oers in courseware design and development

OER in Courseware Design and Development

Mohammad Issack SantallyMohammad Issack SantallySenior Lecturer in Educational Technology & Officer-in-ChargeSenior Lecturer in Educational Technology & Officer-in-Charge

Virtual Centre for Innovative Learning TechnologiesVirtual Centre for Innovative Learning Technologies

Dorothy Cooshna-NaikDorothy Cooshna-NaikLecturer Visual CommunicationLecturer Visual Communication

Virtual Centre for Innovative Learning TechnologiesVirtual Centre for Innovative Learning Technologies

Menu of the talk

–Recap from the kick-off meeting in May 08

–Courseware development process–Issues encountered–Reflections–Status and Achievements in 2010

VCILT Mission and Vision Statements

Kick-off meeting @ OU UK

Each partner to ‘produce’ open-content material according to their needs

A two-pronged approach:

Partners to reflect on practices and come up with a OER courseware design methodology to be disseminated through capacity-building workshops

‘Produce’ means use existing content, write additional content, add value to the existing content, or use a course as it is (in case it fits exactly)


• OERs can be said to building blocks of Open Education – The lego metaphor as originally used to describe learning objects

Open Education and OERs

Open education is a Open education is a collective term that collective term that refers to forms of refers to forms of education in which education in which knowledge, ideas or knowledge, ideas or important aspects of important aspects of teaching methodology teaching methodology or infrastructure are or infrastructure are shared freely over the shared freely over the internet.internet.

Main Challenges to OER

Intellectual Property and Licensing

CopyleftCopyleft is a play on the word copyright and is a play on the word copyright and describes the practice of using copyright law to describes the practice of using copyright law to remove restrictions on distributing copies and remove restrictions on distributing copies and modified versions of a work for others and modified versions of a work for others and requiring that the same freedoms be requiring that the same freedoms be preserved in modified versions.preserved in modified versions.

Source: Wikipedia

A form of licensing and may be used to modify copyrights for works such as computer software, documents, music, and art.

Through a copyleft licensing scheme, give every person who receives a copy of a work permission to reproduce, adapt or distribute the work ………………….

………………………………as long as any resulting copies as long as any resulting copies or adaptations are also bound by the or adaptations are also bound by the same copyleft licensing schemesame copyleft licensing scheme

Source: Wikipedia

Reflection # 1

Are there appropriate mechanisms to ensure that derivative works are released under same licence?

The four fundamentals freedom granted by copyleft are:

• Freedom to use and study the work,• Freedom to copy and share the work with others,• Freedom to modify the work,• Freedom to distribute modified and therefore derivative works.

Example

Impacts on Institutional Uses of OER – or the consequence of a lecturer using OER to develop contents that are later copyrighted and rights vested with the employer/institution

Reflection # 2

The use of open content and resources for commercial (revenue generating) purposes

Example

Can Institutions charge for the content they have developed using OER or by definition it should be freely available?

The Share Alike License and its constraints

• imposes the requirement that any freedom that is granted regarding the original work must be granted on exactly the same or compatible terms in any derived work

• this implies that any copyleft license is automatically a share-alike license, but not the other way around, as some share-alike licenses include further restrictions, namely prohibiting commercial use.

Creative Commons Licenses

all the original licenses, grant certain "baseline rights", such as the right to distribute the copyrighted work without changes, at no charge.

Some of the newer licenses do not grant these rights.

Attribution (by): Licensees may copy, distribute, display and perform the work and make derivative works based on it only if they give the author or licensor the credits in the manner specified by these.

Noncommercial or NonCommercial (nc): Licensees may copy, distribute, display, and perform the work and make derivative works based on it only for noncommercial purposes.

No Derivative Works or NoDerivs (nd): Licensees may copy, distribute, display and perform only verbatim copies of the work, not derivative works based on it.

ShareAlike (sa): Licensees may distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs the original work.

Open Content – can virtually be created by anyone, and published anywhere as long as access is granted.

Web 2.0 - Raises issues about quality, authenticity and integrity of content. Even Wikipedia cannot fully give guarantees concerning these issues.

Quality – is subjective and its perception based. Open content raises issues due to variable quality frameworks that were applied during design and development of OER

Peer Reviewing – Collaborative nature of OER authoring technologies can provide to some extent for quality assurance (being in-built) as peer reviewing is facilitated

Reflection # 3

Defining quality assurance mechanisms and frameworks to ensure satisfaction of all stakeholders (in terms of acceptance by partner institutions)

Separation of Production and Delivery Phases

• Production stage is kept « open » where inputs are taken from a wide range of contributors

• Quality assurance team goes through the raw content and approves a final version to be released.

• Commonwealth of Learning WikiEducator project is using such an approach.

• The need to build online production communities.

Why should I?

Reflection # 4

What incentives to incite users of information (infoconsumers) of developing countries to contribute and/or reuse and redistribute?

Communities of practiceCommunities of practice

Interoperability and Adaptability• Too many types of metadata standards, SCORM? IMS? LOM?

• OER published in different formats – pdf, word, etc : sometimes major reprocessing is needed

• Are OER interoperable with Proprietary Contents?

• Extent of relevance to local context – adaptability of OER? Limitations for some fields.

• COL is working for a Transnational Qualifications Framework

• Recognition of learning using OER, wiki environments by partner institutions

• Professional Qualifications Model??

Qualification/Accreditation Issues

The University of Mauritius has identified the module ‘Research Methods’ as prototype


To be delivered online in the context of the MRES programme and MSc Educational Technologies

Planned to slowly override other RM modules to become a common module

The new Masters by Research Programme

The Research Method Module Context and Rationale

Enrolment is done throughout the year

Quasi-impossible to plan face-to-face classes

Need to cater for different fields and research areas

Courseware development team consisting of academics from three faculties and the VCILT for e-pedagogy support

The Research Method Module Team Building

To come up with a module outline and structure

To develop an online module with self-instructional materials that can be taken up at any time convenient to a particular student.

To use OER as far as possible in the courseware development process.

To deliver the module fully online using the online learning platform and pedagogical tools available on the system

Need to cope with the differences of perspectives as different members viewed the same aspect of one component differently

The Research Method Module Managing Differences and Division of Labour

Four parts: Research Process and Ethics ; Research Design ; Analysis and Interpretation of data; Writing up and Presentation

OERCOMMONS portal and the Open University UK OPENLEARN Portal be used as primary resources for free content

All members of the team were not fully unanimous on the use of OER for the course

Step 1: Preparing the module specifications sheet

The Research Method Module Courseware Authoring Lifecycle Process

• Top down or bottom-up?

Start with Stakeholders needs then look for resources or,

Look at what is available first then mount the MSS…(Swap step 1 with step 2)

Step 2: Searching for and classification of learning resources


• the keyword “Research Method” on OERCOMMONS returns a hit value 218

• Different levels of contextualisation

• Time-consuming process to go through each - metadata also missing for some

• No hits on OPENLEARN

Step 2: Searching for and classification of learning resources(cont)


The open learning resources that were selected are:

• Basic Research Methods (Hit Number 1)

• Qualitative Research: Design and Methods, Spring 2005 (Hit Number 2)

• Crafting Research Questions and Qualitative Methodology, Fall 2005 (Hit number 8)

• Methods of Discovery: A Guide to Research Writing (Hit Number 9)

Genericity

Relevance

Step 3: (Re) Contextualisation Process


Some resources can be fully utilised ‘as is’

Additional ‘contextualized’ activities can be easily added

Issue: How to incorporate ‘copyrighted’ material in conjunction with OER where there is limited availability of the content?

Issue: To what extent ‘fair use’ can be integrated – or rewriting through paraphrasing of the content is a possibility??

Step 3: (Re) Contextualisation Process (cont)


Avoid highly contextualised material

Issue: How to cope with the different available combinations of CC in the final release of the content in the public domain?

Highly Contextualised

De-Contextualisation

Re-Contextualise

Step 3: (Re) Contextualisation Process (cont)


Repurposing Needed

Step 4: Value Addition


We realised that content-repurposing is somewhat different to value addition :

• content repurposing is mainly the process of making the same material suitable for a different audience, meeting local cultural constraints, or adapting some global theory in a local context

• value-addition is mainly seen as process that tend to improve the overall quality of the learning material and the learning experience – e.g multimedia elements to cater for different LS

Step 4: Value Addition (cont)


Step 5: Courseware Publishing/Delivery and Evaluation


Moodle e-learning

platform moham

Collaborative

Enviroment

•PrepareoModule Specifications Sheet (Outline, Duration, Learning Outcomes, Assessment Criteria, Learning Units Description).oContext of Use (whether mainstream educational system through programmes of studies or short professional development courses or both).oIdentify type of Open Licensing to be usedoSelection of the pedagogical strategy and instructional techniques.

•Search and ClassifyoIdentify repositories to be used (e.g. Openlearn, Connexions, MIT, OERCommons, WikiEducator or Wikipedia etc)oLook for related content – browse metadata, check licence type, check content quality, level, format, pedagogical approach, duration etc.oBuild a checklist of available content – classify according to the pertinent criteria above or as per one’s requirements. oIdentify what is missing and what needs to be added, developed from scratch and/or adapted/repurposed/recontextualized.

•(re-)PurposeoDecontextualize highly adapted learning content. oRewrite material that are not contextually correct, write new materials to cater for those that are missing, and/or mix materials from different sourcesoAdd context-related learning activities that meet the pedagogical approach selected.

•Value AdditionoAdd new learning/pedagogical scenarios that improve the learning experience of learnersoProvide multiple modalities (such as animations and multimedia) for learning to suit individual preferences of learners (such as learning/cognitive styles)oProvide multiple access/delivery modes to increase accessibility to learners with different constraints such as internet connection, limited bandwidth etc.

•Publish and DeliveroPublish on e-learning platform, stand-alone websites, and CD/DVD formats.oDeliver the course to target audience.oMonitor the learner progress and achievements and provide tutoring/technical support.oShare in the different OER repositories or simply put the content available on your local website and let others know about it.

•Review oGather feedback from learners on the course.oReview content to improve the course for subsequent cohorts.oRestart the cycle if there are changing requirements and/or to keep up-to-date with ongoing developments in the area or to check for other OERs that have been published or improved. Note that successive cycles might span over a much shorter time frame except if module syllabus in reviewed in depth.

The Research Method Module Observations and Reflections

OER in Courseware design:

• as building blocks of new courses

• as supplementary and complementary materials to existing courses

• as ready-made courses that are imported in the local e-learning platform


OER in Courseware design:

• Sometimes creation of a course from scratch may be easier

OERCOMMONS platform show that those materials are available in a variety of formats, and in some cases learning metadata standards are not followed, which makes it difficult to reuse and remix

On the other hand, materials on OPENLEARN are well packaged with a high degree of interoperability


Articulation of copyright material, open content, different versions and combinations of CC licencing

Issues behind the non-commercial vignette – how do we cope with charging of fees from learners (ethical, legal, moral)?? Universities cannot operate for free because the contents are free!!

There can be more than one courseware development methodology for OER, or one courseware methodology with different versions

Repurposing OERs for Online

Continuous Professional Development

OER (Open Educational Resources, @ Openlearn UKOER (Open Educational Resources, @ Openlearn UK

Repurposed content and context using OER – 300 enrolments ! Repurposed content and context using OER – 300 enrolments !

http://vcampus.uom.ac.mu/teachertraining http://vcampus.uom.ac.mu/teachertraining

Repurposing OERs for Courses in Mainstream Educational Programmes

VCILT

OpenLearn

Adapted from

The Model – Its Rationale, Strategy

and Scalability

Virtual Centre for Innovative Learning Technologies

No online

Progra

mme

s Academics

paid US

$2000

For 45 hr

online

course

Online

“on-

cam

pus”

module

s

Initiatives not financially sustainable !!Initiatives not financially sustainable !!

Fund Depletion – No additional income!!Fund Depletion – No additional income!!

Year 2001-2003

Why should I? I can’t

• Low Budget• Limited Resources• Have to Increase Intake• Have to Give More Access• Generate Revenue!!

Yes We Can!!

€ 4,000

Do more with less!Do more with less!

Be Wise – Sustain it!Be Wise – Sustain it!

The Case

Yes We Can

€ 4,000 Employ 1 person (temp) Employ 1 person (temp) ( budget € 2000)( budget € 2000) Assist academicsAssist academics

Repurpose MaterialRepurpose Material

Course Development Course Development cost decreasescost decreases

Course fees decreasesCourse fees decreasesIncreased IntakeIncreased Intake

Increased RevenueIncreased Revenue

Increased reserveIncreased reserve

Employ moreEmploy more

We did it!

ONE Research AssistantONE Research AssistantPart TimePart Time

300 educators enrolled@ $ 17 a course ! = $5000

BSc EDTECH (Cohort 1)45 enrolled

@ $2500 = $112 500MSc EDTECH15 enrolled

@ $4000 = $60, 000

Legend Cycle 1

Legend Cycle 2

TWO Research AssistantTWO Research AssistantFull TimeFull Time

BSc EDTECH (Cohort 2)Expecting 30% to enrol

from 300

MSc EDTECH Expecting 50% from

BSc Cohort 2 and 50% from Cohort 1


One Onlin

e

Masters

Progra

mme

Student

Populat

ion ~ 10

/yr

High C

ost

of

Coursewar

e

Develo

pme

nt

Net Income per Year: ~US $25000

2004-2008


Change of

leadership/

policy

Same

Vision

and

Mission

Explo

ring

sust

ainabl

e ave

nues

and

tech

niques

Financial Constraints! limited budget !

Pressure to do more with less!

Year 2009 (January)

OERs -> Cost Reduction ->

Increase intake

OERs -> Cost Reduction ->

Increase intake

Virtual Centre for Innovative Virtual Centre for Innovative Learning Technologies Learning Technologies

Diploma in

Web and

Multimedia BSc

(Hons)

Educatio

nal &

Instructio

nal

Technolo

gy

MSc

Educatio

nal

Technolo

gies

Student Population ~ > 100

Net Income ~ US $95 000

Three fully Online Three fully Online Programmes for Year 2009 Programmes for Year 2009

(August)(August)

Virtual Centre for Innovative Virtual Centre for Innovative Learning Technologies Learning Technologies

300

Educato

rs

enrolle

d !

Innovativ

e flexible

Delivery

Affordable

fees

Continuous Continuous Professional Professional

Development in 2009Development in 2009

Income generated : US $ 5000Reserve (after expenses): US

$1000

Progressive Intake

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

2004 - 2008 2009

Diploma Level

BSc Level

MSc Level

Short Courses

The Project Team

Santally M IssackSenior Lecturer

Dorothy Cooshna-Naik & Youshra Rajabalee

Lecturer Reaearch Assistant

K. Li Wan YanSystem Analyst

Intenational Partners – SideCAP Project Team

OU UK, UHI, UWI, USP