#337 Presentation

Tuesday 17 April 14:00 - 14:30 Bowett Room

The Health of OER Reuse; the Reuse of Health-OER

Richard Windle, University of Nottingham, UK

Conference Theme: Innovation

Summary: Supporting and evaluating OER creation, discoverability and reuse within formal education and wider community-based settings

Abstract: The creation and release of open educational resources (OER) is growing at an exponential rate, partly driven by strategic support as institutions recognise the benefits of OER participation and by national initiatives such as the JISC-funded OER programme in the UK (Wiley, 2006).  However, far less is known about the “health” of the reuse of OER materials. Questions surrounding OER reuse: “what is being reused, who is reusing, what patterns of reuse can be seen, how are different materials being reused, what are the specific practical benefits of reuse?” are largely unaddressed. For over eight years we have led initiatives to stimulate the creation and release OER within health sciences, mainly in the form of learning objects (Windle, et al. 2010).  More recently we have also undertaken initiatives to help colleagues reuse OER.  Through a series of case studies we present the findings of these initiatives. Approximately 100 members (50%) of academics within the Division of Nursing have been involved in OER creation and release.  Throughout this time we have tracked reuse by inviting online feedback. Whilst this is not comprehensive (we estimate a 2-5% response rate), it has allowed us to identify potential patterns of reuse and also to identify particularly rich instantiations of reuse.  Identified patterns include;  simple transfer to a recipient, the establishment of ongoing reuse partnerships, a “ripple effect” as resource reuse spreads from one institution to another and then to another and cloning where an institution first reuses and then emanates the process of resource creation and reuse. As well as identifying reuse within educational institutions in over 20 countries worldwide, one of the great potentials of OER within health is the potential it possesses to be discovered by and impact upon the wider community.  Indeed we have seen significant discovery and reuse by unintended stakeholder groups such as patients, carers, health practitioners, patient groups and charities.   Using a series of case studies of identified reuse partners we will illustrate the reuse patterns outlined above and discuss the “health of OER reuse” looking at barriers and drivers in this area.   In terms of stimulating reuse by our colleagues, the key issues that have arisen are the discoverability, reliability and quality of resources being searched for.  We have taken a completely new approach to address these issues, by adapting the steps and procedures developed for the systematic review of medical literature, with which these colleagues are familiar, we have developed a systematic search strategy for OER that is robust, repeatable and addresses issues of quality management.  We will outline this procedure and present case studies of its use and effectiveness.  It is often hypothesised that those who create and release OER and more likely to reuse OER.  Finally, by combining the findings of the two arms of this study we will address this issue.  This paper is aimed at anyone involved in supporting the creation, discoverability or reuse of OER within formal educational or community settings.  The main outcome will discussion of issues that influence reuse.

References:
Windle, R.J et al.  (2010). Journal of Interactive Media in Education http://jime.open.ac.uk/jime/article/view/2010-4
Wiley, D. (2006). OECD http://www.oecd.org/edu/oer