Oer production processes, a quest for efficiency

Production of OERA Quest for Efficiency

Tina Wilson, OU UK

Willem van Valkenburg, Delft University of Technology

Robert Schuwer, Open Universiteit

Agenda

• Introduction

• Approach

• Three cases

• Conclusions

Introduction

• Why this subject?– Process to create OER has to fit into your

context– Efficiency is important– What characteristics determine efficiency of

production of OER?

• Only looking for characteristics specifically for OER and not for regular courses

Approach

• Determine an initial set of characteristics– Analyzing OPAL description of projects– Wikiversity and WikiEducator

• Describe three projects along the characteristics

• Compare the projects– Variable: cost per course (labour costs are

most important cost driver)

Types of OER processes

Production process # Remarks

Derived from existing regular “closed” course materials

31 Sometimes as part of the mainstream process and sometimes using a workflow additional to the mainstream process

Additional “raw” materials from existing “closed” courses, but relatively easy to produce

7 E.g. videocasts or podcasts of classes

Course materials especially produced for an OER repository

7 In most cases additional to the first mentioned scenario

Other models 2 User generated materials

Not described/not applicable 22 Not applicable: creating a portal or create communities

Case 1: OpenER

• OU Nederland one of 14 universities in NL

• with a specific Profile:Lifelong, Open, and Flexible (LOF) learning

• over 20.000 students

• Philosophy: OER is the ultimate form of openness for an Open University

OpenER project

• Objectives: > lowering thresholds for access to formal HE> widening and increasing participation in HE

• 2006-2008. Site launched on December 5, 2006• 27 courses, mostly 1 ECTS size• Student centered (self learning materials)

Production process

Process characteristicsAvailability of existing (raw) materials Not in repository

Availability of registration of IP for existing learning materials

Yes

Organisation of Quality Assurance QA by peer review

Experience of course authors Very experienced

Size and activities of the supporting staff department

Small

The degree in which the process is standardized or automated

Low

Consumers are able to add new content to the OER repository

No

A whole course can be divided in separate OER units

Yes

Type of OER created Mostly text (pdf). In some courses video (tailormade) and interactive elements.

The publishing platform for OER eduCommons (different from platform for regular courses)

Costs of development of a course (average, min, max)

€ 9,000 (€3,500 - €30,000) for a 25 hr course (total 27 courses).

Case 2: OpenLearn• The UK Open University has been developing high

quality distance learning materials for 40 years,

• ‘The philosophy of Open Content is entirely commensurate with The Open University’s mission to equalise access to high quality educational opportunities … particularly among educationally marginalised groups’.

(Open Content Initiative, 2006; Appendix L and H).

OpenLearn

• OpenLearn is funded by the William and Flora Hewlett foundation.

• The site was launched on 25th Oct 2006

• OpenLearn – supports twin sites:

- the LearningSpace – a supported open learning site for learners; and

- the LabSpace – a supported community building site for creators

Models for transformation

• The integrity model: very similar to original, as complete as possible, study as the original;

• The essence model: source material cut back, keep essential features, text into shorter blocks;

• The remix model: source material is starting point, redesigned for web delivery.

Lane (2006) ‘From Pillar to Post: …’http://kn.open.ac.uk/public/document.cfm?documentid=9724

Key stages of Integrity Model

Process characteristicsAvailability of existing (raw) materials

Content (in most cases) was transformed from printed analogue texts from the digital version held in the OUUK production storage system.

Availability of registration of IP for existing learning materials

Yes

Organisation of Quality Assurance

QA in the LearningSpace was performed as extensive peer review and external examiner reporting. QA for learning materials in the LabSpace is performed by consumers instead of by the institution (on ‘dated’ material and uploaded content)

Experience of course authors Very experienced

Size and activities of the supporting staff department

Originally a large team for setting up systems, now a small team

The degree in which the process is standardized or automated

High

Consumers are able to add new content to the OER repository

Yes

A whole course can be divided in separate OER units

Yes

Type of OER created Mix of media including text (mostly in XML but some as pdf), images, video, audio, animations and simulations.

The publishing platform for OER Twin Websites on a Moodle enhanced platform (although bespoke Drupal site being used for more recent third website)

Costs of development of a course (average, min, max)

On average approximately £3000 (€3600) (10 hrs study).

Case 3: Delft University of Technology

• TU Delft is a traditional brick-and-mortar university in The Netherlands

• 17,000 students and 5,000 staff

"TU Delft is dedicated to finding sustainable solutions for social problems. The university's core tasks include delivering know-how and building knowledge networks in an international context. OpenCourseWare is one of the means by which we are contributing to this mission".Jakob Fokkema, former Rector Magnificus

TU Delft OpenCourseWare

• Started in 2007 with 10 courses, now 40 courses

• Courses are based on existing course material in Blackboard

ContentLay-out

CooperateIdentity

Author rightsUpload content

Metadata

Staff member Bureau OpenER

Peer review Adjustments

Faculty/department

Guidelines for our OCW-courses

• Quality of the resources

• Completeness

• Copyright

• Suitability for self-study

Regular students profit from the enhancements as well

Process characteristicsAvailability of existing (raw) materials

In Blackboard, not available for outside the university

Availability of registration of IP for existing learning materials

Yes

Organisation of Quality Assurance QA by peer review

Experience of course authors Varies between instructors

Size and activities of the supporting staff department

Small

The degree in which the process is standardized or automated

High

Consumers are able to add new content to the OER repository

No

A whole course can be divided in separate OER units

No

Type of OER created Text (pdf) with video stream

The publishing platform for OER Typo3 CMS

Costs of development of a course (average, min, max)

Bureau OpenER pays € 1000 per ECTS to the instructor. The instructor pays the student assistants. 1 ECTS stands for 28 hour. The bureau OpenER spends between 10 and 15 hours for a course. On average it is 3 hours per ECTS. Total average costs are € 1200 per ECTS.

Comparison

• Characteristics having the most influence are (not surprising):– The part of the process that is automated. The more

is automated, the less costs.– The size of the supporting staff– The type of OER created. The more interactive and

multimedia elements, the higher the costs. However, the use of these technologies makes these course materials more accessible for a wider variety of learners.

More research

• Are OER so special? Research regular course development?

• Are the characteristics used the only ones?

• Connect context of production to characteristics (contingency)

Hondjevandirkje @ Flickr.com