Public version of presentation proposing research project to look at libraries/ librarians ' role in relation to Open Educational Resources.
[this version edited to remove some context]
Choosing the Right CBSE School A Comprehensive Guide for Parents
Open educational resources and Libraries
1. Open Educational Resources and Libraries: a proposal R. John Robertson Presentation Please note some details have been removed from this version Dec 2009
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4. Open Education Photo credit and license: ‘ Open’ Flickr user: mag3737 CC: BY NC SA http://www.flickr.com/photos/mag3737/1914076277/
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9. Resources and Libraries Photo credit and license: ‘ Doors Open Toronto’ Flickr user hyfen CC: BY NC SA http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyfen/3562200168/in/set-72157618755740828
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15. a proposal Photo credit and license: ‘ Computers Original’ Flickr user: Prasian.Niak CC: BY NC ND http://www.flickr.com/photos/prasan-naik/356299634/
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19. Questions? Photo credit and license: ‘ Questions’ Flickr User: oberazzi CC: BY NC SA http://www.flickr.com/photos/oberazzi/318947873/
Editor's Notes
Open Educational Resources and Libraries: a proposal R. John Robertson Presentation Please note some details have been removed from this version Dec 2009 Context note: this was my proposal for a piece of work to look at the role of libraries and open education resources; it was ultimately unsuccessful but captures some of my thinking on the issue which I hope to write up further in the coming month(s)
Overview Flashforward Open Education Resources and Libraries Proposal Glossary: OER- Open Educational Resource
Flashforward My project would examine: How libraries are currently engaging with learning materials The perspectives current key thinkers and OER initiatives have about the role of libraries Create resources (articles, guides, case studies, and podcasts) to equip librarians engage with OERs
Open Education Alt text: Photograph collage of lit neon signs at night all displaying part of the word open Photo credit and license: ‘ Open’ Flickr user: mag3737 CC: BY NC SA http://www.flickr.com/photos/mag3737/1914076277/
Open Education: Cape Town declaration “ We are on the cusp of a global revolution in teaching and learning. Educators worldwide are developing a vast pool of educational resources on the Internet, open and free for all to use. These educators are creating a world where each and every person on earth can access and contribute to the sum of all human knowledge. They are also planting the seeds of a new pedagogy where educators and learners create, shape and evolve knowledge together, deepening their skills and understanding as they go...” http://www.capetowndeclaration.org/read-the-declaration
Open Education: a rough guide The Open Education movement is characterised by a commitment to create, share and use/remix educational resources. Although there are no set choices of platform, standard, format, or type of material, lightweight and informal approaches currently dominate. Other features: use of clear licensing and some avoidance of resources with restricted license. Beginning to move towards the educational mainstream?
Open Education: towards a transition point First initiatives: MIT, OCWC, Open Michigan UKOER – 29 pilot projects New funding: e.g. US community colleges and open textbook initiatives iTunesU ~’free’ (not necessarily open) but visibility and taster opportunities appeal to institutions Press coverage Open Education becoming more mainstream but...
Open Education: an opportunity for libraries? Open Education faces challenges and barriers moving from passionate individuals, and small initiatives to wider groups, and institutions Libraries could be play an important role Perhaps it’s like the Open Access movement 10 years ago considering how to move beyond arXiv and physicists But the role of libraries is still in its infancy
Resources and Libraries Alt text: Photograph looking down to the atrium a multi-floor reference library Photo credit and license: ‘ Doors Open Toronto’ Flickr user hyfen CC: BY NC SA http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyfen/3562200168/in/set-72157618755740828
Resources and Libraries: an example “ I've always gravitated to the 'fast, cheap, and out of control‘ mantra when it comes to technology choices. And I personally have a very high threshold of tolerance when it comes to approaches that are messy and rough around the edges. Then again, lately I spend a lot of time dealing with issues like effective long-term archiving of resources that seemed ethereal at the time (users didn't always see them that way), and challenges of provisioning some of these experimental projects into the longer term. I find myself hoping that a librarian might come to my rescue .” Brain Lamb (Emerging Technologies Discoordinator, OLT UBC) Nov 24, 2009 Comment in discussion forum. Innovating E-learning conference 2009: Thriving not just surviving.
Resources and Libraries: ACRL meeting Librarians can help by contributing their own OERs to the commons; screening for, indexing, and archiving quality OERs; using OERs in their own teaching; and participating in discussions leading toward responsible intellectual property policies and useful standards. Belliston (C. Jeffrey Belliston Open Educational Resources: Creating the instruction commons C&RL News, May 2009 Vol. 70, No. 5 http://tinyurl.com/yhoezak )
Resources and Libraries: suggested connections Libraries and librarians can help: Create and use OERs Identify and index quality OERs [...] Preserve OERs Help with IPR Doing these things would be good and useful but, is that it? ...
Resources and Libraries: going further? How about Interest in ‘openess’ Help describe? Help discover? Help manage? Help disseminate? Impact on: information literacy, study skills Supporting their use for learning and teaching in collaboration with other relevant services
Resources and Libraries: Collaboration Engaging fully with OERs is not something libraries can do in isolation and in some ways it is very different proposition than Open Access is. To begin engaging I suggest libraries need to examine what they are doing, what they could do, and how that potential meets the needs of their users Beginning to engage with those questions is the basis of my proposal...
a proposal Alt text: Photograph of black computer keyboard from a nearly horizontal perspective; letter Q, A, Z in foreground rest of keyboard stretches off into distance. Photo credit and license: ‘ Computers Original’ Flickr user: Prasian.Niak CC: BY NC ND http://www.flickr.com/photos/prasan-naik/356299634/
a proposal: some questions What opportunities and issues emerge for librarians and libraries from the OER movement? What role do libraries currently have in OER initiatives or the wider management of learning materials produced by institutions? Are library skills perceived as relevant to the management of teaching and learning materials (within libraries, within institutions, or by the OER movement)? What can the libraries or librarians offer the institution in this area?
A proposal: structure Review literature (formal and informal) Engage librarians Understand educators’ needs Distill current best practice, Equip libraries and librarians Apply through cases studies Publish throughout
A proposal: outputs Blog writing as the research progress; practice open communication; invite participation Paper presenting literature review Paper summarising surveys to provide a baseline study and current consensus Interviews published (possibly as a series of podcasts). Paper synthesising and analysing interviews Case study of these questions at given institutions Online guide summarising issues that have emerged and readiness questions to help libraries engage with this topic.
Questions? Alt text: Photograph of a pair of matt brass effect cufflinks with question marks on them Photo credit and license: ‘ Questions’ Flickr User: oberazzi CC: BY NC SA http://www.flickr.com/photos/oberazzi/318947873/