Summary of OERu 13.10 meeting priorities and issues

OERu

Towards more affordable education for all students worldwide

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Key points

Priorities, issues and strategic issues for OERu Council of Chief Executive Officers listed on this page were generated by the following breakout groups: Group 1, Group 2, Group 3, Group 4 and the Remote Participant Group. Issues raised have been grouped into categories for reporting and analysis purposes.

Identify the top 3 priorities this meeting should address

Assessment, credit transfer and course articulation

• Awarding credit for courses, leading to credentialing is an obvious need to address, ie methods/costs of assessment of learning, standards for articulation across diverse systems.
• How can credit be accepted across institutions (and national standards)
  • quality assurance
  • transnational academic framework(s)
  • credentials from governmental/professional bodies
  • critical for academic integrity of OERu
• Strategy for assessment issues - work group to address the summative assessment issues for the OERu network

Developing an OERu programme of study with emphasis on collaborative development and shared delivery of courses

• As we move from prototype phase, how do we identify which courses we will focus on moving forward? (Including level, and subject matter.) Should focus be on "basic" core subjects, or more specialized offerings?
• Tapestry of opportunities for students, pathways, means, etc.
• Establish a program of courses (critical mass of courses)
• A discussion on how collaborative course development might work? Getting beyond "one institution develops one course"?
  • Can we think in models beyond strict courses, or perhaps structures of multi-institution offerings such as http://ds106.us, http://water106.net/main/, http://femtechnet.newschool.edu/

Developing a strategic and operational implementation plan

• Commitment of partner institutions to be back in a year with concrete advancements
• Purpose driven teams taking leadership of specific aspects of OERu
  • Assessment and accreditation
  • Student recruitment, communication, marketing
  • Program design and development
  • Technical infrastructure
  • etc.
• Clear articulation of value, to different stakeholders
  • students
  • governments
  • society
  • academics (key to driving it forward)
    • thinking about this mapping of values during course development could facilitate achieving transfer of credit
    • rewarding staff within institutions for activities (benefits of attribution)
    • peer review
• Thank you for this opportunity to participate!! I asked the question about developing the web literacies needed for OERu within the partner institutions. The answer given was 'get involved in the open ed' culture.
• The OER mtg should address how innovation of course delivery modes (getting involved in the open ed movement) can be fostered within the institutions which still largely depend on traditional course delivery modes. The paradigm shift is significant.
• What are the main value propositions for each stakeholder group? eg. students (enrolled in a partner institution), instructors, administrators, informal students seeking formal recognition, informal students unconcerned with recognition…
• How does OERu plan to address cultural diversity / inclusion? Online discussion raised idea about language & possible translation. That's a start but would need more culturally aware design to reduce one-way culture dispersion and invite more truly collaborative participation.
• Ontario has a model for those with disabilities to access and participate in online/distance courses. Is there a standard for the development of courses that meet the need of learners with disabilities? Universal Design is one thing, are there other guidelines or standards?

Bullet list of issues and questions

• There is likely utility in another round of brainstorming to identify courses?
• Could an "indigenous studies" focus for a course or set of courses work in our international arrangement?
• Are we ready to think about programs? (Likely not yet.)
• A Bachelor of General Studies can encompass a very wide range of subjects. Identify "themes" within BGS paths?
• Pairing course development with "shared research activities"...?
• Getting our university cultures excited about the potential inherent in OERu activities.
• How do we define a course? Or a micro-course?
• Do individual OER university partner schools have residential requirements that might prevent these multi-institutional degrees from being recognised administratively?
• Need the courses and assessments out there
• Leadership from each institution needed to make OERu successful
• Marketing, communications, student recruitment
• Need to assign members of OERu as teams of leaders who take responsibility for aspects of OERu
• Leadership issues: - or strategyNeed to explain in no institutions
• Need things that are tangible – simple understanding needed for students
• What do courses look like, how do they fit together, tangibility – beyond the concept – needs weave
• Needs a picture that weaves the pieces together
• Doing without strategic planning mandate
• Difficult for change management processes
• How to undertake as leadership challenge
• Simple reality is it’s beyond prototype
• No commitments at prototype stage
• Not good enough to come back in year without use of micro courses
• Need to get uptake
• BUT each institution will handle in its own way
• Leadership required – but some partners in other settings don’t follow through
• Leadership in each institution needs to be identified and they need to follow through
• Tough job to get discussions going in institutions and with faculty
• Top priority: get handle on assessment and accreditation
• Commitment strategy
• Need targets
• Need new models for assessments and standard testing
• Alternative models of PLAR - not the most convenient model than building test banks
• PLAR e.g. competency based
• Need specialized teams
• Institutions to participate in parallel course offerings
• technical and "laboratory" sessions
• credentials that lead directly to employable skills
• acceptance of courses as "electives" seems easier than core courses
• the terminology of academia varies widely across partners... a glossary would be helpful
• The challenge of cultural imperialism - How do we address the issue?
• Assessment and resources repository (systems) -- support for faculty to search and find.
• Lack of knowledge on intellectual property issues.
• Capacity development for open design (pedagogical design)
• Does the model support blended learning?
• How can we use learning analytics to support OERu
• University of London model reincarnated -- What's the challenge?
• How do we better serve traditionally under served communities
• How is OERu promoting / distinguishing itself on the web in the context of all the other open online offerings on parallel delivery platforms: cMoocs, xMoocs, Google course builder, other hybrid Mooc type offerings?
• See the "Communicate OER" project: [[1]]
• Will the data collected in OERu be openly available (CC licensed) for research?
• What is OERu's obligation to UNESCO? Each institution responsible for a certain degree of increased (free) access to higher and developmental ed within communities and perhaps worldwide?
• It was alluded to that instructional design methods will change for the development of OERu courses. Would like to explore what this would look like.
• Is it possible to produce a short video/skit that includes an instructor, a formal student, an informal/online student, etc. discussing their role, providing a "summary" of an academic year? For instance: "Hi, I'm Jane, I'm a student at Empire State College wanting to take your Algebra course as part of my Bachelor's Degree in general studies. I'm enrolling in your course because…I expect to accomplish…" etc.

Strategic leadership issues to be tabled at the OERu Council of Chief Executive Officers

• Bringing libraries, registrars, marketing, research and other elements of our institutions "up to speed" and involve their contributions.
• making sure the institution strategy for OERu use & reuse is clearly articulated to staff
  • explaining benefits
  • sharing expertise and resources is a value, not driving down costs
  • overcoming uncertainty or even fear
• rewarding staff within institutions for activities aligned with OERu
  • reuse
  • adapting
  • citation
• rewarding institutions (to their governments) for their OERu participation
• Many agencies work within environments where Ministries of Education are not necessarily supportive of the OERu. How can our OERu partners institutional leadership empower the model. (Funding models based on fuelling competition.)
• CEOs to give attention to the development of a "choir sheet" / communication document on what the OERu is about.
• How will universities recognize that OERu courses are current and relevant? Are the courses peer viewed (similar to journal articles)? How will courses on the site be updated? or is this even an issue from the grassroots org?
• Need corps of teachers, instructors, profs, facilitators, mentors in partner institutions to assist with design and delivery of OERu program of studies (paid? unpaid?)
• Maintaining worldwide and regional strategic higher ed delivery in a 'disruptive' higher ed environment (see "The Innovator's Dilemma" by Clayton Christensen [[2]]
• Discuss Academic volunteers international (Will people actually volunteer their time?)