Opening up Educationwith OER and MOOCs

Fred MulderUNESCO/ICDE Chair in OER at OUNL

(former Rector OUNL 2000 – 2010)

Chair EADTU’s OpenupEd Initiative

1

NOUN Senate Meeting9 September 2014

skype@Lagos / Nigeria

Changinglandscape

in (open) HE

2

Higher Education: two worlds

INNOVATIVE /‘OPEN’

CONVENTIONAL /‘CLOSED’

Open and Distance Learning / ODL

Lifelong Open Flexible / LOF learning

OUs (incl. DTUs)

Variety of Associations / Consortia

ICDE EADTU AAOU ACDE …Conferences Seminars Taskforces

OneCentury(+)

Classroom ‘campus’-based learning

Young students & Fixed in time/place

Mainstream, wide variety in focus:

research/education, large/small, …

IAU EUA AUAP AAU … Conferences Seminars Taskforces

ManyCenturies

3

Open Higher Education: two worlds

CLASSICAL /ESTABLISHED

INNOVATIVE /EMERGING

Open and Distance Learning / ODL

Lifelong Open Flexible / LOF learning

OUs (incl. DTUs)

Variety of Associations / Consortia

ICDE EADTU AAOU ACDEConferences Seminars Taskforces

OneCentury(+)

Open Educational Resources / OER

Massive Open Online Courses / MOOCs

Wide variety of Initiatives

MIT OERu P2Pu edX Coursera

OCWC CC Hewlett F. OpenEdCommunities Forums Conferences

OneDecade(+)

4

Three existential (naughty) questions1 Are we meanwhile thrown back

into the ‘conventional’ world indeed?

2 Are we too much ‘blinded’ by feelingsof contextual uncertainty, risks, and threats?

3 Shouldn’t we get back to our ‘roots’ andembrace OER/MOOCs as ‘fundamental’ to our model?

3 X YES, …

HOW ABOUT NOUN?

5

Open (ing up)Education

as initiatedin Europe

6

EU launch in Sept 2013Opening up Education (OuE)

Finally but Timely

Relevant and Significant

Phrasing plus Budget (2014-2020)

Two major goals•Innovate teaching and learning for all through ICT

•Reshape / modernize EU education through OER

(for all educational sectors and levels)

7

Terminology: ‘OuE’ well-chosen

Open(ing up) Education (OuE)seems a subtle change to OE

but is pretty relevant …

OuE underlines the dynamics and the process(there is no fixed model for education over time)

OuE can adequately accommodate diversity(there is no single ideal model for education)

Brings in Nuance

8

Considerations & Deliberations

@ EADTU& ICDE

9

2012 EADTU Conference(last keynote slide)

OUs should …

… seriously consider a transition to become

(the) European OER Universities

… enter the MOOCs world with EU-OU style MOOCs

which will clearly have more added value for learners

than the rather basic US-based MOOCs

10

2012 ICDE SCOP Meeting(last keynote slide / ICDE recommendations)

11

OuE (&OER) is fundamental to the OUsIt is not enough nor adequate to just include it - and

pretty hidden - in 1/5 strategic objectives

European OUs prepared tolaunch a joint MOOCs initiative

ICDE members in other regions might join in a

decentralized model; could serve all 5 objectives

Launch of OpenupEd April 2013Joint press release EADTU & European Commission

Mission: contribute to Opening up Education and

cherish the values: Equity, Quality, and DiversityLearner-at-the-Centre & Self-study

High-quality Learning Materials

Diversity in Language & Culture

Public Domain & Decentralized

In Tradition of acclaimed Open Universities model

First and so far only pan-European MOOCs initiative

12

2013 ICDE Conference China(conclusion slide @ panel contribution)

Do we allow our institutions and their good work

for learners and society to be ‘DISRUPTED’?(RE-ACTIVE strategy)

… OR …

Do we rediscover our mission and

fully utilize and profile the power of ‘OPEN’?(PRO-ACTIVE strategy)

Five years after ICDE’s ‘Golden Combi’ Report …

13

What about‘Open’?

14

What about ‘Open’in the digital world?

Family regarding free online availability:Open Source

(software)

Open Access(scientific output)

Open Content(creative output)

Open Educational Resources / OER(learning materials)

15

Open Education

Open Learning (1971 OU-UK; other OUs)

Open CourseWare (2001: MIT)

Open Educational Resources (2002: UNESCO)

Open Education (2008: Cape Town Declaration)

Massive Open Online Courses (2011: xMOOCs / 2008: cMOOCs)

Opening up Education (2013: EU)

16

What about ‘Open’ in education?

What about ‘Open’ in OER?

“OER are teaching, learning, and research resources

that reside in the public domain or have been released

under an intellectual property license that permits

their free use and re-purposing by others.

Open educational resources include full courses,

course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos,

tests, software, and any other tools, materials,

or techniques used to support access to knowledge.”

(Hewlett Foundation)

17

What about ‘Open’ in MOOCs?Massive Open Online Courses

Courses: courses, mostly in a fixed schedule of n weeks, to be completed with a certificate of participation (and sometimes - through third parties, proctored and with a fee - with a for- credit-certificate)

Online: through internet, generally based on video lectures + facilitated interaction + automated feedback and self-tests

Massive: many participants: the first xMOOC had 160.000, but meanwhile after the enormous MOOCs expansion …

Open: freely accessible (no fee, no entry requirements), independent on place and time, but ‘open’ is more …

18

19

OER ≠ Open EducationMOOCs ≠ Open Education

More componentsare required …

Open Education: =

Open

Education

OER

OLS OTE

20

OLN OECOpen to

Employability &Capabilities

development

Open toLearners’

Needs

OpenLearningServices

OpenTeaching

Efforts

3x Supply2x Demand

5COE

5COE model = Five Components

for Open Education

OpenupEdMOOCs

21

OpenupEd partnershipAt the launch, from the EU:

France, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands,

Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, the UK

Outside the EU, from:Russia, Turkey, Israel

Planning to join, from the EADTU membership: Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France (+1),

Greece, Ireland, Poland (2x), Slovenia, Spain (+1)

Open to other partners: 20 requests worldwide

22

OpenupEd coursesAround 40 at the start (now around 175)

Wide variety in subjects and level

12 Languages

Scheduled or self-paced

20 to 200 hours of study

Recognition options:certificates of completion/participation, or badges,or paid for formal credit / ECTS (>100 courses)

23

OpenupEd common featuresOpenness to learners (in OUs tradition)

Digital openness (e.g. OER-based)

Learner-centred approach

Independent learning

Media-supported interaction

Recognition options

Quality focus

Spectrum of diversity

Not to be a straitjacket but ratherto give guidance on our principles

24

OpenupEd, a decentralized model …Institutions themselves are leading

OpenupEd central communication portal,a referatory to the institutional platforms

Driven by service to learners & society(rather than by revenue)

Positioned in the public domain (not-for-profit)(rather than the private sector)

25

… but centralized for qualityBranding: commonality in our eight features

(contributing to opening up education)

OpenupEd quality label requirement(launched Feb 2014 – CC licensed)

Continuous monitoring

Research and evaluation(common surveys; longitudinal)

26

27

Epilogue

Globalizing …Opening up Education could have global relevance and scope

Reaching out to OUs and its Associations in other regions

Start ‘OpenupEd alikes’: basic similarity in intentionand approach but with their own flavour and profile

Working in a global network of linked regional initiatives, maximizing benefits like common branding, sharing expertise

and content, and facilitating global learners

Explorative leadership workshops (jointly with UNESCO) • in the ACDE Conference (June 2014 ),

followed up by the NOUN Workshop• prior to the AAOU Conference (Oct 2014),

prepared through two Web Conferences

28

European (EADTU) experience …MOOCs easier than OER to establish a joint effort(OER stronger tied with institutional characteristics)

Surprising speed because of a strong urgency feeling

MOOCs activities integrated with regular operations:• synergy

• efficiency• different entries into education• smooth transitions for learners

• still with new large target groups• opportunity of reputational gain

29

Institutional Strategy …Adapt your institutional strategy to Open up Education

Merge at the strategic level your OER and MOOCs initiativesAlign the culture and competencies among the staff

OER-ize your course base hand-in-handwith a clever selection for MOOC-ification

In 5 years say: 50% of all courses to be OER-ized, of which 20 courses to be offered as high-quality and attractive MOOCs

In 10 years say: 100% OER-ization of the courses, of which 40high-quality and attractive MOOCs

Scenario easier to explain to outer world and NOUN staffand capitalizing on the marketing power of the MOOCs

30

31

Thanks foryour attention!fred.mulder@ou.nl