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OERu

Towards more affordable education for all students worldwide

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From left to right: James Ruhfus, Unitec; Lyndsay Ainsworth, Lincoln University; Sally Pairman, Otago Polytechnic; Vasi Doncheva, Northland Polytechnic; Veronique Olin, Otago Polytechnic; Wayne Mackintosh, OER Foundation; Denis McGrath, Wakikato Institute of Technology; Stephanie Day, Eastern Institute of Technology; Craig Agnew, Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology; and Mark Nichols, Open Polytechnic.

The New Zealand OERu partners convened for a national meeting at the Open Polytechnic on 24 July 2014. Eastern Institute of Technology joined the meeting as an observer.

The aims of the meeting were:

• To determine OERu course contributions from the New Zealand partners and how these contribute to building the OERu programme of study
• To identify opportunities for OERu partner collaboration within New Zealand
• To review the bounty for the Open Textbook Course Project posted by Otago Polytechnic.
• To understand how the OERu planning model functions to promote active partner engagement in the OERu planning activities
• To review examples of completed OERu courses to inform design decisions for new OERu developments
• To appreciate the rationale underpinning technology decisions of the OERu network and how to maximise reuse of OERu courses on campus.

During the meeting partners shared progress updates on the implementation of open education at their respective institutions, and two proposals for action where tabled: 1) To progress development of a course sprint for building digital skills for collaborative OER Development and 2) To progress collaborative OER development among OERu partners for the new national Certificates in Adult Literacy and Numeracy (Vocational and educator).

Summary of the meeting

1. Reviewed progress with the implementation of open education at partner institutes
   • Veronique Olin, Otago Polytechnic Otago Poly OER
   • Mark Nichols, Open Polytechnic - Presentation notes
   • James Ruhfus, Unitec (Link to notes will be submitted)
   • Vasi Doncheva, NorthTec Presentation NorthTec's OER journey
   • Denis McGrath, Wintec (Link to notes will be submitted)
   • Lyndsay Ainsworth, Lincoln University Open Access and Lincoln
   • Stephanie Day, EIT Presentation OER @ EIT
   • Craig Agnew, NMIT NMIT's OER Statement July 2014
   • Noted impressive progress with the level of OER integration at partner institutes when compared with the state of open education at the time of the 1^1st meeting of OERu partners in November 2011.
2. Summarised the OERu's open planning model
   • Illustrated the quicklinks page as access point to navigate the planning pages
   • Explained how the planning portal operates and relates to the logic model.
   • Encouraged staff at OERu partner institutes to join the relevant OERu planning email lists.
   • Summarised the OERu working group structure and invited OERu partners to join respective working groups.
3. Noted and summarised the open OERu strategic planning consultation and process leading to final approval by the OERu Council of CEOs and OER Foundation.
   • Encouraged New Zealand partners to provide feedback on the draft strategic plan
4. Shared experiences and knowledge gained regarding OERu course design and delivery
   • Discussed benefits of the micro Open Online Course format and research data generated from the SP4Ed mOOC offered by the University of Canterbury to full-fee students in parallel with free OERu learners.
5. Demonstrated technology improvements, most notably using an outline in the wiki to produce a themable OERu course snapshot
   • Reported on progress of the course site design project funded by Otago Polytechnic which will enable OERu partners to theme courses incorporating features for responsive design.
6. Discussed the open textbook course bounty project
   • Invited OERu partners to "shoulder-tap" colleagues at their institutions to consider posting submissions for this development.
   • Encouraged New Zealand OERu partners to consider offering the resultant course at their own institutions in parallel with the open OERu version.
7. Deliberated on proposals for action for the New Zealand OERu partners
   • Extensive discussion on the New Zealand Targeted Review of Qualifications (TROQ) and how the OER model could assist New Zealand institutions.
   • Agreed to establish an OERu partner working group to coordinate OER activities related to the Targeted Review of Qualifications.
8. Agreed to commence work on two proposals for action:
   • To design and develop a course sprint which will lead to the development of digital skills for OER implementation to support professional development of OERu partner staff with options for formal certification through the OERu Digital Skills for Collaborative OER Development course.
   • To collaborate on the new National Certificate for Adult Numeracy and Literacy (Vocational and Educators)
9. Discussed recruitment of additional New Zealand OERu partners and suggested extending the network to include professional associations.
10. Agreed to schedule an annual meeting of New Zealand OERu partners (more if required and supplemented by virtual meetings.)
11. Encouraged staff from OERu partner institutions to register and attend the 2014 series of events in Australia during November as it will be more than two years before the regional will be hosting the OERu international meetings again.
12. Meeting adjourned for tea at approximately 3.15pm.