Is Open Education between the Cathedral and the Bazaar?: the promise

and pitfalls of borrowing models and metaphors for the OER community

R. John Robertson (1) and Lorna Campbell (1), Phil Barker (2), and Li Yuan (3) JISC CETIS

Presentation at OER 11, Manchester, May 11th 2011

1 Centre for Academic Practice and Learning Enhancement, University of Strathclyde, 2 Institute for Computer Based Learning, Heriot-Watt University, 3 Institute for Cybernetic Education, University of

Bolton

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence. Individual Images in this presentation may have different licences.

overview

• Some context• Models and

metaphors• Examples

Context: JISC CETIS• JISC CETIS is a JISC

Innovation Support Centre. We provide advice to the UK Higher and Post-16 Education sectors on the development and use of educational technology and standards through: – participating in standards

bodies – providing community forums for

sharing experience about educational technologies and interoperability standards

– providing strategic advice to JISC and supporting JISC development programmes

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Context: UK OER and more

• UKOER programme: Phase 2 of the HEFCE-funded Open Educational Resources (OER) programme runs between August 2010 and August 2011 (£5 million funding)

• Other OER work in the UK and globally as well as other related technical developments

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The impact of models and metaphors

• models and metaphors shape how we think

• for example, the Cloud

The book

• http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596001087/

or• http://www.catb.org/~e

sr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/

• Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cathedral-and-the-Bazaar-book-cover.jpg - Original image: Copyright all rights reserved O’Reilly Media

models & metaphors in the OER world

• What examples are there of models and metaphors connected to in OER?

• Differences and similarities

• The following is a brief, incomplete, and partially serious look at some popular models and metaphors considering, what they offer and some of their limits and problems

The music industry

• OER initiatives can model themselves on some parts of the music industry.

• They can make money by selling services and stuff around the content they give away for free

The music industry

• Pros• Clear idea of paid for

services to generate substantial income based on released content

• Model appears intuitive and accessible to many

• Con• Very few bands can make

a sustainable income from this approach

• Those that can are mostly already well established

• Many bands either fail out right or have a very limited shelf life

Open source software development

• OER initiatives can model themselves on open source development techniques and communities.– Using voluntary

community input– Selling services around

content

Open source software development

• Pros• Clear idea of paid for, free, or

community-supported services to generate substantial income based on openly released content

• Familiar to educational technologists, developers, and those interested in technology more generally

• Recognised ‘process’ for individuals to build demonstrable experience and reputation

• Cons• Rate of failure of OSS

projects (failure = unfinished and abandoned buggy code)

• Difficulty in attracting and sustaining community input

• Community input is often entirely self-motivated

• Skills developed are ‘easy’ to test /accredit

Open Access initiatives

• OER initiatives can model themselves on successful Open Access efforts in sharing preprints of scholarly works– Use existing institutional

structures, skills, staff– Publicly funded stuff

should be publicly available– Doesn’t prevent others

making money with materials

Open Access initiatives

• Pros• Relatively successful

model set in an academic environment

• Model has sustainability through ties to institutional priorities and use of existing infrastructure

• Cons• Research materials and

learning materials are very different (perceived value, shelf life)

• Model and relationship with other forms of publishing still in flux

The shop window

• OER initiatives can model themselves on shop windows / loss leaders.

• They can provide free access to some content to get people in so that they make you money by paying for other stuff

The shop window

• Pros• Application of proven

commercial models of loss leaders and of advertising and using samples

• Also provides an opportunity to enhance and promote institutional brand

• Cons• Model does not need to

be open just free• Always going to be a

partial approach to sharing content

• In academic sector, some value of giving away content known, risks unknown as yet

The free market

• OER initiatives can offer institutions a competitive edge and allow them to demonstrate the excellence of their courses

The free market

• Pros• Model partially reflects

the context universities are in

• Model will appeal to some universities and senior officers

• Cons• Model likely to discourage

reuse (we want our content out there)

• Focus on competition likely to shape and restrict what content is released

• The model may most appeal to the strong

The commune

• OER and OE initiatives can operate in a self sustaining manner based on relationship rather than ownership

The commune

• Pros• Model appeals to

academics desire to share knowledge and teach

• Model provides a ‘cause’ to join for altruistic reasons, out of commitment to your subject, or as a means to build reputation

• Cons• Unclear how model is

sustainable• Unclear how it relates to

institutions• Unclear how model

relates to accreditation works outside of institutions

The charity

• OER and OE initiatives can fulfil part of an institutions’ social responsibility.

• Institutions can attract charitable donations to promote access to education

The charity• Pros• Charitable funding model

underpins much of early and large scale work releasing OER

• For institutions, education as charitable act may appeal as it ties into local view of social responsibility and any relevant government policy around access to education (also fits shop window model)

• Cons• Foundations have their

own priorities and these have largely shifted from funding OER release

• Appeal of charitable nature of OER is likely to be outweighed by required investment for many institutions

The lifetime member’s plan

• Alumni subscribe to their institution after graduation/ or sponsor a particular course.

• As materials are released they get ongoing access to services around the OER or some form of acknowledgement

The lifetime member’s plan

• Pros• Alumni are an important

source of additional income for universities

• Ongoing access to resources for professional development may also act as a ‘shop window’

• Cons• Role of alumni and their

support for institution varies widely (by country and by institution)

• Largely untested as a sustainable approach?

The cute kitten

• Everyone likes cute kittens – OER are like cute kittens – everyone should like them

• People make lolcats for the fun of it and share them; people may make OER for the same reasons

The cute kitten

• Pros• Everyone likes cute

kittens and the idea of OER is likely to have similar mass appeal

• Cons• Even if something is

good that does not make it sustainable

• There may be a limit to how many kittens people need

• It can be very hard to find a particular kitten

The Reformation

• OER initiatives are like the Reformation – they offer a radical overhaul of education and the development of a flexible and individually oriented (rather than institutional) process of education

The Reformation

• Pros• Many of those leading

initiatives to develop OER do want radical change

• Many OER initiatives treated suspiciously at first by institutions

• Ties OER into an event that changed society

• Cons• Potential to be a divisive

metaphor for reasons unconnected to education

• Likely to put off institutions

• Blatantly ignores any historical understanding and unforeseen outcomes

To think about

• What models and metaphors are you basing your OER initiative on?

• How are you describing it when talking about it to academics/ managers/ others?

• What are the implications of your models and metaphors for sustainability?

Questions

• phil.barker@hw.ac.uk

• robert.robertson@strath.ac.uk

• lmc@strath.ac.uk

• l.yuan@bolton.ac.uk

• http://jisc.cetis.ac.uk/topic/oer

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