At Bunda College of Agriculture we are in the process of creating a standardised text for the Communication Skills module. Currently there is no such textbook. A prescribed book list, yes, but can you actually access any of these texts? Not so easy.

Using OER we are compiling a 'book' that can be reproduced cheaply and because they are OER there are no subscriptions or initial costs to accessing the materials. Also because the materials are OER we can also 'fix' them so that they are more relevant to the Malawian context than the original. Modules on study, listening, reading and writing skills are being adapted and materials gleaned from OpenLearn (Open University's OER section) are proving most beneficial.

Described like this it all sounds so straightforward but what we have discovered during our time adapting materials is that it’s not so easy! There comes a point when you have to decide if the amount of adaptation required makes it worthwhile in the first place. As a writer I am often tempted to simply write certain sections from scratch rather than spending large amounts of time trying to ‘fix’ the text. Currently we are using a rule of thumb of about 15-20%. That means that if we have to change more than that, then it’s probably not worth it.

Our other concern is the limited number of OER that are available. You would think that a common subject like communication skills would render up a plethora of resources and there are quite a lot when you do an initial search. What’s concerning though is that not a lot of it fits the 15-20% rule requiring some serious editing. One staff member has also commented that using exclusively OER could result in a text that is shallower than what they used to present before by simply photocopying copyrighted materials.

The project however is interesting and full of potential. It will be our task to find a model that actualises the promise of OERs but not at the expense of quality.