The author believes young people are the most avid users of digital media throughout their daily lives, so we can expect that digital media will be central to their civic lives. Also civic organizations are so deeply enmeshed in the online world that basic participation now requires a certain amountof digital literacy. Civic life is rapidly digitizing, so a crucial component of teaching students the skills to engage as competent civic actors is teaching them how to engage in virtual spaces persuasively, critically, collectively, and before invisible audiences.
digitised materials offered freely and openly for educators, students and self-learners to use and reuse for teaching, learning and research
New staff
encouraged to source open materials
creating new educational materials
provide open access to high-quality education resources on a global scale
OER initiatives
materials from more than 3000 open access courses
in 2007
benefits to educational institutions
and to
learners
less evidence
benefits to
people
expected to
go to the effort of releasing
learning resources
the teachers themselves
increased engagement of
academic staff
generated some
open educational practices
specific primary audience in mind
producers of OER
Many OER
NOT pedagogically or technically
accessible to a global audience
Engagement with
wider community
Engagement with employers
Sustaining vulnerable subjects
Enhancing marketing and engagement
prospective students worldwide
Brokering collaborations and partnerships
useful to identify which benefits are most relevant to each stakeholder group
articulating and providing evidence of benefits across a range of educational contexts
for a diverse mix of stakeholders across several sectors
Learners
benefit from
OER originator can benefit from
staff/users can benefit from
Educational institutions
benefit from
Other sectors
employers
public bodies
private bodies
3rd sector)
Jisc has commissioned a number of studies into the ‘sharing’ of learning and teaching resources
also funded a series of projects focussed on ‘exchange’ of learning resources
useful to clarify what we mean by
terms in this context
sharing
imply an intent
share something of value
specific audience
more widely
exchanging‘
both/all parties
agree to
share for
mutual benefit
difference between these two actions is significant
reuse
re-purposing
imply an underlying principle of
sharing
useful to consider
sharing and exchange
as processes relating to OER Release
not intended to compare OERs
with commercial products
developed to illustrate the value in considering the different roles that exist in the production and use/re-use of OERs
highlight
importance of considering
end users
MilkRoleOERs
Evaluation
is challenging
ranges from
evaluating specific OER
fitness of purpose
changes in staff attitudes
impact on learning and teaching
impact on institutional practices and the wider community
range of support activities
support individual project evaluation across
three years
developed a framework to support project evaluation and programme synthesis
Evaluation and synthesis was
iterative
two-way process
Engaging projects with the framework
challenging
OER release
as much a business decision as it is a teaching and learning or academic pursuit
lessons learned
approaches adopted
barriers overcome
offer models and guidance to support wider release
One interesting outcome
institution-led projects tended towards the conclusion that OER release should be incorporated into existing strategies and policies to signal that OER release and use is an integral part of existing activities, an approach that supports ongoing sustainability and embedding into practice
embed OER activities in the department’s five-year strategic plan
develop a departmental OER strategy statement
widening participation strategy
OER initiatives
raise interesting questions for institutions
responsibility lies within an institution
relating to
legal issues
risk management
accessibility and quality of open content
are about institutional change and require appropriate approaches and support to help staff adjust to changes in culture that may seem very threatening
OER initiatives
UKOER projects
Reward and recognition
addressed
as appropriate to each institutional context
need to have an information technology strategy
way the institution will manage the opportunities and threats presented by the
OER movement
strategies to embrace
opportunities
supporting staff to adapt to
impending changes
make their own materials
open by
hosting
on the web
shared space
consider a range of issues affecting release
relationship between
previously been
OER and Creative Commons
ambiguous
clarification of
rather than competitor
Creative Commons
OER supporter
understanding
the market
teachers
people who are
potentially both
supplying or consuming
resources
many different contexts of use
Concerns around the quality
significant
Releasing these materials exposes institutions in a new way
staff can feel unsure that their materials will compare well with other staff
discoverability
accessibility
availability
at least as important as
values they embody
third parties are
OER release
re-use
re-purpose
remix
actively encouraged to
subject to an ongoing quality assurance (QA) process
OER release
enable
openly release existing materials and to investigate issues around
release
use and re-use
Despite fears
notion of open peer and student review of OER
featured strongly
often linked to funding models
Sustainability
Most funding bodies include a requirement to describe ongoing sustainability once project funding has finished
resulting
cross-institution
cross-subject community
cross-professional dialogue
having a significant impact on sustainability
development of Communities of Practice around open learning and teaching materials
highly likely to impact on sustainability
Utilising existing communities or networks is likely to be even more sustainable
members
likely to have
identified
common understandings
languages
cultures
Sustainability
only possible
engaged enough people in a positive way
significant driver for
OER movement
altruistic notion that
ducational resources should be available to al
effort into
raising awareness
educating a wide range of people
as to the benefits of
open release
Opening up existing courses can provide an excellent opportunity to investigate these aspects and transform existing practice
open course approach
can have
significant positive impact on
student experience
transformative impact on
how educators perceive their roles
Some subject disciplines have common professional frameworks and staff may have more connection with their subject community than with colleagues from their own organisation
how they are
developed/created
stored
managed
made available
clarify which groups
resources are being used/re-purposed
Finding out how people use different kinds of content
varying granularity
help to inform these decisions
Cultural issues
significant
relation to
how people share learning and teaching resources
no such thing a
institutional culture
open movement
challenges people and groups to change
existing practice
institution-wide approac
can help to address some
cultural barriers
lack of strong evidence
around how open educational resources are used and reused
biggest barriers to sharing
factors not directly related to OER
‘perceived barriers
point to the notion of
most significant barriers
to sharing
ndividuals are not necessarily interested or committed to sharing in the first place
also been noted
teachers often prefer an element of choice in who they share
model presented
technical challenges
responded to the need of staff
open some content only within the Universit
Hosting
Community/consortia agreements
Ownership
Legal issues
Institutional practices
Uneven development
Competition
Understanding
value and benefits
Legal issues
Hosting
Metadata and retrieval
Quality issues
Technical challenges
Legal issues
Quality
Skills/competencies
Time is a significant issue
Not all
aware of the benefits of releasing or using OER
Managing resources
Institution wide approach
Learners
Teachers
complementary method for disseminating OER
third party social sharing websites
Flickr
SlideShare
iTunesU
Vimeo
YouTube
Once a resource is released as an OER
may be a requirement
to track the use of it and comments made about it
institutions
Individuals and
releasing OER
need to be aware of relevant accessibility issues
free resources
available
when developing and releasing materials to ensure that they are as inclusive as possible
Since I work with Special Education students a high school, I am always interested in the effectiveness of technology on learning.
ABSTRACT Using technology can help students with disabilities to enhance and improve their independence in academic and employment tasks, their participation in classroom discussions, along with helping them to accomplish some difficult academic tasks. This paper discusses the role and benefits of using assistive technology in the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), in academic skills, and in transition services. A summary of the important principles that need to be considered in the integration of technology in educating or training students with disabilities is provided.
From the abstract: 'Also, though there have been large investments made to integrate technology into K-12 classrooms to equip students with the skills needed to prepare for college and a career, the practical use of this investment has not been impressive. Lastly, several meta-analyses showed promising results of effectiveness of technology in the classroom. However, several inherent methodological and study design issues dampen the amount of variance that technology accounts for."
Accessible resources give better experiences for all users and reduces risks for your organisation - for example less risk of learners failing and less risk of disabled learners being disadvantaged. Xerte is being used with learners across the spectrum - from entry level and basic skills to undergraduates.
Marcum (1997) uses a quote from Jarislav Pelikan to establish the need for archival commitment to preserve information (knowledge) in establishments such as libraries, museums, archives (federal, state and local municipalities) and the like as illustrating "embalming of the dead". To this end, a task force was formed by combining the Commission on Preservation and Access and the Research Libraries Group formed a Task Force on the Archiving of Digital Information. This task force identified a short list of five challenges associated with the preservation of digital artifacts. Specifically, organizational in nature:
− "The first line of defense against loss of valuable digital information rests with the creators, providers, and owners of digital information.
− Long-term preservation of digital information on a scale adequate for the demands of future research and scholarship will require a deep infrastructure capable of supporting a distributed system of digital archives.
− A sufficient number of trusted organizations must exist that are capable of storing, migrating, and providing access to digital collections.
− A process of certification for digital archives is needed to create an overall climate of trust about the prospects of preserving digital information.
− Certified digital archives must have the right and duty to exercise an aggressive rescue function as a fail-safe mechanism for preserving valuable digital information that is in jeopardy of destruction, neglect, or abandonment by its current custodian" (pp. 358-359).
The task force also established a list of greatest organizational challenges opposing support for the preservation of digital information. This list includes the following items:
− "Legal bases for deposit and rescue. In individual countries and internationally, legislation and agreements are needed to encourage legal deposit of electronic resources with archival repositories, to enable rescue of abandoned resource
EducationWorld is pleased to present this article by Christopher McGilvery, a lecturer at Angelo State University . The article originally appeared in TechEdge, a quarterly magazine published by Naylor LLC for Texas Computer Education Association members. To join or for more information, visit www.tcea.org.
I really like the idea of treating the lessons as ways to make them "lifelong learners" so that these tools and skills go beyond the scope of the school year or K-12 setting.
As we seek to prepare young people with skills for career success, Warren Buffet reminds us what makes great employees: In looking for people to hire, look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don't have the first one, the other two will kill you.
Finally, although still facing a struggle, the value of the older employee is realized. Knowledge and history of a position can bring extra efficiency to continue the process or evaluating it for change. Knowing why things were done a certain way aids in solutions for the future and potential increased value to a particular unit or department. Older works shouldn't be dismissed because they lack the perfect tech skill. They should be trained and assisted to succeed as any other employee of value.
"Mobile device use has been soaring in recent years in all user groups. Mobile learning is no longer an optional activity for academic institutions, but a necessary endeavor. Developing a curriculum around mobile learning is essential, particularly for distance-based, non-traditional students. Understanding how students use their mobile devices is important to supporting mobile learning initiatives. Student survey responses were examined to determine how students use mobile devices in education. Librarians must stay on the forefront of mobile technology by using their skills in curating and teaching to support this important educational initiative and to become leaders in this area." [Abstract from ERIC Database.]
Gebb, B.A., & Young, Z. (2014). Mobile Resource Use in a Distance Learning Population: What Are They Really Doing on Those Devices? Journal of Library & Information Services In Distance Learning, 8(3-4), 288-300.
I wasn't able to read the article - even through the ESC library connection. However, I am curious about the use of mobile devices in distance education and why there is not a higher level of support for some of the apps that are available. For example, my employer fully supports the Blackboard app on iPhone and Android platforms. Whereas at ESC, the Moodle mobile app is still not functional. Many times I have been out without my laptop and would like to get some work done on the phone, but looking at the Moodle website is horrid - even with its responsive theme. It seems the more we expect students to be mobile, the more we should embrace and support its many facets.
You could usually put in an Inter-library loan request (ILL) to get the full-text of articles that only appear in abstract form or do not appear in the ESC database. I just went to chat with a library as ESC and they gave me this web site adress: http://www.esc.edu/library/interlibrary-loan/
Babette Moeller & Tim Reitzes (2011) Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC). Integrating Technology with Student-Centered Learning. Quincy, MA: Nellie Mae Education Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.nmefoundation.org/getmedia/befa9751-d8ad-47e9-949d-bd649f7c0044/integrating
The intent of this report is to detail the concepts of using technology with master of skills in mind. Beginning on page 17, details of assessment, advantages of technology-based assessment, mastery learning approach. Further they discuss the concepts of tools like clickers for quick feedback on levels of understanding and the details necessary for successful online learning - both synchronous and asynchronous.
Bill, I was somewhat surprised that the article includes a introductory headline: "Not surprising, 43 percent of students feel unprepared to use technology as they look ahead to higher education or their work life" without including some qualification as to why it's not surprising. If this comment is related to digital immigrants, learners disadvantaged by socioeconomic constraints and/or learners residing in remote locations lacking access to technology hardware, software and/or reliable Internet connection, the statement seems less surprising. As I read the article, the rationale for including the headline became clear - the article focuses on specific technology constraints related to many types of learners. The article outlines a plethora of opportunities to change educational paradigms that focus on the integration and utilization of technology-rich learning methodologies.