Monitoring Progress on Open Education in Germany
The paper summarises the situation of OER in Germany. An analysis of the scope of acceptance, use and implementation of the concept in educational institutions and policy, as well as an overview of the major actors and initiatives in the field of OER is presented. In addition, considerations about the concept of Open Educational Practices (OEP) and possible benefits for educational... more
Current State of Advancement of Open Educational Resources in Kenya
The purpose of this study is to explore the status of the creation, use and/or management of open education resources (OER) in Kenya. OER, which to a large extent depend on access to Information Communication Technology (ICT), are seen by proponents as offerring certain opportunities to improve access to and quality of education. more
Open Educational Resources: Policy, Costs and Transformation
Open Educational Resources (OER) — teaching, learning and research materials that their owners make free for others to use, revise and share — offer a powerful means of expanding the reach and effectiveness of worldwide education. The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and UNESCO co-organised the World OER Congress in 2012 in Paris. That Congress resulted in the OER Paris Declaration: a... more
Lessons Learned About Coordinating Academic Partnerships from an International Network for Health Education
There is a growing trend of academic partnerships between U.S., Canadian, and European health science institutions and academic health centers in low- and middle-income countries. These partnerships often encounter challenges such as resource disparities and power differentials, which affect the motivations, expectations, balance of benefits, and results of the joint projects. Little has... more
The Openness-Creativity Cycle in Education - A Perspective
The nature of openness in education has transformed from just relating to open access to encompass a wide range of interpretations. This paper explores the concept of an 'open scholar' whose practice is shaped by digital and networked technologies. It is argued that openness represents an effective working method in this environment, and that creativity plays a key role in realising this. The... more
Mainstreaming Open Educational Practice: Recommendations for Policy
Open Educational Resources, and open education more generally, is considered to have huge potential to increase participation and educational opportunities at large and to promote widening participation and lifelong learning. At the same time the past decade has shown that openness in itself is not enough to unfold these potentials. A number of elements need to be taken into account in order... more
Cathy Casserly on a Review of the OER Ecosystem, Hewlett OER Grantees Meeting 2012
Cathy Casserly (Creative Commons) asks the critical questions: What are the core elements of OER infrastructure? What are the gaps? What are examples of supportive OER policies? What research is needed in each of the three pillars? Where are there opportunities for innovation? more
OER for African Teacher Education
Presentation by Tessa Welch at the African Council for Distance Education meeting in February 2012. more
Proceedings of the 1st International Symposium on Open Educational Resources: Issues for Globalization and Localization
This symposium stems from a long-time work group on Technology and Education. It was born out of a set of concerns on how OER can be accessed, reused, revised, remixed, and distributed effectively. The concerns are mostly based in two fields: first, a technical concern in the infrastructures necessary to produce and disseminate ever more flexible resources; second, cultural concern with the... more
Open Educational Practices and Resources: OLCOS Roadmap 2012
As a Transversal Action under the European eLearning Programme, the Open e-Learning Content Observatory Services (OLCOS) project carries out a set of activities that aim at fostering the creation, sharing and re-use of Open Educational Resources (OER) in Europe and beyond. OER are understood to comprise content for teaching and learning, software-based tools and services, and licenses that... more