Preparing effective OERs: granularity, re-use and re-purposing Mark Goodwin, Suzanne Lavelle and Annette Cashmore OER10: 22 March 2010

Introduction Questions and answers OER producer – YES! Open University: module author / editor → OpenLearn GENIE CETL, University of Leicester: Virtual Genetics Education Centre OER consumer – NO? Open University: module author GENIE CETL, University of Leicester: convenor / lecturer – biomedical sciences Reasons: Finding: searching → understanding Using: acquiring → ease of re-using / re-purposing [perceptions]

Introduction: OERs History (focus/rationale): MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW): modules – lectures, tutorials, practicals OpenLearn: modules – distance education materials JISC/HEA OER Programme: technical, legal and procedural aspects Purpose and audience: institutions – teachers: producers and users – students – ‘general public’ Granularity: learning programmes (modules) learning objects digital assets Open Educational Resources

[A] BS2009 Genomes Learning programme: second-year undergraduate module (20 credits) BSc Biological Sciences, BSc Medical Biochemistry, BSc Medical Genetics … Components: lectures, tutorials, practicals Specific purpose and specific users integrated set of linked components links to other modules (before and after) OERs one element of course teaching (absence of ‘teacher’) Problems with transfer to other contexts: teaching environments resources Learning programme / effective teaching → poor OERs? (re-use)

Photo: Alison Mbekeani

[B] GENIE pipetting video Learning object: produced by GENIE CETL for general teaching and outreach Not tied to a specific module or programme Component: video – available in streamed and downloadable formats Specific purpose / no specific users single component no links to other components Stand-alone element: content and teacher Limited problems with transfer to other contexts: teaching environment resources Learning object / limited teaching context → effective OER (re-use)

Gondar Royal Enclosure Photo: Paul Jackson Gondar Photo: Giustino

OERs: learning programmes ‘Coherent programmes’ Finding easy to describe difficult to understand difficult to acquire Specific application: context / users difficult to re-use in other contexts easy to re-purpose? But … in identical teaching context easy to re-use clear teaching aims/purpose

OERs: learning objects ‘Discrete chunks’ Small (10 to 20 minutes of study time?) easy to describe easy to understand easy to acquire Wide application: purpose / users easy to re-use in other contexts difficult to re-purpose But … no teaching context difficult to re-use limited teaching aims/purpose © Jmol: Eric Martz and Angel Herráez

OERs: digital assets ‘Specific items’ Text, images and multimedia files easy to describe easy to understand easy to acquire Wide application: purpose / users easy to re-use difficult to re-purpose But … no teaching context difficult to re-use limited teaching aims/purpose

Conclusions User process : find understand perceptions of ease of re-use/re-purposing Two models A: effective teaching (learning programmes) → work: re-use → poor OERs? adoption model B: effective OERs (learning objects/assets) → re-use: work → effective teaching scavenging model Evidence?