2011; D’Antoni & Savage, 2010)

• The culture of the academy• Designing for reusability from the outset• Community and team building as a strategy

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Question: Under what conditions could a group of developers at different institutions cooperate on the development of an OER?

Localization and community requirements

• Adapting, refining or revising design processes to match the potential for OER reuse (Conole, 2010; Petrides, Nguyen, Karliani & Jimes, 2008; Wiley, 2006

• OER as a “supply-side” phenomenon• Implications for changing design practices• Articulation and transfer—program planning

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Question: How do instructional developers, instructors and faculty approach the use and reuse of learning resources in their current practices and what are the implications for new practice afforded by openly licensed resources?

Technologies and tools

• Technology and technological decisions as a governing force—function following form (Kehrwald, 2010; Feenberg, 2004; William & Edge, 1996; Smith & Marx, 1994)

• Deterministic practices or democratic rationalization• What tools, practices and processes are actually

needed?

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Question: How do instructors, faculty and instructional developers use OER in institutional contexts where technology selection and deployment decisions may be beyond their influence? Do they have the right tools to promote adoption, adaptation, or creation of open resources?

Third generation activity theory

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Answering the research questions

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Academic culture* tenure and promotion practices* extension of collaborative practices

Educational practices* OER as trigger for pedagogical discussions* collegial engagement and trust

OER concepts and practices* training needs, library engagement* spirit of openness and collaborative practice

Instructional design* labour-intensive, requiring new skills* moving from content to pedagogy in the discussion

Institutional contexts* articulation and transfer concerns* clarity around copyright and open licensing

Quality assurance* quality assurance rubrics and processes needed* twofold effect: build confidence and a community of practice for sustainability

Professional support* multi-level marketing and training; discipline-based* better tools and process for OER use and remixing

Funding support* the incentive approach works* catalytic effect when open textbooks were announced* sustainability is an issue

Technology factors* rationalization vs. determinism* need for an experimental “sandbox”

Conclusions and recommendations

• For OER to become mainstream in the British Columbia higher education sector

• It will require promotion of OER concepts, attributes and value propositions at all levels: with administrators, department chairs, instructors and students within institutions, as well as with articulation committees on a system-wide basis

• It will require intentional and targeted training programs for individuals and discipline-specific groups to move beyond a small cadre of early adopters associated with the OPDF

• It will require better tools for search and storage, and support for communities of practice that are willing to evaluate and curate quality assured digital OER collections

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