quality assurance of online, open and flexible education
DESCRIPTION
Presentation giving a brief overview of changes and trends in open education, and the quality related challenges linked to each. Presented at : - the 9th European Quality Assurance Forum in Barcelona - the SEQUENT / Openup Slovenia Seminar on QA in e-learning in Ljubljana, Slovenia - the NCFHE Seminar on e-learning in Rabat, MaltaTRANSCRIPT
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QUALITY ASSURANCE OF ONLINE, OPEN AND FLEXIBLE HIGHER EDUCATIONCONCEPTUAL ISSUES
ANTHONY F. CAMILLERI – KNOWLEDGE INNOVATION CENTRE
ROUNDTABLE ON THE ACCREDITATION OF BLENDED AND DIGITAL LEARNING
MARCH 2015, RABAT, MALTA.
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Open Educational Resources (OER) describe any kind of digital media which are released under licenses which allow for:
use and reuse/repurposing/modification of the resources
include free use of these resources for educational purposes by teachers and learners,
encompass all types of digital media
WHAT IS OPEN EDUCATION?
Depending on the definition, OER may include:
• digital resources only, or a mix of digital and ‘traditional’ resources
• resources produced with an explicit educational aim, or any resource used as part of an educational process
• resources which are in the public domain, or resources which allow use and reuse merely for educational purposes
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WHAT IS OPEN EDUCATION?
Social Openness Technical Openness
License Openness Financial Openness
most participative least restrictive least restrictive most affordable
Student, lecturer & Broader Community
Student Centred
Lecturer Centred
Open
Proprietary/Open
Proprietary
Public Domain
Limited-Public
Copyrighted
Free
Opportunity Cost
Low Cost
Charged
incr
easi
ng levels
of
openness
Hodgkinson-Williams, C., & Gray, E. (2009). Degrees of openness: The emergence of open educational resources at the University of Cape Town. International Journal of Education and Development Using ICT, 5(5). Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/42198/
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WHAT ABOUT MOOCS?
MOOC is defined as:
massive: with theoretically no limit to enrolment
open: allowing anyone to participate, usually at no cost
online: with learning activities typically taking place over the web
course: structured around a set of learning goals in a defined study area
don’t miss the forest for the trees
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EDUCATIONAL CHANGE IS INEVITABLE
MOOCs (et al)
are a symptom of change
not, the result of it
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TECHNOLOGICAL TRENDS
Ubiquitous Computing
access to computing power any time
anywhere
Open Data
access to any information any time
anywhere
Learning Analytics
ability to base teaching decisions on data
Semantic Search
ability to talk and converse with machines
Collaboration Technologies
ability to collaborate with anybody in real-time
Personalisation Technologies
move away from traditional massification concepts
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SOCIAL CHANGES MEAN INCREASED DEMANDS FROM EDUCATION
provide graduates to supply the knowledge economy
increase efficiency of processes
extend reach of programmesadapt content to ever-changing
priorities
do more, better, with less
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RESULTING TRENDS IN ONLINE, OPEN AND FLEXIBLE HIGHER EDUCATION
Growing Role of
OER
Unbundling of
EducationEmergence of Non-
Traditional ProvidersCollaboration
to keep up with
technology
Increasing demand for
recognition & portability
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GROWTH IN OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
April 2014:
3045 learning repositories – 7% growth year-on-year
with 12 million learning objects
Source:repository66.org
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GROWTH IN MOOCS
March 2015:
1139 European MOOCs
220% Year-on-Year Growth
Source:openeducationeuropa.eu
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QA-RELATED ISSUES TO CONSIDER
How to adapt teacher performance metrics to consider use/re-use of
their resources?
How does open resources affect
concepts of efficiency?
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UNBUNDLING OF EDUCATION
A Higher Education Experience isa gateway to a multitude of services
explicit and implicit
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THREE SCENARIOS FOR UNBUNDLING
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QA ISSUES LINKED TO UNBUNDLING
increases student choice (link to SCL)allows for increased specialisation of functions of HEstimulates innovation and quality through increased attention on niche activities
implicit functions of Higher Education not necessarily specifically covered by criteriais the whole of an HE qualification more than the sum of its parts?
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EMERGENCE OF NON-TRADITIONAL PROVIDERS
‘Hybrid Providers’
mergers of HEIs and Technology companies collaborating on course provision, e.g. Coursera
Teaching & Examination
Centres
teach HE level qualifications using
licensed content from universities
RPL Universities
institutions offering recognition,
credentialisation and add-on teaching for RPL
Exam-Only Companies
designing and/or providing examinations
(incl. automated assessment)
Publishers
providing not only books but online learning
communities
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QUALITY ISSUES TO CONSIDER
none of these models are explicitly regulatedespecially not at international level
Quality Systemswill need to
enable innovationprotect students
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RESPONDING TO TECHNOLOGY THROUGH COLLABORATION
University Networks
publishing courses under a single
brand
University –Business
collaborations for joint-provision of
education
Living Labs’ to develop OE
content, technology and
pedagogy
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TECHNOLOGY-NETWORKS AS QUALITY NETWORKS
EdX and Coursera only admit ‘world class’ universities
OpenupEd is linked to a Quality Label
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INCREASED DEMAND FOR RECOGNITION
BadgesCertificates of
attendanceCertificates of
completionECTSDiplomas and Degrees
easily mapped toQualifications Framework
Hard/Impossible to map toQualifications Framework
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CHALLENGES FOR QA
Students Expect HE
to provide portable
and recognisable
qualifications
Equivalent Quality across all
qualification types
Quality of theQualification itself
(recognition & portability as elements of quality)
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OPEN DATA & QUALITYTECHNOLOGY GIVES RISE TO NEW EXPECTATIONS FROM THE QUALITY ECOSYSTEM
Assure Minimal Quality
Standards
Offer Various Ranking
Methodologies
Allow for User Review and Rating
Give Access to Data
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THANK YOU FORYOUR ATTENTION
ANTHONY F. CAMILLERI
ANTHONY@KNOWLEDGEINNOVATIONEU
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