[Oer-community] Introduction to the discussion

[Stephen E Carson]

Chris et al,

I think it's really difficult to ask such questions broadly about OER, as OER encompasses so much.  As I've worked in the field I've identified a number of different overlapping and often conflicting notions about what OER are and how they operate.  I think it's helpful when talking about OER to keep in mind these multiple visions.  Here are a few that I've identified:

OER as substitute:  This is the idea that OER can be used to substitute for copywritten materials, generally text books and journal articles.  Here the interest seems to be primarily about cost savings, and the concern about whether the quality of the materials is equivalent to the for-fee versions.

OER as reusable resource:  This is the learning object vision married with open licenses, the idea that we can come up with definitive version of granular learning materials appropriate to wide audiences that can be flexibly localized and recombined.  Interest in this area seems to be focused on gains in efficiency in the creation of course materials, scalability in automated learning and to some extent cost savings.

OER as transparency:  This is the vision that I believe gets the least attention, but the one that is most important to models like OCW and to institutions.  Most of the benefit for schools publishing OCW and other curricular materials is both the quality improvements prompted but the increased scrutiny the materials are subjected to, and in the transparency across curriculum that OER project provide.  In publishing curriculum openly, communities of educators at institutions know more about what they collectively teach and how the subjects are related.  Student sin these communities have more information about what they will learn and how.

I'm sure there are other visions as well.   So I would answer your question by saying saying some institutional arrangements are very compatible with some visions of OER.  Some are not.  But I think in this and all parts of this deliberation, we need to acknowledge that we are discussing "OERs" in the plural, rather than one unified field of OER.

Best,

Steve Carson
External Relations Director  |  MIT OpenCourseWare
President  |   OpenCourseWare Consortium
One Broadway, 8th floor  |  Cambridge, MA 02142
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P: 617 253 1250  |  C: 617 633 4659  |  F: 617 253 2115  |  Skype/AIM: scarsonmit

[cid:2D874CE6-E0F1-4753-A861-1C9373F33449 at mit.edu]

On Oct 6, 2010, at 7:34 AM, Chris Yapp wrote:

Bassem,

thanks for your response.
I am involved in some scenario planning on the future of libraries and obviously attitudes to IPR, copyright, creative commons and OER obviously are central to roles of different libraries.

Much of the discussion so far appears to  assume that the current institutional arrangements are compatible in the long term with OER. In our work on libraries , to be published April 2011 we don't see that assumption as viable in any of our scenarios

Is there an evidence base for that or is it wish fulfilment?

For example the Open University was a new model of a University built to embrace technological possibilities.
What we are learning about "free" in the web 2.0 world is that it helps those with deep pockets and tends to monopoly in the long run.
That seems to me to be incompatible with the spirit of OER.



regards

Chris Yapp

90 High Street
Wheatley
Oxfordshire
OX33 1XP
Tel: 01865 874866
Mob: 07777 667786
Skype: cgyapp

From: oer-community-bounces at athabascau.ca<mailto:oer-community-bounces at athabascau.ca> [mailto:oer-community-bounces at athabascau.ca] On Behalf Of [BKK] Dr. Bassem Khafagy
Sent: 05 October 2010 21:45
To: oer-community at athabascau.ca<mailto:oer-community at athabascau.ca>
Subject: Re: [Oer-community] Introduction to the discussion

Dear all,

I think that the comments of Chris Yapp are very important to reflect upon them.  To me, OER is not only valuable to universities or educational institutions.  It is also valuable to corporate world, continuing education, and life-long knowledge acquisition for all.

If we are to expand on the thinking of Paul, and try to be creative in developing a model where OER is supported/maintained by a process where benefiting the society is more important than simply generating fund, growing bigger and bigger, or getting the best possible financial ROI .. if we are to think more in this direction, we may be able to see the macro-level view of things, before we get buried in the details of the micro-level thoughts.  Both are important of course, but to me, such a gathering of minds ought to focus more on the big picture.

Just a thought.

Best,

Bassem

Dr. Bassem Khafagy
CEO, E-L-M-E, Inc.
P.O. Box 9587
Nasr City, Cairo - Egypt
b.khafagy at e-l-m-e.com<mailto:b.khafagy at e-l-m-e.com>
<ATT00001..c>

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