Developing sustainable business models for institutions’ provision of open educational resources: Learning from OpenLearn users’ motivations and experiences

Universities across the globe have, for some time, been exploring the possibilities for achieving public benefit and generating business and visibility through releasing and sharing open educational resources (OER). Many have written about the need to develop sustainable and profitable business models around the production and release of OER. Downes (2006), for example, has questioned the financial sustainability of OER production at scale. Many of the proposed business models focus on OER’s value in generating revenue and detractors of OER have questioned whether they are in competition with formal education. This paper reports on a study intended to broaden the conversation about OER business models to consider the motivations and experiences of OER users as the basis for making a better informed decision about whether OER and formal learning are competitive or complementary with each other. The study focused on OpenLearn - the Open University’s (OU) web-based platform for OER, which hosts hundreds of online courses and videos and is accessed by over 3,000,000 users a year. A large scale survey and follow-up interviews with OpenLearn users worldwide revealed that university provided OER can offer learners a bridge to formal education, allowing them to try out a subject before registering on a formal course and to build confidence in their abilities as learners. In addition, it was found that using OER during formal paid-for study can improve learners’ performance and self-reliance, leading to increased retention and satisfaction with the learning experience

Virtual pedagogical model: development scenarios

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Open educational resources for all? Comparing user motivations and characteristics across The Open University’s iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform.

With the rise in access to mobile multimedia devices, educational institutions have exploited the iTunes U platform as an additional channel to provide free educational resources with the aim of profile-raising and breaking down barriers to education. For those prepared to invest in content preparation, it is possible to produce interactive, portable material that can be made available globally. Commentators have questioned both the financial implications for platform-specific content production, and the availability of devices for learners to access it (Osborne, 2012). The Open University (OU) makes its free educational resources available on iTunes U and via its web-based open educational resources (OER) platform, OpenLearn. The OU’s OER on iTunes U reached the 60 million download mark in 2013; its OpenLearn platform boasts 27 million unique visitors since 2006. This paper reports the results of a large-scale study of users of the OU’s iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform. A survey of several thousand users revealed key differences in demographics between those accessing OER via the web and via iTunes U. In addition, the data allowed comparison between three groups: formal learners, informal learners and educators. The study raises questions about whether university-provided OER meet the needs of users and makes recommendations for how content can be modified to suit their needs. As the publishing of OER becomes core to business, we reflect on reasons why understanding users’ motivations and demographics is vital, allowing for needs-led resource provision and content that is adapted to best achieve learner satisfaction, and to deliver institutions’ social mission

Are universities supplying learning spaces that suit the technology available for teaching?

Purpose: The report investigates the manner in which spaces are currently designed and provided for learning in the context of higher education institutions, and whether these designs take into account the technology available for use in an educational environment. It therefore looks at the impact that these spaces have on the learning process and the related ability of planners to provide the necessary spaces for teaching, in relation to the context of a technologically enhanced teaching environment. Design/methodology/approach: A review of current literature is used to establish what types of spaces should be provided for teaching with technology in line with what is being done in universities abroad. Case studies of three universities will be used to gather data on the current trend in terms of the actual provision of space in universities. Interviews will be conducted with the participants of the case studies. Findings: Once the case studies are complete, data will be analysed to assess how well the selected universities are doing in terms of providing space that is suitable for the latest technology that is used in the field of education. Practical implications: In evaluating the spaces provided and the technology available, it will become apparent if the spaces provided are indeed relevant in terms of the technological world we live in. Originality/value: Most of the current research documented in the literature examines technology and how it influences learning space design. As such, this report compares these concepts with the reality of space provision in universities today and questions the relevance of Space Norms in the age of E-learning. Limitations: The report is limited to an investigation into Gauteng HEIs. Technology investigated is limited to types that are useful to teaching and is not an exhaustive range of technology available in the world. Spaces referred to are education spaces only. Institutions investigated are limited to face-to-face HEIs which are public institutions

An analysis of best practices to enhance higher education teaching staff digital and multimedia skills

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the teaching ways in universities, rapidly moving from face-to-face delivery models to online and distance learning. Consequently, the multimedia and digital competencies of the teaching staff were suddenly put onto the stage, resulting in the realisation that many of them were not sufficiently skilled to face this challenge due to a lack of prior training. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this explanatory research is to present and make a comparison of key training programs, deemed best practices, that address different ways to assist higher education teaching staff to acquire the multimedia competencies required to be technologically- proficient in their classes. METHODS: A desk research provides the data for a multiple case study of courses implemented in universities of five European countries, namely Spain, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Romania, and Slovenia. RESULTS: The results of the study show a total of 28 courses ranging from how to deliver online teaching to gamification, going through other topics such as photo and video editing, that enable higher education teachers to acquire digital skills. The main challenges detected for the success of these training programs are the teachers’ lack of time for training, non-positive attitudes towards technology, and lack of innovative capacity in their teaching processes. Among the positive outcomes, we can find that these universities opt for programs with courses varied in content, to cover a wider range of skills, as well as offering courses at several levels of development so that all staff may improve, from the very beginners to more advanced tools. CONCLUSION: By identifying the challenges and success factors behind the best practices hereby analysed, the lessons obtained from this research may serve as benchmarks for other universities to develop efficient multimedia training programs for university staff.This research has been funded by the European Commission within the project Multimedia Competencies for University Staff to Empower University –Community Collaborations (2020-1-Ro01-KA203-080399)

How to design for persistence and retention in MOOCs?

Design of educational interventions is typically carried out following a design cycle involving phases of investigation, conceptualization, prototyping, implementation, execution and evaluation. This cycle can be applied at different levels of granularity e.g. learning activity, module, course or programme. In this paper we consider an aspect of learner behavior that can be critical to the success of many MOOCs i.e. their persistence to study, and the related theme of learner retention. We reflect on the impact that consideration of these can have on design decisions at different stages in the design cycle with the aim of en-hancing MOOC design in relation to learner persistence and retention, with particular attention to the European context