Innovating Pedagogy 2017: Exploring new forms of teaching, learning and assessment, to guide educators and policy makers. Open University Innovation Report 6

This series of reports explores new forms of teaching, learning and assessment for an interactive world, to guide teachers and policy makers in productive innovation. This sixth report proposes ten innovations that are already in currency but have not yet had a profound influence on education. To produce it, a group of academics at the Institute of Educational Technology in The Open University collaborated with researchers from the Learning In a NetworKed Society (LINKS) Israeli Center of Research Excellence (I-CORE). Themes: • Big-data inquiry: thinking with data • Learners making science • Navigating post-truth societies • Immersive learning • Learning with internal values • Student-led analytics • Intergroup empathy • Humanistic knowledge-building communities • Open Textbooks • Spaced Learnin

Creating, Doing, and Sustaining OER: Lessons from Six Open Educational Resource Projects

The development of free-to-use open educational resources (OER) has generated a dynamic field of widespread interest and study regarding methods for creating and sustaining OER. To help foster a thriving OER movement with potential for knowledge-sharing across program, organizational and national boundaries, the Institute for Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME), developed and conducted case study research programs in collaboration with six OER projects from around the world. Embodying a range of challenges and opportunities among a diverse set of OER projects, the case studies intended to track, analyze and share key developments in the creation, use and reuse of OER. The specific cases include: CurriculumNet, Curriki, Free High School Science Texts (FHSST), Training Commons, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), and Teachers' Domain

Open Educational Resources: Expanding the Conversation Regarding Adoption and Use on a College Campus

As more institutions explore Open Educational Resource (OER) initiatives, librarians should be involved in the campus-wide conversation. Also, OER means more than free online textbooks; a broader conversation needs to be prioritized as institutions step into the OER movement. This article is an adaptation of the author’s presentation at the 2016 Annual Conference of the Association of Christian Librarians, titled “Out of Bounds: Exploring Open Educational Resources.

Who are the Open Learners? A Comparative Study Profiling non-Formal Users of Open Educational Resources

Open educational resources (OER) have been identified as having the potential to extend opportunities for learning to non-formal learners. However, little research has been conducted into the impact of OER on non-formal learners. This paper presents the results of a systematic survey of more than 3,000 users of open educational resources (OER). Data was collected between 2013 and 2014 on the demographics, attitudes and behaviours of users of three repositories. Questions included a particular focus on the behaviours of non-formal learners and the relationship between formal and non-formal study. Frequency analysis shows that there are marked differences in patterns of use, user profiles, attitudes towards OER, types of materials used and popularity of different subjects. The experience of using OER is fairly consistent across platforms in terms of satisfaction and impact on future behaviour. On the whole, non-formal learners surveyed were highly positive about their use of OER and believe they will continue to use them. With regards to this making formal study more likely some degree of polarization was observed: some believed formal study was now more likely, while others felt it made this less likely. On the whole, while non-formal learners are enthusiastic about using free and online resources, the language and concept of OER does not seem to be well understood in the groups surveyed. A range of findings relating to OER selection and use as well as differences between repositories are explored in the discussion

Open Educational Content for Digital Public Libraries

If the production of digital content for teaching -- particularly free content -- is to expand substantially, there must be mechanisms to establish a link to fame and fortune that was not perceived in a pre-digital world. How that might be done is the central question this report addresses, in the context of examining the movement for open educational content. Understanding that movement requires delving into the history of what may seem, on first pass, a totally unrelated field of endeavor. The reader's patience is requested....

Modeling Of Terminology Database In Field Of Geodesy And Geographic Information System

Recently in Mongolia, many techniques and methods are being applied to the surveying and mapping fields along with the development and innovation of geodetic surveying technology, more new terminology are being used in those area. Despite of the origin of the terminology that came from or which language it’s being translated, those new words need to be interpreted by concerning the exact meaning of the word and what this word is actually referring to. However, in Mongolia, there’s no legal framework including regulation and standards of terminology and professional word translation. Consequently, a single term is being used with various meanings in many organizations, companies and so on. And also an ambiguous meaning of the term has been aroused and leads to wrong definition and idea. Due to this, lack of use of the terminology influences negatively on not only surveying and mapping field, but social areas as well. In order to solve this issue, study aims to create glossary database based on development of the terminology dictionary of geodesy and geographic information system through dynamic web design. In this study, many research methods have been carried out including, literature review based on the Dr. Damdinsuren (2013)’s “Glossary for Geodetic Terms”, textbooks and other materials of surveying and geospatial in English, Mongolian and Russian, as well as in print and online dictionaries, surveying questionnaire on usability and quality of professional terminology and dictionary and their applications within academia, professors, students, civil servants and private companies’ engineers, and SWOT analysis on printed and online dictionaries. Surveying questionnaire resulted that 20 per cent of 150 questionnaire use professional textbooks, which are printed in the Mongolian language, 45 per cent use Russian and 35 per cent use English sources. Glossary database on geodesy and geographic information system is established in three languages (Mongolian-English-Russian) using MySQL and PHP programming language. The users from geo-information industry will be able to develop and update the database based on the free and open source platform, particularly, online. This glossary database contains around 500 terminology including over 200 graphic illustrations. Frequent access of the terminology can be counted and web page includes links of relevant public organizations’ and universities’ web pages. So, the study results that this glossary database on geodesy and geographic information system could provide specific meaning of the term and how this term can be used depending on the specific field via dynamic web-page. And it allows and facilitates accessibility of database anywhere and anytime free of charge meaning that removes ambiguity and saves users\u27 precious time and money

The Future of Institutional Repositories at Small Academic Institutions: Analysis and Insights

Institutional repositories (IRs) established at universities and academic libraries over a decade ago, large and small, have encountered challenges along the way in keeping faith with their original objective: to collect, preserve, and disseminate the intellectual output of an institution in digital form. While all institutional repositories have experienced the same obstacles relating to a lack of faculty participation, those at small universities face unique challenges. This article examines causes of low faculty contribution to IR content growth, particularly at small academic institutions. It also offers a first-hand account of building and developing an institutional repository at a small university. The article concludes by suggesting how institutional repositories at small academic institutions can thrive by focusing on classroom teaching and student experiential learning, strategic priorities of their parent institutions

Learning the Lessons of Openness

The Open Educational Resources (OER) movement has built up a record of experience and achievements since it was formed 10 years ago as an identifiable approach to sharing online learning materials. In its initial phase, much activity was driven by ideals and interest in finding new ways to release content, with less direct research and reflection on the process. It is now important to consider the impact of OER and the types of evidence that are being generated across initiatives, organisations and individuals. Drawing on the work of OLnet (http://olnet.org) in bringing people together through fellowships, research projects and supporting collective intelligence about OER, we discuss the key challenges facing the OER movement. We go on to consider these challenges in the context of another project, Bridge to Success (http://b2s.aacc.edu), identifying the services which can support open education in the future

A comparison of three Open Universities and their acceptance of Internet Technologies

We compare three open universities the Open Universities in the UK (OUUK), the Netherlands (OUNL) and Japan (OUJ). Originating in the modern idea of an Open University each university has developed its own pedagogical model. The OUUK developed Supported Open Learning based on: 1. Distance open learning: allowing ‘learning in your own time’ working on set activities and assignments. 2. Quality resources: printed materials, set books, audio and video and home experiments. 3. Systematic support: provided by course tutors, a regional network of centers, central library and technical support. The OUNL offers ‘supported independent open learning’. Students study at their own time, pace and place. There are no semesters, academic years or student cohorts. Courses are small and most support is built into the materials. OUJ has used television and radio broadcasting for instruction. In addition OUJ uses textbooks, guidance by correspondence, and classes at one of 50 local study centres. Tutor support is not part of the pedagogic model though individualized tutorials are given at the final stage of the student's course of study. Having describe and compare these we examine how these models have responded to the emergence of Internet technologies including Web 2.0 and national circumstances