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and I am merely a fan – not a fanboy – of open educational resources (OER).** Others surely see me as some sort of OER fanatic. So, if these are the actions of someone who is an OER fan, what stops me short of claiming fanboy status? I work in K-12 education in the U.S., I beg to disagree. Image credits.
In a post of nearly two years ago (“ OERwashing: Beyond the Elephant Test “), I argued that the OER community lacked a reliable way to assess new entrants to the OER field, especially for-profit organizations, in terms of their support for openness and OER community values. Petrides, L., and Watson, C.E.
K-12 education system by open educational resources (OER) since 2009, although my first exposure to the ideas and leaders of the movement stretch back to the launch of the MIT OpenCourseWare initiative. This is where context matters most for the OER movement. Even within the U.S.
At some point over the last decade, open educational resources (OER) advocacy in US higher education became zero textbook costs (ZTC) advocacy. But OER / ZTC advocates have had a fundamental problem simmering for many years now, and the recent advent of large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4 will quickly bring that simmer to a boil.
K-12 educational technology policy. educational technology policy should be over the coming four years (when the law will next come due to be reauthorized). .” making instructional resources widely available via open educational resources (OER), which may include supporting school districts in using OER.
I’ve established that I am a fan of open educational resources (OER) and think that K-12 educators and policymakers would benefit from thinking more deeply about the ownership of instructional materials. To that end, I present the first draft of “ #GoOpen: OER for K-12 Educators – Frequently Asked Questions.”
Indeed, the often unspoken relationship between OER and educational technology can be fraught with misplaced assumptions, red flags, value conflicts, and licensing complications. That the U.S. Photo by Jake Blucker on Unsplash.
I recently wrote a brief essay about the wonderful new UNESCO OER Recommendation. For those of you who don’t want to read the full analysis below, here’s the key takeaway: Imagine what would happen if making copies of OER was illegal. Under the definition of OER now adopted unanimously by UNESCO member states, it can be.
In response, open educational materials, or OER, have emerged as an alternative to expensive textbooks that disproportionately affect low-income students. But despite the excitement, there are obstacles to using OER. McGuire: The kinds of things that are being discussed [around using OER] are hard for many of institutions to access.
And that’s been the driver behind nonprofit Achieving the Dream ’s (ATD) OER Degree Initiative , where 38 U.S. community colleges are creating full degree programs that utilize open educational resources (OER) from start to finish.
With course materials averaging around $1,200 per year , many colleges over the past decade have adopted open educational resources (OER) to cut costs for students. One review offers evidence that students using OER as their primary course material sometimes perform better.) This isn’t uncommon.
As momentum for digital learning builds, some districts—80 percent according to the 2017 Consortium for School Networking’s (CoSN) K12 IT Leadership Survey Report —are using open educational resources (OER), which the U.S. But while many benefits of OER are visible on the surface, we must notice the fine print.
As the movement grew and more people began advocating for the adoption of OER in place of traditionally copyrighted materials in classes, some advocates chose to make cost the primary focus of their advocacy. Materials that were openly licensed and free were the OER we had spent the last decade advocating for. grey below).
What Rasmussen didn’t have at the beginning of her political career, however, was much knowledge about how to turn her ideas into effective policies. “I Over the past two years, the consortium has created open-access materials intended to make it easy for universities to start offering coursework on the topic of early childhood policy.
What I do want to comment on (in greater than 140 characters) is the practice of ‘openwashing:’ what it is, why I believe not being able to go beyond a pro-OER elephant test for organizations and service providers is untenable in practice, and some thoughts on what we can do about it. The Pro-OER Elephant Test.
But OER is not free, since it costs money to develop the materials, takes time for professors to evaluate and adopt them, and typically involves other campus-support services as well. A report released last week gives perhaps the most detailed accounting of the pricetag to colleges looking to make signiciant moves to OER.
I recently attended one of the community meetings discussing whether or not a national open education policy is needed in the US. But here are my quick takeaways from the meeting I did attend: There will likely be an effort to create a national open education policy. No one knows what the purpose of such a policy would be.
Many institutions charge students a fee associated with their OER courses as a way of funding the institutions’ OER efforts. For example, Kansas State University’s Open/Alternative Textbook Initiative course fee is a $10 fee that is payed by students in courses that use OER and other free, traditionally copyrighted resources.
Thanks to policies such as the Common Education Data Standards , information regarding Bobby’s need for special transportation services, food allergy restrictions and appropriate class placements were shared quickly, securely and automatically in time for his first day of class.
Open educational resources (OER) have been promoted as a solution to the rising costs and scalability needs in education. In looking to OER as a potential solution, it is helpful to consider—beyond the “free” price tag—the actual cost of implementing a comprehensive OER program. Is OER the right fit?
Open educational resources (OER) are gaining increasing popularity. To answer this question, I have to examine my own experience with OER and its advocates. To me, using OER felt like a no-brainer. Many working in open education praised me for being so involved in the movement as an educator dealing with OER on the ground.
To hear some OER advocates describe it today in 2024, the same format that was being used in the late 2000s – traditional-looking textbooks published under open licenses – is the state of the art when it comes to open educational resources. OER have also been used as part of personalized, interactive courseware systems, too.
The most recent issue of IRRODL included an article titled Effectiveness of OER Use in First-Year Higher Education Students’ Mathematical Course Performance: A Case Study , by Juan I. This was justified by the fact that there is a lack of empirical evidence to support expanding the use of OER. Venegas-Muggli and Werner Westermann.
AUP – Acceptable Use Policy. OER – Open Educational Resource (this can be any online materials that are free to use). But have a look and get familiar with what they stand for: 1:1 – One to one (usually talking about the ratio of devices in a class per child). API – Application Programming Interface.
Early in my career, I taught at a school with a very progressive inclusion policy. Secondly, through digital delivery of open educational resources (OER), teachers can modify lessons to reflect student interest and context by choosing different texts, materials and videos aligned to standards.
I’m very excited to announce the launch of the OER Adoption Impact Explorer. This interactive tool lets users adjust a range of Institutional Settings to match their local context and estimate what the impact of adopting OER would be on their students and campus. (Cross-posted from the Open Education Group blog).
Among them, I’ve updated my site to include a dedicated FAQ on open educational resources (OER). The FAQ is a collaboration of many involved with the movement and includes an OER infographic , suitable for downloading and re-sharing. My thanks to EdSurge for highlighting its availability. Strong opinions may be weakly held.
Earlier this week I read an op-ed – sponsored by Pearson – titled “If OER is the answer, what is the question?” OER often shine in their variety and ability to deepen resources for niche topics. ” The article poses three questions and answers them. Below I share some thoughts prompted by the article.
The Digital Learning Specialists will work closely as a team with the Coordinator for Education Technology, and the Learning Through Technology Policy Director, to design and implement our efforts to support schools leveraging technology for learning. The vacation time stinks and the pay is just “ok”! (At
Among them, I’ve updated my site to include a dedicated FAQ on open educational resources (OER). The FAQ is a collaboration of many involved with the movement and includes an OER infographic , suitable for downloading and re-sharing. My thanks to EdSurge for highlighting its availability. Strong opinions may be weakly held.
Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Andy Marcinek , Chief Open Education Advisor at the US Department of Education (ED), to explore how schools can benefit from Open Educational Resources (OERs) and what is being done in this area nationwide. Determining policies, processes, and timelines for adoption.
Districts having success in this area have comprehensive refresh plans, work with high quality partners, build relationships with local businesses, work diligently to receive grants, and leverage a variety of open educational resources (OERs). Commit to Student Privacy and Clearly Articulate Policies to Stakeholders.
With these educator conversation starters, you can have impactful discussions about: How you use classroom technology Your relationship to technology outside of the classroom Digital equity School policies Social media and more How do you address digital citizenship instruction in your classroom or school?
After three years of utilizing a BYOD (bring your own device) policy with my classes at Nassau Community College, I have seen how tools like tablets and laptops can lead to better academic engagement. Access to connectivity is vital to a successful classroom BYOD policy, so these issues are largely taken care of by an institution.
In conversations with edtech investors, some reported that the K-12 market has seen an influx of instructional content, particularly in the form of open educational resources (OERs). OERs are openly-licensed educational materials that can be downloaded, modified and shared with others to help support student learning. Source: EdSurge.
Rich shares the power of Open Educational Resources (OER)–what they are, where to find them, and how to get started. para, where he explains how PBL and OER go hand-in-hand. . What are Open Educational Resources (OER)? These issues have brought OER back to the forefront of educational needs. .
During a tour of updates to SETDA’s Digital Instructional Materials Acquisition Policies for States (DMAPS) , which showcases state policies in support of digital materials, Christine Fox, Deputy Executive Director for SETDA, discussed new features like professional development information. Join the Community.
In this ever-dynamic landscape, “common” standards for education seemingly get a bad rap, but they’re useful, particularly for the development and distribution of open education resources (OER). When OER curation was in its infancy, there were few common standards in place for vetting and cataloging this content.
In a letter sent earlier this month, a group of ed-tech stakeholders urged the Obama administration to make federally-funded educational materials available as Open Educational Resources (OER). The letter was a response to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s request for suggestions around how to strengthen the U.S.
In addition to providing technical assistance to districts through their planning and application phases, consider statewide activities that will help all school districts, such as those focused on: (a) reducing costs and streamlining procurement by aggregating demand and pursuing open source and open educational resource (OER) strategies; (b) helping (..)
Online case studies highlight OER implementation in schools. SETDA has published a series of case studies focused on the implementation of Open Educational Resources (OER) at the school level. SETDA encourages state, district and school leaders to leverage this work as they launch and expand OER initiatives.”.
While OER was presented as one way to ease course material costs, other challenges remain, starting with understanding and awareness of what the term means. Still, sustainable ways to fund OER into the future remains an open question. Austin, Texas outside of the SXSW EDU conference And that was just the start. Ninjas and rockstars.
It is the newest addition to SETDA’s Cybersecurity & Privacy Collection , available for access in their OER Commons site. “As In collaboration with Microsoft and the K12 Security Information eXchange (K12 SIX), this initiative underscores SETDA’s commitment to providing essential tools and guidance to support state educational agencies.
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