A staff guide to Open Educational Resources

ReuseRecy

cleRepository

RetrieveDe

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OER

http://repository.leedsmet.ac.uk/

1. WhatareOpenEducationalResources? 1

2. HowcanOERbenefitacademicstaff? 2

3. HowcanusingOERbenefitthestudentexperience? 3

4. AquickguidetoIPR,copyrightandCreativeCommons 4

5. GuidanceondevelopingOERmaterial 5

6. GuidanceonusingOERmaterial 6

7. ExamplesofOERrepositories 7

Contents

Acknowledgments and contributors:

SimonThomson,LeedsMetropolitanUniversityAlexFenlon,LoughboroughUniversityIsobelBrown,UniversityofHullSarahHall,StaffordshireUniversityEdBremner,UniversityofPlymouthAndyLane,OpenUniversityKateBothwick,UniversityofSouthamptonBernadetteAttwell,OpenUniversityRoseWeb,OpenUniversity

FromApril2009–April2010LeedsMetropolitanUniversityranapilotstudyintothedevelopmentofaninstitutionalOERrepository.Weaimedtobuildthe‘Unicycle’model:aprototypemechanismfortheexportandimportofopeneducationalresourcesatLeedsMetropolitanUniversity.ThisbookletisoneoftheoutputsofthatpilotprojectwhichwasfundedbyJISCandtheHigherEducationAcademy.

TheWilliamandFloraHewlettFoundation,whichhassupportedthedevelopmentofaworldwideOpenEducationalResources(OER)movement,providesthefollowingdefinitionforOER:

“OER are teaching, learning and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property licence that permits their free use or re-purposing by others. Open educational resources include full courses,

course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials or techniques used to support access to knowledge”.

AtLeedsMetropolitanUniversityweareresourcingOERmaterialfromarangeofcourses.EachFacultyhascontributedmaterialandthisincludeswholemodules,workbooks,videos,interactivemediacontentandstudysupportmaterials.

1. What are Open Educational Resources?

Ten key points:1. OERarefreetouseandpubliclyavailable.2. OERcanbeusedinteachingandlearning(usuallywithattributiontotheoriginalcreator).

3. ThemajorityofOERcanbealteredandadapted(‘repurposed’.)

4. UsingOERisnotcheating;infactitcanimprovethequalityoflearningexperiencesbybuildingonotherpeople’swork.

5. OERdevelopmentisaglobalmovement–don’tbeafraidtosearchglobalOERrepositories.

6. OERmaterialsarenotnecessarilyjustteachingmaterials;thereareanumberofstudentsupportmaterialsavailableasOER.

7. OERarenotjustforteacherstouseorrepurpose;studentscanbeencouragedtouseOERtosupporttheirownlearning.

8. LeedsMet’sOERrepositoryisavailablethroughanX-streampowerlinkforuseintheVirtualLearningEnvironment.

9. JISCandtheHigherEducationAcademyhavedevelopedanumberofUK-basedOERrepositoriesaspartofapilotstudy,includingspecificrepositoriesforAcademySubjectCentres(seethelistatthebackofthisbooklet).

10.Don’tknockituntilyouhavetriedit.

Go on, search for an OER today!

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Toooftenstaffarecreatinglearningmaterialsformodulesandcoursesthathavealreadybeendevelopedelsewheretoanexcellentstandard.ByutilisinganumberofOERrepositorieswehopetoenablestafftospendmoretimedesigningthelearningexperienceandsearchOERrepositoriestosourcequalitylearningmaterialswhichtheycanadaptifnecessaryforusewithintheirlearningdesign.

PersonalbenefitsarethatthematerialsthatmembersofstaffofferfortheOERrepositorywillincludemetadatathatidentifiesthemastheoriginalauthor(attribution).BysharingcontentinandbeyondLeedsMet,staffcanbegivenrecognitionfortheirworkbyotherpractitionersandinstitutions.Thiscouldleadtoopportunitiesfordevelopingconferencepapersandworkshops.IfeveryonemakestheirmaterialavailablewithinLeedsMetthenstudentscanseewhatyourcourseoffers,aidingintegrationinlearningdesignandcurriculumdevelopment.

Wehopethatyouwillfindsatisfactioninsharingresourcesinawaythatbuildsacommunityofsharing.ThestrongerwecanbuildtheOERsystem,themorematerialswillbemadeavailableforcolleaguestouseinreturn.

WithinLeedsMet,academicstaffcansetthedevelopmentofOERmaterialsasaSMARTobjectiveintheirPersonalDevelopmentReview.

2. How can OER benefit academic staff?

Ten key points:1. Spendmoretimedesigninglearningratherthancreatingcontent.(Youreallydon’thavetorecreatethewheel.)

2. GetrecognitionforyourownmaterialsbysharingthemasOER.

3. Engageinaglobalcommunityofsharingandusingeducationalresources.

4. CollaboratewithcolleaguestoreleaseOERmaterials.

5. SetyourselfanOERdevelopmenttargetandimplementitasaSMARTobjective.

6. Spendmoretimeworkingtoyourstrengthsandsearchforfreematerialswhereyourowncontentmaybeweaker.

7. EncourageyourstudentstosearchforOERmaterialstosupporttheirownlearning.(Youneverknow,theymightfindsomethingyoucanusenextyear!)

8. EmbedtheuseofOERaspartofyourmodule/coursereviewprocess.

9. BeproudofyourworkandshareitwithothersasOER.10.GetrecognitionforyourworkbybeingattributedbyothersthroughOERrelease.

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ByusingOERmaterialstaffareoftenabletouseawiderrangeofresourcesandmaterialswithinamoduledeliverythantheywouldbycreatingallofthecontentthemselves.

Weareallawarethatstudentshavearangeoflearningstylesandyetquiteoftenweonlyhavealimitedrangeofteachingstyles.

ByusingresourcesthathavebeenreleasedunderOERyouareabletoexpandtherangeoflearning

stylesyoucanreach.Usingarangeoftoolsandresourcescanenhanceastudent’slearningexperienceandinsomecasesitwillbepossibletoprovidethesamecontentinavarietyofformatsbyusingOER.

StudentscanbeencouragedtosourcetheirownOERmaterialasawayofencouragingthemtoexpandtheirownknowledgeandcementtheirunderstandingofasubject.

3. How can using OER benefit the student experience?

Ten key points:1. Engageawiderrangeoflearnersbyaccessingawiderrangeofresources.

2. Spendmoretimeonimprovingthelearningexperiencethroughcurriculumdesign(ratherthancontentcreation).

3. Provideaccesstoresourcesthatyouwouldn’tbeabletoofferwithoutOER(e.g.photosorvideosoflocationsandsituationsyoucan’tcreate/access).

4. EncouragestudentstoaccessandshareOERaspartoftheirdevelopment.

5. Offerarangeoflearningmaterialstostudentsforthesamecontent(soastoencompassmorelearningstyles).

6. UseOERasawayofbuildingarangeofstudentsupportresources(e.g.studyskills,employability,enterprise,dissertationsupport).

7. DevelopcasestudyOERwithstudentsandreleasethem.

8. ImprovestudentfeedbackandassessmentbyusingavailableOERmaterials.

9. Enableprospectivestudentstoseemoredetailofyourcoursebeforetheyregister.

10.Enablestudentstoreviewmaterialandrefreshtheirknowledgeandunderstandingaftertheyhavecompletedtheircourse.

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IntellectualPropertyRights(IPR)providelegalprotectionforthefruitsofhumanimagination,skill,inventionandendeavour.Subsequently,IPRissuesareprevalentwithintheuse,creation,repurposing,alteration,transactionanddisseminationofcontent.

MostIPRrequirenoformalities;notably,copyrightisautomatic.Whenyoutakeaphotoorcreateavideoyouhaveautomaticcopyrightoverthatmaterialunlessyouspecificallydeclareotherwiseorunlessyouarebeingemployedtoproducethematerial.

CreativeCommonsisanon-profitcorporationdedicatedtomakingiteasierforpeopletoshareandbuildupontheworkofothers,whilestillmaintainingownershipandcopyrightcontrol.

Theyprovidefreelicencesandotherlegaltoolstomarkcreativeworkwiththefreedomthecreatorwantsittocarry,sootherscanshare,remix,oruseitcommercially,oranycombinationthereof.

OERmaterialsaregenerallyreleasedunderaCreativeCommonslicence(orequivalent).

4. A quick guide to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), Copyright & Creative Commons

Ten key points:1. WhencreatingOERmaterialitisimportanttoensurethatanymediaorcontentyouusedoesnothaveanythirdpartycopyrightorIPRrestrictions(orthatpermissionhasbeengrantedandrecordedfortheuseofsuchmaterial).

2. GoogleisnotnecessarilythebestplacetosearchforimagesforuseinOERmaterialdevelopment.(Bydefaultitsearchescopyrightmaterials.)

3. www.creativecommons.orghasasearchtoolforarangeofmediacontent.

4. CreativeCommonsisnotaboutgivinguprightstoyourwork,butmakingitavailableundercertainconditions.

5. AllOERmaterialsreleasedatLeedsMetwillautomaticallybeassignedtheCC-BY-NClicence–wherematerialisreused,youwillbeattributedastheauthoroftheoriginalmaterial,andyourmaterial

maynotbeusedforcommercialpurposes.

6. RespectofcopyrightandIPRisbeneficialtoeveryone’swork.

7. Studentsareoftenremindedoftherulesagainstplagiarismandproperacknowledgementofsources–staffshouldapplythesamerulestothedevelopmentoftheirownwork,includingteachingmaterials.

8. ‘Fairdealing’(orfairuse)isacopyrighttermthatallowslimiteduseofcopyrightedmaterialwithoutrequiringpermissionfromtherightsholders.ThismayapplytosomeinstancesinteachingsituationsbutNOTforusinginthedevelopmentofanOER.

9. CreativeCommonslicencesareenforceablebyUKlaw.

10.ThinkCreativeCommons!

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ThethoughtofcreatingOERmaterialcanbedaunting.However,theprocessshouldnotbeconfusedwiththecreationofreusablelearningobjects(RLOs),althoughthetwocanoperatetogether.

Startoffbyidentifyingtwoorthreelearningresourceswhichyouhavecreatedaspartofyourmoduledelivery(thesecouldbeseminars,labsessionsorlectures,forexample).RevisitthematerialandcheckwhethertheremaybeanyissuesofcopyrightorIPRtosortout(askifyouarenotsure).

Makeanynecessarychangestotheworkandthenpublishitthroughtheinstitutionalrepository(eachFacultyinLeedsMethasanOERrepresentative).

OnceyoubecomemoreconfidentyoucanbegintodesignmaterialswithOERreleaseinmind–thisprocessusuallyproduceshigherqualityOERmaterialasitispartofanembeddedapproachtodevelopingmaterialthatcanbefurtherdevelopedasreusablelearningobjects.

5. Guidance on developing OER material

Ten key points:1. Startsmall–offerasmallelementofyourworkasOERfirsttogetafeelfortheprocess(andtoallayanyfearsyoumayhave).

2. CheckyourmaterialforIPRorcopyright(askyourFacultyrepforadviceorcontacttheUniversity’scentralcopyrightclearanceteam).

3. Thinkofresourcesthatyouhavefounddifficulttofind–couldyoucreateoneandshareitasOER?Usuallyyourneedsareanindicationofwhatothersmightalsoneed.

4. CouldyouworkwithcolleaguestoproduceyourfirstOER?Oftenthereissafetyinnumbersandthesupportthatthisoffers.

5. Planlong-termOERrelease.ConsidersettinggoalsofreleasingacertainnumberofOERlearninghoursinanacademicyear.

6. Taggingandkeywords:theseareanimportantpartoffindingOERcontent.WerecommendaminimumoffivekeywordsaswellaslistingbyJACScodeandHigherEducationAcademySubjectCentre.

7. Attribution–besuretomakeitclearwhotheauthor(s)is/are.Don’tforgetthisisyourchancetogetrecognition.

8. UndertakearangeofOERstaffdevelopmentworkshopsatLeedsMettohelpyougetstarted.

9. Explorethedevelopmentofreusablelearningobjects(RLOs)andreleasethemasOER.

10.ConsiderreleasingawholemoduleasOER.Workwiththemoduleteamtoreleaseallofthematerialsasanexampleoftheteachingonyourcourses.

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Openeducationalresourcesaredevelopedwithasenseofsharingand,assuch,buildcommunitiesoflike-mindedpeople.ThecommunitieshelptoencourageuserstocreateOERmaterialaswellasuseit.

FirstyouwillneedtosearchwithinanOERrepository(thereareanumberlistedattheend

ofthisbooklet).Oftenyouwillfindonesrelatingtospecificsubjectareasoritmaybealargerrepositorythathasarangeofmaterials.Youwilleventuallyfindonesthatyouvalueandtrust.

UseOERaspartofyourwiderlearningdesign.SometimesthatdesignmaybebornfromtheinspirationofanOER.

6. Guidance on using OER material

Ten key points:1. AlthoughOERarefree,bemindfulofthelicenceunderwhichtheyhavebeenreleased.Mostimportantly,besuretoattributetheoriginalauthors.

2. SomeOERallowformodificationandrepurposing.Ifso,considerreleasingthatmaterialasanewOERevenifthatisn’talicencerequirement.

3. Itcansometimestakeawhiletofindsuitablematerials,butexperiencehasshownthatthetimespentfindingaresourceisusuallylessthanitwouldtaketodevelopit.

4. Bookmarkyourfavouriterepositories:youwillbegintobuildupausefullistofwhereyoucangetrelevantOER.Besuretosharethatwithcolleagues.

5. Docontactauthorsofmaterialsiftheircontactdetailsareavailable–it’snicetoknowothershavefoundvalueinyourwork.

6. Don’tusematerialsoutsidethescopeoftheirlicences.

7. Spreadtheword–ifyoufindagoodresourceletothersknow.

8. ConsidersettingagoalofusingacertainpercentageofOERmaterialinyourmoduledelivery.

9. RespondtopeoplewhocontactyouaboutyourOER.Itmayleadtonewcollaborations.

10.UseyourstudentstohelpevaluateOERyouuseortohelpyoudevelopfurtherimprovements.

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TherearenumerousopeneducationalresourcerepositoriesintheUKandthroughouttheworld.BelowisalistofUKrepositories.

http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/ManagedbytheOpenUniversity,thisisoneofthelargestOERrepositoriesintheUK,fundedinitiallybytheHewlettFoundation.Manyofthelearningmaterialsaresuitableforopenanddistancelearning.

http://repository.leedsmet.ac.uk/main/index.phpLeedsMet’sOERrepositorybringstogethermaterialsfromallsixFacultiesandstudentsupportservices.Materialsrangefromsinglelecturestowholemodules.Futuredevelopmentswehopetoincludeare“requestanOER”aswellasofferingwholecourses.

www.humbox.ac.ukTheHumBoxisaninspiringcollectionoffreeHumanitiesteachingandlearningresourcescontributedbyover15UKhighereducationinstitutions.Thesitecontainsover1,000videos,images,lecturenotes,presentations,andpodcastsondiversetopicswithintheHumanities.UsingHumBoxisnotonlyaboutdownloadingresources:whenyoujointhesiteyoubecomepartofacommunitywhichiscommittedtoshowcasingitsworkbypublishing,sharing,re-usingandalsoreviewingHumanitiesteachingresources.HumBoxwillletyoupostcommentsonresources,contactauthorsandkeepatrackoftheimpactyourownresourcesarehavingontheworldbyrecordingviews,downloadsandcomments–andcontactingyoutoletyouknowthis!

www.jorum.ac.uk/Jorumprovidesaccesstofreelearningandteachingresources,createdandcontributedbystafffromUKfurtherandhighereducationinstitutions.JorumisaJISC-fundedservice,runbythetwonationaldatacentresMimasandEDINA,andcollectsandshareslearningandteachingmaterials,allowingtheirre-useandrepurposing.

Jorumofferstwocollectionsforsearchanddeposit:

•JorumOpenprovidesaccesstolearningandteachingresourcesmadeavailableforsharingunderCreativeCommons(CC)licences,freetoanyone,worldwide

•JorumUKprovidesaccesstoresourcesfromthosecreators/ownerswhoprefertosharetheirworkonlywithinUKfurtherandhighereducationinstitutions.

ThefulllistofprojectsfundedundertheJISCOERprogrammecanbefoundat:www.jisc.ac.uk/oer.

7. Examples of OER repositories

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List of OER I have used

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List of OER I have submitted

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For further information contact:

Simon Thomson Principal Lecturer, Technology Enhanced LearningLeeds Metropolitan University Caedmon 105 Headingley Campus Leeds LS6 3QSTel: 0113 81 27425Email: s.thomson@leedsmet.ac.uk

ISBN 978-1-907240-10-2

Disclaimer:This booklet is intended as a guide and as such makes no

claim to provide legal advice. This booklet is released under Creative Commons

and the pdf and text versions are available at http://repository.leedsmet.ac.uk/main/index_oer.php

and enter the search term “unicycle”.

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