OECD WORK ON OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Dirk Van Damme Head of the Innovation and Measuring Progress Division OECD/EDU
Background EDU/CERI work on OER 2007 CERI Publication: Giving Knowledge for free 2
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Background EDU/CERI work on OER 2007 CERI Publication: Giving Knowledge for free 2011 work for EDPC on request by US and other countries, with a small survey, leading to a working paper (Hylen et.al., 2012) 4
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Background EDU/CERI work on OER 2007 CERI Publication: Giving Knowledge for free 2011 work for EDPC on request by US and other countries, with a small survey, leading to a working paper (Hylen et.al., 2012) 2011 discussion at EDPC, leading to request to CERI to restart research work on OER inclusion in PWB 2013-14 as strand of work under Innovation Strategy output 6
OECD WORK ON OER 2011 7
Benefits & risks The potential benefits for public education are huge: Improving access of underprivileged learners to quality resources Reducing cost of developing learning materials Improvement of quality, diversity and richness of learning resources in formal education Innovating learning practices in formal education Raising effectiveness of post-secondary education Fostering lifelong learning and connecting formal and informal learning
Benefits & risks But are also some risks, which probably ask for national and international policies: Quality (assurance) of OER s Language, geographical and cultural bias Unbalanced streams of OER s between developed and emerging countries Sustainability of business models in developing and distributing OER Interoperability issues: users may find it difficult to locate, download, adapt and use regardless of platforms
Benefits Challenges Open and flexible learning opportunities Efficiency and quality of learning resources Cost-efficiency Language and cultural sensitivity Connectivity Quality Innovation Systemic transformative capacity Copyright and licensing Sustainability 10
OER activity 11
Education level with OER activity 12
Relevance of benefits 13
Relevance of challenges 14
OER policy strategies 15
OECD/CERI WORK ON OER 2013-14 16
Research Questions The proclaimed benefits of OER for users (learners both in institutions and autonomous self-directed, teachers, institutions) and society at large are huge......but what is the evidence base on the benefits of OER, which could inform and improve policies? Economic benefits Social benefits Educational benefits Innovation benefits 17
Research Questions Economic What is the evidence on the numbers and kinds of learners attracted by open access? What kind of sustainable business-models are emerging for institutions engaging in OER activity? Is there also room for marketed provision of open resources as compared with free access? What is the evidence on the benefits for teachers or institutions using OER in institutional education? Are there any data regarding the impact of OER on the efficiency of students learning processes? 18
Research Questions Social Are OER initiatives successful in widening access to hitherto excluded learners? What is the evidence that lowering financial barriers can effectively attract disadvantaged learners? Are OER initiatives ensuring that these education resources can be used successfully by disadvantaged learners? Are OER effectively fostering autonomous, selfdirected learning and lifelong learning? 19
Research Questions Educational How effective are OER in advancing and supporting learning? And what can we learn from the most advanced OER which are based on contemporary research on learning and instruction? Are OER effectively quality assured? How effective are processes of user feedback and collaborative improvement among OER users, communities and institutions? Are OER indeed becoming more and more integrated in institutional delivery of educational institutions? Do they have an impact on quality and efficiency of institutional delivery? New developments, such as digital badges, have the ambition to provide alternative routes of assessment and certification for autonomous learners. How well-developed are these new assessment and certification practices? 20
Research Questions Innovation Is implementation of OER in institutions enhancing collaboration among teachers in professional communities (de-privatisation) and to increase their openness to feedback and improvement? What is the impact of OER on teachers, developers and institutions with regard to critically re-thinking and innovating the educational design of teaching and learning processes? Is there any evidence on the impact of OER on changes in knowledge institutions, knowledge flows and knowledge societies at large, for example by promoting open access in science and research? 21
Methods Activities Secondary analysis of available data, evaluation studies, institutional reports, etc. in variety of economic, cultural and linguistic environments Surveys and interviews with users and variety of stakeholders Commissioned expert papers Expert meetings Policy dialogues 22
Partnership with UNESCO UNESCO OER World Congress June 2012 & Paris Declaration Involvement of UNESCO OER Chairs as experts Collaboration with UNESCO OER Policy Development project, funded by the Hewlett Foundation Indonesia, and possibly also other countries, as joint case studies 23
Thank you! dirk.vandamme@oecd.org www.oecd.org/edu/ceri 24