Open Educational Resources (OER) are an increasingly rich source of teaching and learning materials, with rapid global growth across widely varied learning environments and contexts. The OER movement has matured from innovative upstart to an important driver in the field of education, but much work remains to be done. Teachers, administrators, advocates, funders, and policymakers are looking for ways to strategically leverage the impact of existing and future open resources – including content, tools, and policies – on education.
As the quantity and diversity of open resources grow and different OER models emerge, what concrete actions can be taken to advance innovative teaching and learning on a global scale? How do we engage questions and challenges around accessibility, equity, and efficacy?
The focal point of this year’s meeting is Education – the “E” in OER – with the goal of collectively developing an action-oriented roadmap for increasing OER’s impact across different educational contexts, from classrooms to informal learning settings.
The OER field is a dynamic one that involves many diverse players. During this year’s OER Grantees Meeting, three overlapping but analytically distinct stakeholder groups will form the central lenses of our inquiry: learners (“demand side”), facilitators (“interfaces”), and builders (“supply side”). Data, narratives, and the role of supportinig infrastructure will be considered via a variety of formats, including presentations, moderated discussions, small group meetings, and exhibitions.
The meeting will begin on the evening of April 10th with an informal activity during which teams of attendees will work together to create a heat map of the current state of play of the OER ecosystem. This session will be followed by a presentation of the Hewlett Foundation’s 2012 OER strategic goals, including an update on its deeper learning strategy and a deep dive into OER.
On April 11th, the meeting’s first segment will map the current OER landscape, utilizing a field perspective to identify trends in the production, dissemination, and use of OER resources across different educational settings. Empirically-informed deep dives will provide the basis for dicussion, with a particular focus ont he important factors that influence the production, ubiquity, and accessibility for OER.
The second segment will feature a series of case studies highlighting OER practices in different learning and teaching environments. Participants will develop and exchange narratives, data, and experiences regarding the challenges and opportunities for growth of OER and identify specific points of connection, leverage, collaboration, and intervention.
The third segment will center on the core infrastructure that needs to be strengthened or created in order to increase the impact of OER in diverse contexts on a global scale. Participants will debate and explore pillars of the OER ecosystem including high quality supply, implementable standards, and supportive policies.
- Deepen understanding of the OER ecosystem with a particular focus on the factors that influence the production, ubiquity, and accessibility of open resources for education;
- Identify ways to increase OER’s impact across different cultures, communities, and formal and informal settings of learning and teaching;
- Communicate and discuss field-wide goals for 2012 against the backdrop of Hewlett’s OER strategic goals and a description of the current state of OER from a field perspective;
- Increase visibility and awareness of OER projects among grantees, identifying powerful narratives and best practices and highlighting areas of collaboration and future intervention;
- Enrich a community of practice through conversation and by identifying opportunities for collaboration; and
- Develop an action-oriented roadmap to leverage OER’s impact on education that reflects these objectives and takes into account the field-wide goals for 2012.