UK OER II synthesis and evaluation

1. UK OER II synthesis and evaluation Allison Littlejohn, Lou McGillHelen Beetham, Isobel Falconer Caledonian Academy Glasgow Caledonian University, UK www.academy.gcal.ac.uk

2. Vision Extending reputation Role of the evaluation team • Support projects in their evaluation work • Wiki, blog, evaluation resources, one-to-one • Collate evidence across projects Evaluate programme overall against original objectives: • OERs releasedandcollected • Practices around OER reviewed/reformed/cascaded • Lessons learned about OER release, management, discovery and use • Benefits in terms of challenges & stakeholders Report on findings e.g. alternative approachesto OER, approaches that are sustainable and usable, evidence of uptake and use, identified benefits to users Link with other members of support team and across strands – including with 'users' study

3. Vision Extending reputation What will we actually do? Synthesis/evaluation framework with existing evidence/findings that we will build on 1-2-1 feedback on evaluation components of plan + mapping to frameworkResources to support evaluation/tracking Interim findings/blog posts to help you track and contribute to issues emergingSupport to projects (with named contact and project pairings) Final report

4. Vision Extending reputation Our resources • Wiki: https://oersynth.pbworks.com/OER-Synthesis-and-Evaluation-Project • report from Pilot Phase UK OER • synthesis framework • evaluation resources e.g. 'Which Evidence', 'Evaluating OERs' 'Tracking OERs' Blog: http://oersynthesis.jiscinvolve.org/wp/ • updates about our work and findings • commentary on events and issues in the OER community OER InfoKit: https://openeducationalresources.pbworks.com/

5. Vision Extending reputation Pilot phase findings: motivations to release • Motivations are typically multiple, complex, and open to change as the process unfolds. They might include: • personal academic/professional reputation • share-and-share-alike • institutional reputation and attracting potential students • commitment to open education agenda • capacity building e.g. staff skills, content management • outreach and public engagement goals • other public interest agenda (e.g. public health, climate change) • efficient content development (e.g. in niche/declining subjects) • enhance learner access and choice (e.g. work-based, international, lifelong learners) • changing modes of learning (e.g. peer-to-peer, learner-directed) • build curriculum partnerships (e.g. with industry)

6. Vision Extending reputation Pilot phase findings: sustainable approaches • Individual showcasingreputation enhancement, personal/prof rewards, individual values (openness, public interest, quality), learner focus • Institutional showcasingattracting students, learner choice, (international) reputation, potential learners and partners as end-users, influencing • Share and share aliketightly-knit subject/topic communities ,learners and other teachersas end-users, sharing practice, scholarship, collaboration • Capacity buildingstaff skills, institutional strategies (e.g. LTA, content management), change awareness, sustainable development • Long-term sustainability • close loop with re-use – demand/supply, discovery, re-usability, value • communities that are already sharing are OER-ready • staged release helps manage risk, gives more control

7. Vision Extending reputation Pilot phase findings: aspects of openness • Different motivations to release → different definitions of 'open' and different priorities for open content, e.g.: • Re-usability vs integrity (granularity issues) • Generic, often skills-based vs topical (tied to subject benchmarks/prof body requirements?) • Professionally produced RLOs/multimedia vs 'shared back of envelope' • Context-free vs various means of representing educational context, level, values, purpose • Personal, institutional, community branding vs no branding/third party branding • Different hosting solutions (push/pull, web 2.0/repository) • Linked-to vs embedded content elements (updating?)

8. Vision Extending reputation Pilot phase findings: benefits • We are seeing evidence (and we need more) that OER release can: • have institutional marketing potential • enhance visibility to stakeholders (employers, potential learners, franchise/partner colleges) • catalyse change in institutional strategy and practice • support new partnerships around content development • support sharing/discussion of teaching practice • be part of development strategy for centres of excellence (scholarship/teaching) • be attractive to established scholars (legacy) and to new ones (building reputation)...

9. Vision Extending reputation We still need to find out... • more about OER use and re-use • who OERs are showcased to and with what impact • what kind of communities benefit from OER sharing and/or have existing 'open' practices • professional development implications of OER • impact of cascade activities on capacity and organisational readiness • how Web 2.0 tools can be used to maximise discoverability • how repositories including JorumOpen are being used and how effectively • impact of collection/collation on discovery and re-use • Impact of OER release in specific topic areas and case study areas to meet sector challenges • ...

10. Vision Extending reputation Strand Specific Evaluation Issues Release (including OMAC) Technical and organisational, legal and quality issues, motivations and benefits cases, integration into programmes Collection/collation Technical and usability issues, user engagement, evidence of discoverability and other benefits Cascade Evidence of capacity building, organisational readiness issues, guidance/support needed by the sector Tracking and user studies User engagement, quantitative and qualitative evidence of use and re-use