#245 Presentation

Wednesday 18 April 14:30 - 15:00 Bowett Room

An Institutional Approach to supporting Open Education: a case study of OCW at MIT

Stephen Gomez, University of Plymouth, UK
Lynne Callaghan, University of Plymouth, UK
Susan Eick, University of Plymouth, UK
Dan Carchidi, University of New Hampshire, US
Steve Carson, MIT, US
Holger Andersson, University of Plymouth, UK

Conference Theme: Impact

Summary: An exemplar of embedding a sustainable institutional OER culture is provided by MIT OCW. Findings from a study of OCW at MIT are presented.

Abstract: OCW and Open Educational Resources (OERs) are becoming world-wide movements in open education. To be sustainable and effective on a global scale, more institutions need to embrace an OER culture. As MIT is a leading provider of open learning materials on an institutional level, a study was undertaken by a group from Plymouth University to understand the culture supporting OCW at MIT.
The study involved in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews and focus groups with 27 purposively sampled participants from three main groups: faculty (n = 11), institutional managers (n = 4), and the OCW production team (n = 11).
Interviews were recorded, transcribed and then subjected to thematic content analysis independently by the researchers. Themes that emerged could be grouped under three distinct areas relating to the culture of participation in OCW at MIT:

• Mission and motivation: reasons for initial participation and engagement;
• Impact of OCW: benefits and challenges
• Future of OCW: future development and sustainability of OCW

Each of these broad themes contained numerous sub-themes, some of which will be explored in more detail during the presentation.
As an example of our initial findings under the theme of mission and motivation, we found that participants actively shared in the educational mission of MIT in ‘educating the World’ through an enveloping altruistic and philanthropic ethos’ of openness in both educational and research output. A major factor in its success was that OCW production was largely driven by faculty rather than a top-down approach from management. An early goal and constant motivator for OCW production was to produce a comprehensive, content-rich and quality resource which covered all teaching at MIT and in a format that could capitalise on internet technologies for global distribution.
Faculty were able to shape the remit and scope of the open learning resource, thereby gaining a sense of ownership and facilitating participation and further engagement. Faculty were keen for their course materials to be disseminated as widely and freely as possible to benefit the World at large. Some faculty went so far as to emphasise that had OCW been a profit making venture, as originally conceived, they would not have been as willing to participate, if at all. The wholly open and free access to their course materials through OCW elevated the dissemination of their teaching materials in a way comparable to that of the dissemination of research, thereby providing recognition for their teaching too.
The success of OCW at MIT is due to the systems and approaches which were introduced at an institutional-level. Through adopting a participatory approach, faculty were engaged throughout the development and realisation of the initiative. The most important single factor that has contributed to the success of OERs at MIT has been the establishment of a central resource, MIT OpenCourseWare, which has supported the institution in terms of coordinating production and commissioning of OERs and has taken the burden of the publication process away from the faculty.