Some thoughts on OER reuse from Derby to Kabul: Presentation for Open Nottingham, 7 April 2011

Gabi Witthaus, Beyond Distance Research Alliance at University of LeicesterJamie Grace, School of Law and Criminology, University of Derby

OER Workshops in Kabul• Two one-day workshops• Participants: 25 academics, 6 students, 3 researchers• Institutions: universities in and around Kabul and a policy

research NGO • Disciplines: wide range including Geology, Fine Arts, Law• Partners: DfID, British Council, OU UK, Leicester University• Purpose: to explore reuse and creation of OERs in

curriculum design

Context http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/12/AR2011021203545.html

Current situation• Current course development process involves

“compiling” materials from available sources• Quote from participant: “Copyright problem? What

copyright problem?!” [;-)]• Subscriptions to international journals unaffordable• No institutional intranets or VLEs• Rote learning is the dominant style

Challenges while searching• Slow download times• Format of many OERs incompatible with local laptops• Confusing layout and navigation of repositories –

search & retrieval process follows no clear standards• Use of unfamiliar terms, e.g. ‘HE’ and ‘FE’• Search can be extremely time-consuming, often to find

the perfect OER but it’s just a “taster”• OERs separated from licences when downloaded.

Key findings• All participants said they would:• Spend more time searching for OERs• Change their approach to teaching/ learning as

a result of the workshop. •Most participants said they would:• Translate or modify OERs for their students• Consider creating OERs themselves

Comments from academics• “I was amazed to see this invaluable treasure

that we can access so easily.”• “Now we can solve some of our problems

with these [OER] sites … Also I want to say that this is one of the most important parts of education that everyone should know about.”• “Now we know different sources of reliable,

up-to-date information. We will try to use this and make it relevant to Afghanistan.”

Comments from students• “When our teacher is planning to teach us

about a particular topic in a lecture, I will search before the session for OERs… so that I am well prepared.”• “This is better than a Google search (for

learning materials). It’s more relevant.”• “I’m going to use OERs in my free time.”

Lessons for OER producers • There is an enthusiastic audience for OERs outside of the UK.• Try to see the OERs and repositories through the lens of users.

Use plain English. Avoid acronyms.• Formatting – provide many formats, esp. for print materials.

Remember: MS Word is not universal; PDF is not modifiable!• Embed the licence in the OER – OERs can get separated from

their cover pages on repositories.• Repositories: use familiar navigation styles.

The Case for the Use of OERs in Legal PedagogyJamie Grace, 2011University of Derby

Great ‘legal’ OERs• The OU resources• Case reports and more: www.bailii.org • Law school journals e.g. Script-Ed• A growing trend for OERs?• Module tasters and one-off events• Whole modules• ‘True’ OERs – breaking free of module design? Introductory

and universal

Law teachers as a case study• I wanted to make a couple of points:• ‘The law’ is freely available (it is a human right, of sorts)• Individuals have the legal right to access our teaching

materials – so take up the process fully

Legal information and the web• ‘The law’ is freely available (it is a human right, of sorts)• Internet and broadband access• Legal scholarship and publishing• Case law and law reports• The OER agenda

Access to information• Freedom of Information Act 2000• The UCLAN case• Accessibility of resources determined by ‘prejudice to

commercial interests’• Publication of more information in a more competitive HE

environment, not less• We’re talking about ideology…

Thanks• Please get in touch if we can work together: • Jamie Grace: j.grace@derby.ac.uk • Gabi Witthaus: gabi.witthaus@le.ac.uk

• Acknowledgement: Banner derived from Flickr image ‘ostriches closeup’ by matstornberg licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 2.0 generic license.

Acknowledgements• Banner derived from Flickr image ‘ostriches closeup’ by matstornberg

licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 2.0 generic license.

Follow the Sun: Online Learning Futures Festival

13–15 April 2011Three countries, three time zones: this non-stop, global, online conference will begin in Leicester (UK) on Wed 13 April, continue in Seattle (USA), and conclude in Toowoomba (Australia) 48 hours later.

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