Abstract
We focus on the experiences and attitudes of a small group of academics, new to the concept of OER, who developed open resources for the first time as part of a UK funded project, <a href="http://www.ucl.ac.uk/calt/cpd4he/">CPD4HE</a>. This work was located within an on-going national OER programme, which has stimulated development of resources and research into related issues such as motivators and barriers, usage and impact. Analysis of texts generated during the development process revealed that the novice OER developers engaged particularly with licensing and IPR issues, the nature of their audience and some technical challenges, as well as with the practicalities of project participation. The texts also illustrate collaborative and community-building aspects of OER development; teacher-developers supported one another with encouragement and feedback on resources, and participants established links with sector-wide networks in Open Education. Post-project 'professional conversations' between four of the academics suggest that the OER experience has raised awareness of open practices and that educational values, academic identity, authorship and approaches to IPR were key elements in a description of their experiences and their attitudes towards open education. Findings provide tentative support for suggestions in the literature about the transformative potential of creating open educational resources. <span class="sub_head">Keywords:</span> OER, Open Education, innovation, collaboration, academic practice, impact, academic values, academic identity, workplace writing, teaching
Highlights
Openness in education has caught the collective imagination of the HE sector and currently a certain enthusiasm to pursue openness is evident in a range of initiatives, among others: Open Access for research publications; the increased delivery and participation in MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses); international projects such as the Open Educational Resources (OERs) University (OERu); and UK sector-wide programmes to support the development of openly licensed materials and repositories
We focus on the experiences and attitudes of a small group of academics, new to the concept of OER, who developed open resources for the first time as part of a UK project, CPD4HE, funded by the HEA/JISC
The extent to which a 'communities of practice' paradigm helps describe academics' initiation and continued involvement in the broader Open Education movement and, drawing on work by Lea and Stierer (2009), we suggest that these OERs are examples of workplace writing that helps frame academic identities
Summary
Openness in education has caught the collective imagination of the HE sector and currently a certain enthusiasm to pursue openness is evident in a range of initiatives, among others: Open Access for research publications; the increased delivery and participation in MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses); international projects such as the OER University (OERu); and UK sector-wide programmes to support the development of openly licensed materials and repositories.As increased numbers of academics become involved in the broader Open Education movement, it would appear that the very act of participating in Open Education activities can transform attitudes and practices surrounding the sharing and dissemination of educational texts and materials. Openness in education has caught the collective imagination of the HE sector and currently a certain enthusiasm to pursue openness is evident in a range of initiatives, among others: Open Access for research publications; the increased delivery and participation in MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses); international projects such as the OER University (OERu); and UK sector-wide programmes to support the development of openly licensed materials and repositories. Commentaries and reflections, we explore these academics' thoughts about the ways in which working with OER involved issues of academic identity, educational values, authorship and a broader sense of awareness-raising. The extent to which a 'communities of practice' paradigm helps describe academics' initiation and continued involvement in the broader Open Education movement and, drawing on work by Lea and Stierer (2009), we suggest that these OERs are examples of workplace writing that helps frame academic identities
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