Open Educational Resources and ICT-supported learning:

Building up momentum for harvestingthe benefits from OER - What to think about at a national and Nordic level

NUS rektorsseminarium vid Helsingfors universitet, Finland

1 March 2013

Gard TitlestadSecretary General

ICDE

DET NORDISKA UNIVERSITETSSAMARBETETNordic University Association (NUS)

Relevance of benefits of OER

Hylén, J. et al. (2012): OECDs “Open Educational Resources: Analysis of Responses to the OECD Country Questionnaire”

Expectations to OER

“OERs have the potential to solve the global education crisis and contribute to sustainable economic growth”

Sir John Daniel, former CEO for Commonwealth of Learning and David Killion, US ambassador to UNESCO said in Guardian in July 2012

From the UNESCO OER Declaration

• Foster awareness and use of OER• Encourage the development and adaptation of

OER in a variety of languages and cultural contexts• Encourage the open licensing of educational

materials produced with public funds.

EU & Norden• Two ministerial meetings the last three

months:– Informal: Ministerial Conference "Opening up education through

technologies: Towards a more systemic use for a smart, social and sustainable growth in Europe” Oslo, Norway on 9-11 December 2012.• All Nordic ministers represented

– Formal: 3221st Council meeting, Education, Youth, Culture and Sport, Brussels, 15 February 2013.• All thre Nordic EU-members represented by:Denmark: Ms Christine ANTORINI

Minister for Children and Education. Finland: Mr Jukka GUSTAFSSON Minister for Education and Science. Sweden: Mr Jan BJÖRKLUND Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Education

Summary from the meeting

• Also in the context of the Annual Growth Survey the Council adopted conclusions on investing in education and training as a response to the Commission communication "Rethinking Education".

• Member states are in particular invited to:– focus vocational education and training on potential growth

areas or areas with skills shortages;– reduce the number of low-skilled adults through access to

adult training and lifelong learning; and– optimise ICT-supported learning and access to open

educational resources.

Formal conclusions: INVITES THE MEMBER STATES, WITH

DUE REGARD FOR THE PRINCIPLE OF SUBSIDIARITY, TO

• g. optimising ICT-supported learning and access to high quality Open Educational Resources (OERs), for instance by supporting ICT-based teaching and assessment practices, by promoting the transparency of rights and obligations of users and producers of digitised content, and by supporting education and training institutions in adapting to the emergence of OERs, with particular regard to quality assurance and monitoring;

• NOTES THE COMMISSION'S INTENTION TO• 5. In coordination with any initiatives by the Member States in this area,

launch a new initiative on "Opening up Education", analysing the impact of providing EU support to increase access to and use of quality-assured Open Educational Resources and ICT.

Issues for Nordic HEI and Governments – OER and ICT-

supported learning • Incentives• Quality in HE• Copyright• Overview and easy access• Cost recovery• Technology

recommendations• Student Services• Methodologies,

competencies, increased understanding

• Language and culture issues

• Research• Policy studies• Development, pilot

projects• Innovation, new

business models

Nordic co-operation?NUS - Nordic Council of Ministers - NCM

• Nordic cooperation together with NCM can– act as an umbrella for progress on selected key issues– offer intruments ad important actors that can

contribute: Nordplus, Nodunet, NordForsk, Nordic eInfrastructure, Nordic Innovation

– involve ministers through meetings– facilitate networks and knowledge exchange and others– be an arena for the particular Nordic interests, defining

agendas, policy issues, cultural and language issues

Conclusions• All universities and HEI should have OER and

ICT-supported learning as a part of their strategy.

• Key issues for HEI and governments should be developed in dialogue between them.

• Nordic formal (and informal) co-operation can be used, the initiative has to come from the Rectors.

Thank you!titlestad@icde.org

www.icde.org