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This is what large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT are doing to OER. Next generation OER will not be open textbooks that were created faster or more efficiently because LLMs wrote first drafts in minutes. That’s current generation OER simply made more efficiently.
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.
Given the rise of OER (of which I am a fan ), an increasing array of business models, questions about the degree of alignment to state standards and assessments, claims of effectiveness, and interoperability concerns, the instructional materials procurement decisions facing school districts have never been more complicated. Image credits.
Has your school district started to use open educational resources (OER) yet? But has your school district considered K-12 OER textbooks? Printed textbooks have been used for centuries, and while they still work, there are many reasons why school districts are transitioning to OER versions. .
I’ve been interested in sustainability models for OER for decades. And for just as long, I’ve believed that there are useful lessons for us to learn on this topic from open source software – OER’s far more popular and influential sibling. What does “bug” mean in the context of OER?
tl ;dr – If a resource is licensed in a way that grants you permission to engage in the 5R activities, and grants you those permissions for free, it’s an open educational resource (OER) – no matter where you find it or how it’s being used. I have an obsession with definitions. It’s been true for decades.
But fans of OER are increasingly facing a problem. While OER started off as free online textbooks, it still costs money to produce these materials, and professors often need guidance finding which ones are high quality. So OER advocates are realizing they need to change their pitch.
David Wiley, a pioneer of open education resources who co-founded Lumen Learning , a for-profit company that supports OER efforts, sees one place where textbooks could actually be vanquished by openly licensed alternatives: community colleges. He writes software one time and you just sell it, sell it, sell it. But look at Red Hat.
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.
Recently I’ve been doing both more thinking and more roll-up-your-sleeves working on continuous improvement of OER. And this process of making OER more effective every semester – also known as “continuous improvement” – is where we see some of the most exciting opportunities to collaborate with faculty.
I’m going to write a post or three about some of the friction that exists around using OER. There are some things about working with OER that are just harder or more painful than they need to be, and getting more people actively involved in using OER will require us to reduce or eliminate those points of friction.
In describing her coining of the phrase “open source software” in 1998, Christine Peterson wrote : The introduction of the term “open source software” was a deliberate effort to make this field of endeavor more understandable to newcomers and to business, which was viewed as necessary to its spread to a broader community of users.
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.
In May, the homework-help site that relies on student-generated content, Course Hero, dipped its toes into freely available, openly licensed alternatives known as Open Educational Resources, or OER, course materials. This was the company’s “first foray” into OER, and it is still figuring out how the OER fits, Morris says. “I
LMS – Learning Management System (software that runs and manages educational programs). OER – Open Educational Resource (this can be any online materials that are free to use). OER – Open Educational Resource (this can be any online materials that are free to use). MLD – Mobile Learning Devices. MLearning – Mobile Learning.
Emerging technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, open education resources (OER), coding, and adaptive learning tools are moving more into the mainstream in some schools. Makerspaces have moved from fringe initiatives to vibrant components of school culture. How are we preparing learners for this world?
I spend most of my time doing fairly tactical thinking and working focused on moving OER adoption forward in the US higher education space. In this vision of the world, OER replace traditionally copyrighted, expensive textbooks for all primary, secondary, and post-secondary courses. My end goal isn’t to increase OER adoption.
Have you ever considered creating your own open educational resources (OER)? Because these resources are open to use, when you share an OER, other educators across the globe can access it and use it in their classrooms. Types of OER you can develop for K-12. Why you should develop OER for K-12.
The universities in Georgia have seen improved grades since the widespread adoption of open education resources, while Wake Technical saw better online course completion rates among minority students whose instructors communicated with them via text message and virtual meetings software.
How We Got Here In 1998, when I launched the OpenContent project and the first open license for educational materials and other creative works (that weren’t software), I encouraged anyone and everyone to openly license anything they were willing to openly license. And that’s essentially where innovation stopped.
The tl;dr: Supporting effective OER adoption at scale has its problems. If OER adoption were to become widespread among the majority of faculty, it became clear that someone would need to do something more than create OER, post it on a website, and give conference talks about it. Background and Some Problems.
Note: I read some ambiguity in the legislative text both of how this 15 percent will be calculated and also what equipment, tools, software, and content might count toward that 15 percent cap and what might not. To be eligible for funds, every state will prepare and submit an application to the U.S.
Back in February, an EdWeek Market brief reported that Amazon Education was starting to beta-test a new platform with educators, helping teachers navigate the jungles of open educational resources (or OERs, for short). Tory Patterson, co-founder of Owl Ventures As far as calling itself an OER platform, that is somewhat correct.
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 secret to its swift entry into publishing was OER (open education resources). Yet, professors can build their own OER textbook for free, and companies such as Lumen Learning sell courseware products based on OER (with homework-delivery features and other tools) for less (about $25 per student).
Open educational resources (OER) have saved students at the University of Georgia (UGA) nearly $2 million in textbook costs alone over the past three years. Rather than roll out a broad campaign to promote OER on campus, the center is focused on working with individual faculty members who teach large enrollment courses, Watson says.
Last week I posted the middle section of the presentation, How Generative AI Affects Open Educational Resources , in which I described how we need to move beyond narrow thinking about how generative AI impacts our work with traditional OER and begin thinking more broadly about the power generative OER.
In the case of digital technologies, this includes knowledge of operating systems and computer hardware, and the ability to use standard sets of software tools. This involves the skills required to operate particular technologies.
In late 1997 and early 1998, the free software movement had two problems that were impeding its growth. First, the way its proponents talked about free software came across as incredibly judgmental and holier-than-thou. ’ If you didn’t support free software it was due to your personal moral shortcomings. .’
And some credit it for helping kick-start a trend—now known as open educational resources, or OER—that has sent shockwaves through the traditional publishing industry. Yet the nonprofit is also developing its own software designed to undercut the courseware industry, charging just $10 per student. colleges use at least one.
“You can think about it as almost an Amazon-like self-publishing system plus Amazon Kindle store plus Amazon Kindle reader software for courseware,” said Feldstein. The system will also pull in some OER textbook material developed by OpenStax , a low-cost publisher at Rice University. going to be layering on a service.
These permissions are the distinguishing feature of open , whether you’re talking about open educational resources, open source software, open data, or a range of other open things. Or, to operationalize, open pedagogy is the set of teaching and learning practices only possible or practical when you are using OER.
Even though Pearson is not cutting out print completely, its digital-first update strategy may still alienate some faculty, says Wiley, who is currently the chief academic officer of Lumen Learning, a company that provides digital OER courseware to colleges and universities. “It It doesn’t matter what a publisher wants to sell.
The Software and Information Industry Association, in a recent online post , said the campaign—which encourages states and districts to consider open options—wrongly suggests that open resources are invariably linked with districts’ shifts to adopting digital materials, whereas commercial materials are stuck in the print world. .”
It is a software application that helps you create, track, and report training programme or educational courses anywhere using any device. Open Education Resources (OER). A good example of this would be the usage of OERs by Sky Customer Service to train their employees. Learning Management System (LMS).
Andrew Rickard has written a thoughtful essay on OER, open pedagogy, and commercial interests. Think about our older sibling, the open source software movement. While making analogies between open content and open source software can be dangerous, I think a closer look at open source software has something to offer us here.)
He attributes this theory to the role Asia now plays in the global economy with automation being software driven, and abundance of material in the market place. OER Commons – Take a look at these results from a search I did for STEAM based activities. Since it is OER (Open Education Resources) it is free.
This means that you can write your own textbooks, share them, or use them as you would any other OER or open education resource. This makes Expii valuable for math teachers and students because of your flexibility in using them. What makes Expii unique? But for you, at that point, it won’t be impossible; it would just be 50-50.
When we look at common definitions of Open Educational Resources or OERs (e.g., But what if we adopt a different perspective, a broader understanding of OERs, which includes the processes and products of open scholarship as valuable, and viable, resources too?
The June issue of the International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning (IRRODL) is dedicated to Open Educational Resources (OER). Several of the studies focus specifically on OER and student learning outcomes. Certainly one of the main advantages of adopting OER is lowering the costs to students.
[Back in 2012 – 2013] I was impressed (like many others I’m sure) with how Wiley was able to frame the cost-savings argument around open textbooks to build broader interest for OERs. I fear it is OER wanting it both ways. The question we must each ask ourselves is – what is the real goal of our OER advocacy?
At the #GoOpen Exchange on Friday, everyone was talking about OER and the need to curate. But it was clear to our little group, that to the larger majority of the participants, we were not even on the OER radar. Some OER background: Launched in October, GoOpen is a U.S. What are OER? We made an impact.
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).
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