Grass Roots Green OER: the OER growers case

Grass Roots Green OERthe OER growers case

Nikos Manouselis, Babis ThanopoulosAgro-Know Technologies

nikosm@ieee.org; cthanopoulos@agroknow.gr

background

OER defined

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green OER

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examples of green OER

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challenge

• knowledge is in the hands of experts• agriculture-related topics need lots of

contextualised, project-oriented, hands-on experimentation– how to document, share, reuse, remix, build upon

such experiences?– what kind of tools could people use to carry out such

tasks online?

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OER growers

concept• introducing young agricultural students to

topics related to Web2.0 tools, OER, developing their own content

• support them during the design, implementation and reporting of an experiment/idea as OER

• initial focus– agricultural experiments (e.g. setting up a green

roof/balcony, trying hydroponics, planting a new cultivar)

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concept

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extended scope• from agricultural students, to young (or to-be)

farmers• additional focus on business ideas (e.g. setting

up an online shop, finding new distributors, trying and selling a new method)

• course on "Setting up your Own Agricultural Business“• 17-22 September 2012, Athens, Greece

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extended scope

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experimenting with topics• ICT-related training– Blogging– Web2.0 tools– Open Education Resources – Social networking and online communities– copyright and licensing: Creative Commons– Open web editing – Wikis– Photo and video sharing, policies– E-learning platforms for agriculture

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1. select an idea/project• participants are coming with an idea in mind– either for an agricultural experiment or a

business concept

• brainstorming on the idea– relevant information sources– connection with experts

• revisit idea and describe it in a small project plan

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2. develop a Wiki page

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• hands-on training on how to edit and publish Wiki pages– introduction to Wikis, rich text editing, including

multimedia material– hands on using the Wiki of OER growers

(http://wiki.oergrowers.gr)

• drafting a project Wiki page– explaining the rationale, method, techniques,

expected results

3. blended educational activities

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• selection of uploaded and online resources for self-studying on selected topics, available through course management platform– agriMoodle (http://agrimoodle.agroknow.gr)

• combination of online synchronous seminars (webinars) with physical training at some location [e.g. AK premises]

4. blogging

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• core-component of OER growers– emphasis on documentation of applied and

explored activities – request for frequent update (e.g. 3-4 posts per

week)– enrich with photos and videos from project

• use of http://blog.oergrowers.gr

5. wrapping up & presentation

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• after pre-defined period of time (ranging from 2 weeks to 3 months) participants report on their project– progress, methods, results documented in their Wiki

page– complemented with selected posts from blog– sets of photos in Flickr/Instagram/…– videos through YouTube/Vimeo/…

• presentation to the group and peer review exercise to collect feedback

evolving: online course

“formalising” online component• started as only way to reach participants from

rural areas– could not attend physical seminars

• many expressed interest in an accredited course• University of Alcala (Spain) already offers such

adult learning opportunities– also for students/graduates interested in credits– pilot course related to agriculture was very successful

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training curriculum

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about course

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evolving: master grower

after completing a training cycle

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new knowledge• Wiki page on rationale/approach – an urban

balcony case study• frequent blogging on how plants grew• Flickr set with all experiment photos• had to face a typical enemy of plants,

investigated alternative approaches but didn’t work

• feels that has learnt a lot from the experiment

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still, only an exercise • not enough time to try something on a larger

scale/period– e.g. set up a small green house for a whole season

• difficult to compare new/alternative approaches– what to plant, how to grow, how to protect

• not enough exposure to the technology• desire to work more with the peers, even in a

group sharing parts of the project

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“master OER grower” concept• select two motivated people – to scale up and continue their experiment

• devote a longer time period in mentoring and guiding them

• connect with good experts for their experiments, facilitate exposure and collaboration

• monitor/support closely, specific tasks & deliverables, reward outcomes

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wrapping upwrapping up

educational approach• project-based, hands-on experience– connects nicely with practical needs of our

learners

• still, no explicit instructional model adopted (yet?)–e.g. inquiry-based: organise activity around

specific questions that learners explore

role of technology• real need or artificially injected?• for the moment, topics driven by our interests– indications that they support actual needs

(logbook, content organisation, identification of material) – social interaction & community building is core

• need to examine/assess perceived usefulness and acceptance

next challenges• open to urban and rural farmers– in real need of support in finding,

documenting, sharing information–set up online community

• involve domain experts–connect growers with success storytellers or

experts in their project area

• dig deeper into experiments (masters)

thank you!http://www.oergrowers.gr

http://agrimoodle.agroknow.gr