[Oer-community] What have maps ever done for us?

[Andy.Lane]

Hi

My apologies for this long email but I want to try and set out all the assumptions for my argument.

The challenge we were set, as I see it, is to try to specify a mapping process that would be of use to the growing OER movement or community. We have been presented with one or two exemplars and some discussion of what it should feature but I want to go back to some first principles about why mapping could be a useful venture.

Maps are representations of the world as we find it, to help us make sense of that world and to act within that world. They are partial snapshots of that world and depend to a large degree on the representativeness and relevance of the data and/or information used to construct them. That data can also be quantitative (numbers in most cases) or qualitative (words in most cases) that are arranged in some spatial form. They are also normally either representations of what the world is like or what we think it ought to be like but should not mix the two together.  The value of maps and many other types of diagrams is that they show the relationships between things as well as the things themselves. And in particular where there are lots of things and lots of relationships map are able to show patterns that are not so evident from the 'raw' data. That is why data visualisation is becoming an important area of study.

So maps are there to help us 'see' things we may not otherwise have seen and to make connections we might not otherwise have noticed.

The question for me then becomes one of: what things and what connections would I like to see represented to help me better understand the world of the OER movement and to help me act within it.

Well the 'things' could be OER themselves (but there are lots of those and they keep changing or getting added to all the time); people creating/using OER (ditto); organisations creating/using OER (there are fewer of these and change less often but their degree of involvement with OER could be highly variable); websites 'hosting' or 'promoting' OER (could be more of them than organisations - The OU has a number of such websites - but they also do 'die' more often); and OER initiatives/projects (some of these are multi organisational but they do show significant OER activity but are also very time limited because of funding). The type of data to be collected on each of these is quite different. Overall I am tending towards mapping organisations as the primary 'thing' but with the websites and/or projects they are involved as 'secondary' things to capture as a kind of 'linked' data so the map can show those different takes if need be. Because of the temporal issue I note above I also think we need data on when a 'thing' starts and when it finished (if appropriate) as this will enable us to see the changes (hopefully growth) in all three both temporally across the globe but also within regions and countries (and so we need data on a location for the organisation or all parts of an organisation is it has multiple sites).

Then there are the connections. The above mapping of things will highlight some existing connections (e.g. organisations working on the same project) but the fact that organisations are included could enable those organisations to also highlight what other organisations they have worked with or are working with and why (e.g. research; translating OER). If users of the site can both add and amend entries with new information as it arises and the purpose of the connection is flagged by an agreed set of keywords then such a map would serve the purpose of highlighting networks of activity around different aspects of OER work (publishing; science teaching, assessment, translating, researching, outreach etc) and so make it easier for folk in one organisation to find other organisations with folk who may be interested in collaborating and sharing ideas and content etc.

Overall the map could act as a mediating agent for people to find people to share with proactively (not to find OER per se as there are other means to do that as others have commented on). Sounds a bit like linkedin for organisations but done through a map ... hmm is that idea copyrighted?!

Andy


A.B.Lane, Professor of Environmental Systems, Programme Director for EDIS and Qualification Director for BSc Environmental Management and Technology


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