#301 Pre-Conference Workshop
Sunday 15 April 2012 13:30 - 16:30 Ramsden Room, St Catharine's
Growing the OERu: from seed to sapling to forest
Gabi Witthaus, University of Leicester, UK
Gabi Witthaus is a Research Fellow at the University of Leicester. Her current project, TOUCANS, in partnership with the Open University UK, investigates the OER university (OERu) concept and its possible implementation within the UK Higher Education sector. Gabi has been at the University of Leicester since 2009, working with colleagues at the Beyond Distance Research Alliance on projects focusing the use of innovative technologies in higher education. She blogs at www.toucansproject.wordpress.com and http://www.scoop.it/t/open-learning-news .
Rory McGreal, Athabasca University, Canada
Rory McGreal is a professor of Computer Technologies in Education at Athabasca University – Canada’s Open University based in Alberta, Canada. He is also a UNESCO/Commonwealth of Learning Chair in Open Educational Resources. He has been honored with the Wedemeyer Award for Distance Education practitioner. Rory researches the implementation and management of distance education systems and networks from technological, pedagogical and policy perspectives. His present research interests include the use of Open Educational Resources and standards in technology assisted learning, particularly in the development/application of learning objects. He is focusing research on how these would be applied and formatted on mobile devices for M-learning.
Judith Murray, Thompson Rivers University, Canada
Judith Murray joined Thompson Rivers University as its first Vice President, Open Learning in 2006 bringing with her more than 20 years of higher education management experience. She has worked for numerous educational institutions in both Canada and the USA. Judith is a former Who’s Who of Canadian Women in information technology, President of the Canadian Institutional Research and Planning Association, member of the Nova Scotia Council on Higher Education, member of the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission, reviewer for the Canadian Journal of Education, member of the Board for the International Conference on Higher Education (ICHE), Chairman of the Board AGMUS Ventures Inc., and Chairman of the Board Pleiades Consulting Inc.. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of School District #73’s Business Company and as a member of the Board of the Canadian Virtual University.
Graham Bell, Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, NZ
Graham Bell is Director of Planning, Quality and Learner Services at NMIT at the Top of the South Island in New Zealand. At Directorate level he is driving innovation in learning and teaching in the organisation. Before coming to NZ he worked to improve the quality of services at colleges in the UK working for Tribal Education. He has written three books and a range of open learning materials.
Conference Theme: Impact
Summary: A half-day workshop in which we explore the key opportunities and challenges involved in realising the OERu vision
Audience: Academics, management and support staff of Higher Education Institutions who are interested in the OERu concept and would like to be involved in realising the OERu vision – either as members of OERTen (the OERu Tertiary Education Network: institutions that are already committed to participating), volunteers, or members of institutions that are not yet participating in the OERu.
Outcomes: Participants will:
- have a clear understanding of the OERu – its vision and goals, what it is, what it is not, and a broad outline of the plans for the 2012 pilot and beyond
- jointly generate a rich picture of an institution (real or imagined) that effectively collaborates with other institutions to meet the learning and accreditation needs of the 100 million adults who are eligible for higher education but cannot afford to go to university in the usual way
- explore the key issues that OERTen institutions are currently addressing in preparation for implementing the OERu concept, including determining how the OERu will work from a business perspective, and see examples of how they are planning to deal with some of those issues
- be equipped with a workshop package (slides, handouts and related resources, all as OERs) that can be repurposed for taking the discussion further with colleagues and other potential stakeholders at their own institutions
Abstract: The workshop will begin with a brief overview of the story so far – the reasons for the OERu’s existence; how it is similar to, and different from, other OER-based university initiatives such as the P2P University and the People’s University; the motivations of the OERTen institutions for participating; and a summary of initial plans for the OERu pilot for September 2012.
We will then focus on imagining a future in which institutions collaborate to successfully realise the OERu vision for adult learners around the world who cannot afford to pay the usual students’ fees. The key challenge for institutions offering courses via the OERu will be to find a way to enable OERu students to achieve the same outcomes as fee-paying students at a quarter (or less) of the cost to students. We will define and explore the key opportunities, challenges and barriers facing institutions and individuals that wish to participate in realising this vision. Issues covered will include:
- Curriculum: issues involved in generating OER content, deciding which courses to offer and determining how students will combine credits to obtain a qualification
- Assessment: issues involved in implementing PLAR (prior learning assessment and recognition)/APEL (assessment of prior experience and learning) at scale; the possibility of offering “challenge exams” (whereby students take an exam without having enrolled in the course); ensuring equivalency with non-OERu assessment
- Accreditation: issues involved in recognising credits obtained by learners at other participating institutions
- Student support: What kinds of support do OERu students need? What kind of quality assurance, if any, should be put in place to monitor the support provided by volunteers and third parties? What aspects of student support are likely to be critical to the sustainability of the OERu?