Good intentions: improving the evidence base in support of sharing learning materials

1. Lou McGill Sarah Currier Charles Duncan Peter Douglas Good intentions: improving the evidence base in support of sharing learning materials Open educational repositories: share, improve, reuse Thursday 26th March 2009

2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/royalty-free-images/139142408/ Resource producer

3. Primary consumer http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenny-pics/2432117840/

4. Resource http://www.flickr.com/photos/markhillary/829573216/

5. Resource Supplier http://www.flickr.com/photos/saar_cmd/509088837/

6. Resource consumer http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericmmartin/3222306911/

7. Resource sharing http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryanwick/2283058460/

8. Resource exchange http://www.flickr.com/photos/antonioacuna/394608502/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/striatic/131012552/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/laura_a/530116949/

9. Repurposed resource http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffcarlson/418350700/

10. Context of use/re-purposing http://www.flickr.com/photos/klara/21294855/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/gilgamesh/6712077/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/imipolexg/266653753/

11. Learning materials • 'sharing' implies intent – letting others use something of value that you have created or own (invested in) • could share openly or with specific groups • 'exchange' – parties offer/share some resource for mutual benefit • re-use/re-purposing imply sharing but this may not always be a conscious intent

12. Intent • Whilst sharing and exchange are processes (either conscious or not) it is the intent behind the various initiatives, activities and services that are important... • is sharing learning resources really feasible – why has it been so hard to do?

13. The problem • Millions (£) spent on creating learning content over more than a decade • Interoperability has advanced enormously over the same period • Barriers related to IPR have been identified and largely overcome (for example Creative Commons) • Yet there is no single compelling business case for sharing resources

14. Conflicting views? • “there is little tradition or articulated desire for sharing learning materials in the sector in the ways made possible by these technologies” TrustDR report, 2007 • 70% of respondents to a 2006 survey re-purposed resources created by othersCD-LOR Personal Resource Management Strategies Review

15. Objective • Improving the evidence base in support of sharing learning materials • June – December 2008 • Funded by

16. Research Study • Desk research and interviews • Symposium on Implementing National Learning Resources Repositories • Collating and analysing business models • Development of business cases for a variety of business models

17. Early thoughts • Sharing is not just about using formal repositories • Learning resources interpreted broadly • Business terminology not particularly relevant to learning & teaching practitioners • We do need to understand the 'business' in terms of knowing our market and 'consumers'

18. Business models and cases • Service • Various infrastructures that exist to support sharing • Business model • a mechanism to illustrate various aspects of an existing service • Business case • an articulation of the benefits of such a model

19. The paths we take http://www.flickr.com/photos/elfike/118283141/ • Business models that exist now reflect the history of our work to encourage sharing of learning resources... • Report offers an account of this history...

20. In-depth Case Studies • OpenLearn, UK, Open University • Jorum, UK, National Repository • NDLR, Ireland, National Repository • COLEG, Scotland, FE National Repository • IRISS Learning Exchange, Scotland, Social Work • IVIMEDS, International, Medicine • SURF WBL, UK, Cross-institutional • CELLS, Scotland, Cross-institutional, Life Sciences • EdShare, Southampton, UK, single institution

21. Open Sharing Models Studied • OpenLearn, UK • JorumOpen, UK • MIT OCW, US • NZ OER, New Zealand • Merlot, International • OER Commons, International • Connexions, Rice University US • Knowledge Hub, Mexico • BC Campus, Canada

22. Historical Models Studied • SeSDL, National, Scotland, Subject: IT Staff Development • HLSI, Regional, England • IVINURS, International, Subject: Nursing • JORUM+, National, UK • Stòr Cùram, National, Scotland, Subject: Social Work

23. Business model template • A template was developed to enable the articulation of a wide range of existing business models for sharing learning resources. • to identify common elements and key decision points • to highlight key points of connection between factors, decision making points, opportunities and stresses/restrictions.

24. Business model template

25. Finance models

26. Service models

27. Supplier/consumer models

28. Issues affecting models

29. Business Models • Subject-based sharing • Communities of practice; shared curriculum • Open sharing • No barriers; open access; open licences • Institutional sharing • Informal sharing • Media-focussed sharing

30. Lifecycle • Early experiments • Recognition of problems: IPR, culture, practice • Technology: interoperability, metadata • Growing and changing • Landscape has changed significantly • Funding: sustainability, adaptability • Maturing • Strong business cases

31. Business cases • a mechanism to help people decide which business model/s to adopt as appropriate • a process where they would automatically generate a context specific business case to support funding requests • encourages an approach which starts with the needs (required benefits) not a preferred model • no one model fits all and often a combination of models may be appropriate depending on the context • Helps to prioritise benefits and recognise that by making some business model choices certain benefits are more difficult to achieve • to support a dialogue within institutions by identifying what benefits the institution and wider community already enjoy from existing sharing activities.

32. Benefit levels • Benefit for the global community (13) • Benefit for the national community (13) • Benefit for the educational institution (15) • Benefit for individual teachers, tutors and learning support staff (8) • Benefit for individual learners, students (11)

33. Impact of business cases • Significant impact • Some impact • Possible with right conditions • No impact

35. Business cases - Global

36. Business cases - National

37. Business cases - Institutional

38. Business cases - Teachers

39. Business cases - Learners

40. National sharing scenario • Reflects government ideals of widening participation, encouraging effective utilisation of publicly funded collections of resources, promoting cross institutional collaboration, encouraging re-use and re-purposing and supporting lifelong learning • Obviously a national approach would be required to facilitate these benefits but combining this with an open approach (on a national scale) could add many benefits, particularly if this meant open to learners as well as those supporting learning and teaching. A CoP approach could support sustainability, and a subject-based approach would also support the development of a critical mass in different subject areas. A possible model to support this scenario would be an open national repository with access by students, possibly opened wider than the UK with subject based community support mechanisms to encourage sharing of practice, deposit of materials and re-use/re-purposing.

41. Conclusions • Report referred to in recent JISC OER call • Develop toolkit for institutions building business cases • Consider “intent” – know your objectives • Recognise that these may change through the lifecycle of any repository • Adapt, modify, sustain

42. Good intentions • The vision of a world where teachers in HE, FE and WBL/CPD would share and re-purpose their learning materials, using the Web as a medium, with the support of interoperability standards, and repository platforms utilising those standards has been with us for many years. • Despite our best efforts and good intentions we've not always moved forward as fast as we would have liked. And now we find that after all that work and, sometimes painful, experience our world has changed. • The evidence suggests that the landscape of policy, technology, and learning and teaching practice may have changed sufficiently for us to realise the vision.

43. Good intentions report and business cases available at • http://ie-repository.jisc.ac.uk/265/