23.1 Amee godwin - on doing oer  (Page 4/5)

1. Sometimes these processes were really traditional, faculty-centered processes that were augmented with assistance from a learning designer, perhaps a graphics artist, multimedia professional, etc.
2. Sometimes the processes are based on a “production model” intended to achieve some economies of scale through divisions of labor and use of other techniques for achieving efficiencies.

Although I do not have a handle on the actual amount, but if I were to guess at the volume of content that is created for distance and online education annually through formal processes, it would be quite significant. It seems that in this posting, “Doing OER implies a third model that connects:

• Design
• Development
• Delivery/Use/Distribution
• Assessment
• Redesign/Redevelopment (for reuse)

in an environment where the whole process is educational and open to learners as well as faculty, designers, etc. This type of approach would obviously be quite powerful, particularly if the process included the introduction of new student generated content/artifacts.

So, is this the type of thing that is worth doing? (It seems to be a natural enough extension of what Amee is talking about.) If so, who is starting to do or fund this type of thing?

Looking forward to learning!!! Ken

2. amee godwin - march 7th, 2008 at 2:09 pm

Hi Ken,

Thanks so much for your comments and for drawing the connections between all points of the “production cycle” of OER. Yes, the production and modification of content in this context definitely constitutes learning. It is a non-traditional take on education and on resources, and is supported by inquiry-based and problem-based teaching and learning practices.

In the example of BioQUEST, I should also point you to the NSF-supported SCOPE project, (External Link) , on which we are collaborating. The project’s first upcoming workshop will bring this investigative approach to faculty as learner-participants in a face-to-face setting and from there we aim to support continuous production and engagement online with the resulting resources and data. This is meant to be an experience in doing contemporary science that the participating instructors and curriculum authors can then share with their students.

-Amee

3. ken udas - march 9th, 2008 at 5:37 am

Amee, These are really very exciting developments and I think point to the next step in making OER part of a meaningful educational experience. I think that a vast majority of what is out there right now is about creating and posting content. I assume that content availability is very important. In fact, some would, I think quite legitimacy, argue that it is absolutely critical infrastructure for all sorts of other things related to open education and provides the necessary material (open intellectual capital) for reuse and creativity.

Let’s just assume for a minute that the volume of OER content, open access articles, FOSS, etc. is reasonable right now, would you have any advice for regular teachers to start doing “OER”, perhaps if they are not at schools, colleges, or universities with much OER experience? How about advice for academic administrators? How might they act as catalysts?