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A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER); 2015 Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’éducation, la science et la culture his Guide comprises T three sections. The A Basic Guide to fi rst – a summary of the key issues – is presented A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER) A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources in the form of a set of Open Educational ‘Frequently Asked Questions’. Its purpose is to provide readers with a quick Resources and user-friendly introduction to Open (OER) Educational Resources (OER) and some of the key issues to think about when exploring how to use OER most effectively. The second section is a more comprehensive analysis of these issues, presented in the form of a traditional research paper. For those who have a deeper interest in OER, this section will assist with making the case for OER more substantively. The third section is a set of appendices, containing more detailed information about specifi c areas of relevance to OER. These are aimed at people who are looking for substantive information regarding a specifi c area of interest. ISBN 9781894975414 Communication and Information Sector United Nations Educational, Scientific and 7818949 975414 Cultural Organization A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER) Prepared by Neil Butcher for the Commonwealth of Learning & UNESCO Edited by Asha Kanwar (COL) and Stamenka Uvalic´-Trumbic´ (UNESCO) i Published in 2011, 2015 by the United Nations Educational, Scientifi c and Cultural Organization, 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France and Commonwealth of Learning, 1055 West Hastings, Suite 1200, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6E 2E9 © UNESCO and Commonwealth of Learning 2011, 2015 ISBN 978-1-894975-41-4 This publication is available in Open Access under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ igo/). By using the content of this publication, the users accept to be bound by the terms of use of the UNESCO Open Access Repository (http://www.unesco.org/open-access/terms-use-ccbysa-en). This publication is also available in the Institutional Repository of COL at http://dspace.col.org. The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors; they are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization. Prepared by Neil Butcher Edited by Asha Kanwar (COL) and Stamenka Uvalic-Trumbic (UNESCO) Front Cover photos: Star of Life (CC-BY-2.0), nguyentuanhung (CC0 1.0), Jisc (CC BY-NC-ND), Alessandro Pucci (CC-BY-2.0) Back Cover photo: 3ecccad526 CC Graphic design: UNESCO Cover design: UNESCO Typeset: UNESCO Printed by: UNESCO Printed in France ii Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ 1 Overview of the Guide........................................................................................ 3 A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources: Frequently asked questions ... 5 What are Open Educational Resources (OER)? .................................................. 5 Is OER the same as e-learning? ......................................................................... 5 Is OER the same as open learning/open education? ......................................... 6 Is OER related to the concept of resource-based learning? ................................ 7 How open is an open licence? .......................................................................... 8 What is the difference between OER and open access publishing? .................... 9 Shouldn’t I worry about ‘giving away’ my intellectual property? ..................... 9 Who will guarantee the quality of OER? ............................................................ 12 How can education benefit by harnessing OER? ............................................... 13 Is OER really free? ............................................................................................. 14 Does use of OER preclude use of commercial content? ..................................... 16 What policy changes are needed for institutions to make more effective use of OER? ................................................................................................ 16 What are the best ways to build capacity in OER? ............................................. 17 Where do I find OER? ........................................................................................ 18 How can I share my OER with others? ............................................................... 19 How much can I change OER for my own purposes? ................................................................................................. 20 Making the Case for Open Educational Resources ............................................ 23 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 23 Defining the concept ........................................................................................ 24 The implications for educational planners and decision-makers ........................ 39 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 44 References ........................................................................................................ 45 Appendix One: Overview of Open Licences ...................................................... 47 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 47 Creative Commons Licences ............................................................................ 48 Appendix References ........................................................................................ 52 Appendix Two: The Components of a Well-Functioning Distance Education System ........................................................................................... 53 The Components.............................................................................................. 53 The Rationale for Use of Distance Education Methods....................................... 55 Appendix Three: Technology Applications ........................................................ 57 iii Appendix Four: Open Source Software Applications in Education ................... 61 References ........................................................................................................ 64 Appendix Five: Mapping the OER Terrain Online .............................................. 65 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 65 OCW OER Repositories ..................................................................................... 65 University OCW Initiatives ................................................................................ 70 Subject-Specific OCW OER ............................................................................... 74 Content Creation Initiatives .............................................................................. 78 Open Schooling Initiatives ................................................................................ 81 OCW OER Search.............................................................................................. 84 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 85 Appendix Six: A Catalogue of OER-Related Websites ........................................ 87 OCW OER Repositories ..................................................................................... 88 Open Schooling Initiatives ................................................................................ 92 OCW OER Search.............................................................................................. 93 University OCW Initiatives ................................................................................ 95 Subject-Specific OCW-OER ............................................................................... 104 OER Tools ......................................................................................................... 109 Other OER Sources ........................................................................................... 113 Appendix Seven: Some OER Policy Issues in Distance Education ..................... 115 Appendix Eight: OER Policy Review Process ...................................................... 123 Appendix Nine: Skills Requirements for Work in Open Educational Resources ........................................................................................................131 iv Acknowledgements Although I bear full responsibility for the work – and particularly the mistakes – contained in this Guide, its development is the product of several years of work and incorporates the inputs and ideas of many different people. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the contributions of the following to this Guide: 1. All of my colleagues at the South African Institute for Distance Education (Saide), Saide’s OER Africa Initiative, and Neil Butcher & Associates. Without their engagement and the many long hours spent debating and discussing the concept of OER and
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