[Oer-community] Week 1 summary log

[Susan D'Antoni]

Dear Colleagues,

Because the conversation and the range of topics we have covered is
considerable it makes sense to have a summary of them as we start another
week.

Let me introduce Sara Frank Bristow, our colleagues who is preparing the
weekly summaries of our discussion.  Sara is a writer, editor and
educational researcher focusing on learning technology, blended/virtual
education (K-12 and higher ed), open educational resources and wikis. She
is currently the project manager for Communicate OER, a collaborative
effort to improve Wikipedia articles relating to OER (
http://enwp.org/WP:COER).

You have her summary log in this email and in both doc and odt formats.

Best,

Susan

*****

Mapping the Landscape of OER Institutional Initiatives

Summary of Week One (12-18 November 2012): What could an OER world map look
like?

Why map the OER landscape? Essential information and visual presentation

Prepared by Sara Frank Bristow, Salient Research


This document provides an overview of key points addressed during week one
of the Athabasca-based OER-mapping discussion (
https://unescochair.athabascau.ca/oer-mapping-exercise). Please feel free
to share it among your colleagues and networks.


== 1. Issue One: Why Map the OER Landscape? ==

A majority of contributors support the development of a
community-generated, geographical map of OER initiatives. Most conversation
has focused on the potential benefits to various stakeholders, from
learners to policymakers. A global map of OER initiatives may:


* Demonstrate OER’s scope and scale in a simple, visual manner

* Provide an entry point for those outside the movement to learn about
OER’s worldwide dimensions and rapid growth

* Augment the OER evidence base, encouraging investment and implementation
of public policy

* Build on past efforts to provide overviews of institutional, national and
regional projects

* Strengthen the OER community worldwide, reducing perceived “scattering”
of initiatives

* Highlight regions in which OER development is needed most

* Improve the visibility of lesser-known, newer initiatives

* Foster collaboration between experienced OER practitioners and newcomers

* Help content developers identify complementary projects and build on good
practice

* Enable instructors and learners to find resources

* Generally promote sharing, use, reuse, adaptation, localisation and
translation

* Provide a “living example” of OER


A wide range of challenges to a project of this scope are anticipated. The
following areas of relevance and logistical concern have been highlighted:


* How to define and classify an “OER initiative”

* That focus on geographical “headquarters” should not eclipse other
valuable information, e.g. about funders and global “reach”

* That a comprehensive reporting tool/database might be more useful (a
geographical map could be one output of this)

* That conceptual mapping, knowledge mapping or curricular mapping (in lieu
of geographical mapping) might be more appropriate

* That any map be open to all, accessible to those with disabilities, and
include metadata

* The feasibility of keeping such a map accurate, up-to-date, simple and
well organised

* The importance “searchability,” especially if teachers/learners are to
use the map directly



== 2. Issue Two: Essential Information and Visual Presentation ==


=== 2a. Essential Information ===


The topic of “essential” information has not been addressed explicitly by
many contributors. The most commonly referenced categories in discussions
of OER discovery, however, are:


* Country

* Language

* Licensing

* Academic level/sector

* Academic discipline/subject area

* Contact (“OER Expert”)


Other descriptors mentioned (institutional, resource-specific or both)
include:


* URL

* Department

* Author(s)

* OER type

* OER quantity

* Credential (if applicable)

* Producer type (single, national, regional, global)

* Whether seeking collaborators

* Funder(s)

* Time marker(s), e.g. date

* Tag(s)


A more formal “essentials” list would require further iteration.


=== 2b. Visual Presentation ===

The OpenCourseWare Consortium sample map provided (
http://oerworldmap.oerknowledgecloud.org/) has been deemed functional;
other options for visual presentation have not been discussed in detail.
These related topics have been identified for further examination:


* Mapping initiatives that elude geographical categorisation, e.g. have
partners or presence in multiple countries

* Striving to use generally open principles, such as open licensing of
visualisations, open APIs and standards (“eating our own dog food”)

* Examining self-reporting tools like those used in the public health
community to report outbreaks

* Adding a time dimension, or other ways of highlighting periods and
regions of innovation

* Relying on “open innovation,” enabling multiple ways to visualise the
same data

* Developing use cases as a first step, to explore who will use the map,
and in what context

* Upholding basic principles of good practice in human-computer interaction


== 3. Week One Conclusions ==

Discussion so far has been vibrant, with roughly 100 contributors providing
a wide range of ideas. That a global map of institutional OER initiatives
would be useful seems clear. What constitutes “essential information,” and
how this might be visually represented, would benefit from further
discussion in the coming week.


This summary © 2012 Sara Frank Bristow, Salient Research. Available under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).



*****

-- 
Susan D'Antoni

Advisor to the President
International OER Initiatives
Athabasca University
Canada
tel 613 232 6496
skype iiepsusan
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