What educational policy needs

OER for, and what policy

support does OER need?

6th International Conference on Open Education –“'Mainstreaming Open Education”

Cardiff, 15 April 2015

Dominic Orr: dominicjorr@gmail.com

External consultant to CERI/OECD

• OER can contribute positively to addressing common educational challenges

• OER should be considered a catalyst for social innovation, which can change forms of interaction between teachers, learners and knowledge

• OER have an extended lifecycle beyond the original design and purpose of educational resources. This process of adaptation and iteration can improve the quality and distribution of educational materials

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The contribution of OER to educational

reform – findings of CERI project

• Whilst many really cool initiatives are to be found around the world,

• …OER can really only realize its potential in the mainstream, if it tackles mainstream problems.

• That means that it is important to re-start the discussion on OER, now with an understanding of OER as a means to an end,

• …i.e. OER contributing to improving various aspects of educational provision (changing the provision of educational resources and encouraging open pedagogy)

• …in the context of major educational challenges

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The contribution of OER to educational

reform – mainstreaming OER

1. Fostering the use of new forms of learning for the 21st century • Involving learners in the development of their own

learning materials and the support of other learners

2. Fostering teachers’ professional development and engagement • Allowing teachers to revise and tailor-make their

educational resources to provide a better fit to the environment in which they are working

3. Containing public and private cost of education• Reducing costs through sharing and updating

resources more cost-effectively

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Strand 1 – OER address 6 educational

challenges for policy-makers

4. Continually improving the quality of educational resources • Keeping up-to-date with new developments and new

learning theories

5. Widening the distribution of high quality educational resources • Assuring a more even distribution of high quality

resources produced within institutional boundaries

6. Reducing barriers to learning opportunities • Varying place, time and pace of learning

opportunities

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Strand 1 – OER address 6 educational

challenges for policy-makers

Relative importance of 6 educational

challenges according to policy-makers

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Unequal distribution of highquality educational resources

Maintaining qualityof educational resources

Barriers of access tolearning opportunities

Containing public andprivate costs of education

Fostering teacher develop-ment and engagement

Fostering the use ofnew forms of learning

Which key educational challenges are associated with public policy support for OER production and use?

Not an argument Minor argument Major argument

Source: CERI/OECD government survey

• Q: If OER requires support through policy to fully reach its potential for improving teaching and learning, what type of support should that be?

• Inputs: OECD government survey and policy-maker seminar January 2015

Policy areas and policy options

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Governments’ support of OER through

policy instruments - coverage

Out of 33 countries, 25 (76%) reported having a government policy to support OER production and

use

Source: CERI/OECD government survey

• Policy helps to establish repositories and supports the provision of open licence materials.

• Policy helps the establishment of communities of practices within the teaching body, to encourage production and use of OER.

• Policy is used to change the framework conditions of formal educational settings, by modifying rules, promoting new tools and reassigning the division of labour. These policies are enacted at different policy levels (federal, regional, institutional…).

• Additionally: more research is necessary to better understand the system

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Governments’ policy support found in 4

key areas

• CERI/OECD publication is being prepared for publication. Expected date June 2015

• The work is being coordinated by Dirk van Damme, Head of the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation

• Current discussions on how the OECD and other bodies (including the Hewlett Foundation) could take this work forward

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Next steps