[Oer-community] OER mapping - Welcome and introduction to Week 1

Mon Nov 12 10:18:21 MST 2012

Hi Susan and All,
Susan asks:

Let us consider two main questions, although there will be others:

1.   Would a world map to visualize the global OER landscape be useful?
(example below created from OCWC data)

2.   Could the OER community work in collaboration to design, build and
maintain such a map?

As a short answer to question 1 "Yes". The longer answer starts has some
qualifications around the Yes. Building up maps of initiatives and the
actions they are taking could turn out to be a big task and the temptation
is to gather more and more data. Susan knows from visiting us at the Open
University that we did generate a map fo some initiatives as a side effect
of the work we were doing on evidence of impact. See
http://ci.olnet.org/#org-orggmap for the resulting geo-map view of
organisations and projects. What that experienced showed was that if you
ask too much of participants then you will end up with partial data, but it
also showed that you could go quite a long way towards a useful result
based on gathering together existing information and working with some
enthusiasts. I think that taking as your starting point what is already
known (e.g. our own data can be reused) and being definite about what you
are asking could give you a good resource. So while it is tempting to add
in other data starting with location is not a bad plan. I agree that
language, subject and level are all important factors but perhaps they
relate more to the resources (e.g. in OER Commons) than to the
organisations.

For part 2 then I think we probably need a mix of a core team that gathers
the existing data in combination with an open approach to allow fixing and
refinement. The area is too dynamic and so open entry is needed. But
practical concerns are the problem of spam and that we do not want to
exclude those who are too busy doing good work to be able to spend the time
to fill in information.

Looking forward to other views.

Best wishes,
Patrick.
---------
Professor Patrick McAndrew
Chair in Open Education
Institute of Educational Technology
The Open University

On 12 November 2012 13:42, Susan D'Antoni <susandantoni at gmail.com> wrote:

>  Dear colleagues,
>
>
>
> It is a pleasure to be back together with old colleagues and to welcome
> new colleagues to this international group.  The focus of this discussion
> is tol think about and discuss whether the growing OER community could
> build an “OER World Map” to present a picture of the global landscape of
> OER initiatives.
>
>
>
> This exploration of mapping OER initiatives is one of the main activities
> of the UNESCO/COL Chair in OER at Athabasca University in Canada.  We
> work in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair at the Open Universiteit of the
> Netherlands and our collective network of partner institutions and
> organizations.
>
>
>
> _______________________________
>
>
>
> Looking back ...
>
>
>
> Over the past decade a global OER movement has emerged – with more and
> more initiatives in more and more countries. The OER movement began with a
> vision of sharing knowledge freely and openly. In a world where growing
> numbers of children and adults want and need to learn, whether in formal or
> informal settings, the accomplishments of the OER movement over the decade
> are a contribution.
>
>
>
> A decade of development:
>
>
>
> *   10 years ago, the term Open Educational Resources was coined at a
> UNESCO meeting …
>
>
>
> *   7 years ago, an international OER Community was launched byUNESCO IIEP<http://www.unesco.org/iiep/virtualuniversity/forumshome.php?queryforums_id=3> to
> raise awareness of OER and to consider some of the related issues …
>
>
>
> *   5 years ago, the UNESCO IIEP OER Community ranked the priorities for
> advancing the OER movement<http://www.icde.org/Open+Educational+Resources+-+The+Way+Forward.9UFRzI16.ips> –
> and identified awareness raising, and community building and networking as
> the most important actions …
>
>
>
> *   5 years ago, OECD<http://www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/givingknowledgeforfreetheemergenceofopeneducationalresources.htm> reported
> on a study of the scale and scope of OER at that time …
>
>
>
> *   5 years ago, the Cape Town Open Education Declaration<http://www.capetowndeclaration.org/read-the-declaration> was
> released …
>
>
>
> *   2 years ago, a UNESCO/COL Chair in OER (Athabasca University<https://unescochair.athabascau.ca/>)
> and a UNESCO Chair in OER (Open Universiteit<http://oer.unescochair-ou.nl/>)
> were awarded to act as think tanks and bridge builders, working through
> partnerships and networking …
>
>
>
> *   this year in 2012, UNESCO passed the Paris OER Declaration<http://www.unesco.org/pv_obj_cache/pv_obj_id_EEF3C7E6694B8B91C31F5EA3340D484EF03A0100/filename/Paris%20OER%20Declaration_01.pdf> and
> OECD released a Working Paper on Open Educational Resources<http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/fulltext/5k990rjhvtlv.pdf?expires=1352570266&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=7D1A24B993239122096EFD1EA4C4C2E7>
> .
>
>
>
> In ten years, much has been accomplished.  There are many individual and
> institutional OER initiatives, discussion lists, meetings, conferences,
> groups, communities and networks.
>
> __________________________________
>
>
>
> A challenge ...
>
>
>
> The very success of the OER movement in its growth over the decade has
> made it difficult to have a comprehensive overview of the various
> initiatives in institutions, countries and regions.  Sometimes it is even
> hard to know who is doing what in one’s own environment.
>
> __________________________________
>
>
>
> Our discussion ...
>
>
>
> Let us consider two main questions, although there will be others:
>
>
>
> 1.   Would a world map to visualize the global OER landscape be useful?
> (example below created from OCWC data)
>
>
>
> 2.   Could the OER community work in collaboration to design, build and
> maintain such a map?
>
> ____________________________________
>
>
>
>
> To start Week 1, let’s consider the first question --
>
>
>      How would a visual OER world map be useful in your own setting and
> from your own perspective?
>
>
>
> The floor is yours …
>
>
> My best, Susan
>
>
>
> [image: Inline image 1]
>
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