What Makes an Open Education Program Sustainable? The Case of Connexions

1. What Makes an Open Education Program Sustainable? The Case of Connexions Richard Baraniuk Paul Dholakia W. Joseph King Rice University

2. emergence of open education • Open education projects (OEPs) • parallel developments in open source software • free access to quality teaching materials that can be customized and personalized to match local contexts • Strong growth of OEPs • Different models • open software platform Sakai, Moodle, eduCommons • institutional model MIT OCW • single discipline focus Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy • commons model Connexions

3. OEP sustainability • Common challenge for all OEP models • Defined here as “long-term viability and stability of the OEP” • Challenging • traditional revenue models from educational settings do not apply • due to explosive OEP growth, fierce competition for scarce financial resources

4. asking the right questions regarding sustainability • First blush question: “How do we acquire an ongoing adequate stream of financial resources in the future to keep our project running?” • leads to tactical program consideration, selection • revenue model seen as central issue • often results in failure • Such an approach may be myopic

5. why is this view myopic? • Focuses too much attention on the “product” – features of the OEP and technology underlying it • Not enough attention on • understanding what its users want • deliberately growing the OEP’s value for various user groups

6. our approach to sustainability • Prior to considering different revenue models, OEP organizers should consider and focus on the issue of increasing the aggregate value of the site to its constituents to the greatest extent possible • focus on gaining and maintaining a critical mass of active, engaged users • provide substantial and differentiated value to them • gain deep understanding of the users • Naturally leads to revenue-generation opportunities

7. Connexionsoverview

8. born of frustration – 1999 • difficult to “connect” across concepts, courses, grades, curricula • ex: math to science to engineering to applications • grade K | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | … | 10 | 11 | 12 | AP | CC | college • curricular stove-piping, disintegration in spite of … • research indicating that study / educationis made meaningful by connections to other fields • difficult to engage students in interactive exploration • “I hear, I forget; I see, I remember; I do, I understand” • difficult to build communities, collaborationsamong faculty, students • inefficiencies: no economies of scale, glacial time scales

9. disconnects author publishing shutouts Български Hausa कश्मीरी لعربية Gàidhlig Ido 日本語 Українська Español Laal Français Česky Swahili தமிழ 한국어

10. createripmixburn vibrant interactivecommunityconnectedinnovativeup-to-date

11. createripmixburn vibrant interactivecommunityconnectedinnovativeup-to-date

12. book shelf closed $ years >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> page interconnected global repository open free seconds

13. knowledge ecosystem inclusive community grassrootsorganization français hausa english Українська தமிழ لعربية 日本語 español

14. create rip mix burn

15. français hausa english Українська தமிழ لعربية 日本語 español

16. our approach to sustainability • Prior to considering different revenue models, OEP organizers should consider and focus on the issue of increasing the aggregate value of the site to its constituents to the greatest extent possible • focus on gaining and maintaining a critical mass of active, engaged users • fostering communities • building collaborations • provide substantial and differentiated value to them • gain deep understanding of the users • Naturally leads to revenue-generation opportunities

17. users 1 –communities

18. DSP community stanford illinois michigan wisconsin berkeley ohio state ga tech utep rice cambridge norway italy

20. DSPanish Connexions for theAmericas

22. catherine schmidt-jones 600,000+ page views per month growingusercommunityof US K-12musicteachers

23. users 2 – institutionalcollaborators

24. national instruments

25. national instruments

26. texas instruments

27. ncpea

28. Teachers Without Borders “For our teachers, one size never fits all” Jane Goodall International Spokesperson for TWB

29. Vietnam opencourseware MOET

30. Vietnam opencourseware MOET

31. collaborators AMD “open-source culture” Jeff WrightDean of Engineering UNESCO North Korea Cambridge University PressIBM – Sakai/Connexions integration

32. understanding the users

33. understanding Connexions’ users • Authors • main goal not to earn royalty, rather to have maximum impact (traditional engineering book costs $120 at retail, author earns < $5) • diverse: from professors to “shut-outs” • Instructors • often have hectic teaching schedule, want a repository of educational materials in a reusable, modular format • Students • first visit Connexions through a search engineor because instructor mandates it

34. how to grow Connexions’ value for these users • Increase equity of the Connexions brand (by staying true to our values) • Content that is high-quality, ample, modular, continually updated, personalized-on-assembly, published-on-demand • An engaged and involved user community • Site usability

35. Connexions’ brand equity • Brand equity = the added (usually intangible) value endowed to products or services by the brand • Especially important in the crowded, ever-expanding OEP domain • Two key challenges to increasing equity: • to increase awareness among OEP’s potential user base • to create a differentiated, consistent, and meaningful brand image through brand associations

36. Connexions’ user community • Key goal: foster community among users • OEP communities form and grow through a three-stage process: Stage 1: community as a resource Stage 2: community as a user network Stage 3: engaged, vibrant community

37. Connexions’ user community • Each Connexions module has a discussion forum (USU OLI) • Authors can create “member profile” web pages to tell Connexions users about themselves

38. revenue modelsfor sustainability

39. Connexions’ sustainability • Connexions online • free • forever • Offload costs and responsibility • partnerships • open source development of Rhaptos • distributed repository • Generate mission support revenue • support core project • support developing world & financially disadvantaged

40. book printing books+ modular authored by community continuously updated personalized on assembly published on demand inexpensive

41. show me the money “publish on demand” changes the economics of publishing impending disintermediationof publishing industry $ long tail HarryPotter Connexions

42. example: RUP & university press initiative

43. closed, downsized,restructured • Rice University Press (closed – 1996) • University of Idaho Press (closed) • Northeastern University Press (closed) • University of Georgia Press (downsized) • University of Iowa Press (downsized) • University of Washington Press (downsized) • Texas Tech University Press (downsized) • Stanford University Press (restructured) • University of Michigan Press (restructured)

44. why? • Editorial • manual process • slow • Production • small runs (300-1000) are expensive • bindings, color very expensive • Inventory • shipped, stored, tracked, etc. • Marketing • exposure very limited

45. Connexions’ solution • Editorial • entirely digital process • fast(er) • Production • relationship with QOOP • book is not made until it is sold • highly customized • Inventory • none • Marketing • exposure very broad

46. the Connexions/QOOP enabler • Connexions • digital publication platform • widely searched content commons • customizable • scaleable architecture • QOOP • on-demand press • customers include Google, Yahoo, etc. • book is not made until it is sold • highly customized, using CNXML source • handles billing

47. rice university press • Rice University Press re-starts as all digital press within Connexions (2007) • RUP is exploring joint publications • University of Michigan Press • Stanford University Press • Chicago University Press • Columbia University Press • Texas Medical Center • National Academies • Partner presses are likely candidates for future migration to Connexions platform

48. branding • Portal • rup.cnx.org • rup.rice.edu (re-directed to above) • Style sheet • press-specific • Print options • press-specific • user-specific • Press communities • interaction with readers

49. Connexions economics • Consortium fee covers direct costs (content facilitation, customization, portal, etc.) • $5K-$50K/year • possibly co-lo staff with Connexions • 15% Mission Support Fee • 10% goes to directly fund operations • $3/book on average • 5% (+5% QOOP match) goes to fund free books for economically disadvantaged

50. mission support fee