The OpenLearn Project

Professor David VincentPresident,European Association of Distance Teaching UniversitiesPro-Vice Chancellor, The Open University.

2

The Open University Project

• OpenLearn

• $10m Project, 2006-8

• $8.9m grant from William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

• Launch: October 25, 2006

3

Mission of the UK Open University

The Open University is open to people, places, methods and ideas.

It promotes educational opportunity and social justice by providing high-quality university education to all who wish to realise their ambitions and fulfil their potential.

Through academic research, pedagogic innovation and collaborative partnership it seeks to be a world leader in the design, content and delivery of supported open and distance learning.

4

OpenLearn

“The philosophy of open access and sharing knowledge is a wonderful fit with the founding principles of The Open University and with the University’s very strong commitment to open educational access and widening participation. The University will be developing forms of open content e-learning which will reach less experienced learners and, we hope, encourage an appetite for further learning.”

Professor Brenda GourleyVice-Chancellor of The Open University

5

Goals of OpenLearn

To make some of The Open University’s distance learningmaterials freely accessible in an international web-based open content environment and, in so doing, to advance open content delivery method technologies by:

• Deploying leading-edge learning management tools for learner support;

• Encouraging the creation of non-formal collaborative learning communities; and

• Enhancing international research-based knowledge about modern pedagogies for higher education.

6

OpenLearn Goals

• Utilise Moodle as the VLE platform;• Develop two complementary sites:

the Learning Space

the Lab Space • Have 900 learning hours in the Learning Space for initial launch in

October 2006 rising to 5400 hours at the end of two years;• Make a further 8100 hours of material available within the Lab

Space at the end of two years.• Add a range of open source collaborative learning tools to the Lab

Space devised by our Knowledge Media Institute.

7

Learning Space

• Structure based on ‘read only’ content supplemented by informal learning tools in Moodle such as learning journal, discussion groups, bookmarking, etc.

• Deliver through Moodle as resources plus activities• Mix of web authored, audiovisual and print authored content as

units of study• Range of media asset types and activities• Units of size 3 to 20 hours user engagement• Inclusion of quality assured material from the Lab Space

8

9

Lab Space

• Supply ‘read only’ content from Learning Space• Supply less well structured content from archives• Allow retrieval, editing, revision• Allow re-depositing of new version• Allow depositing of material generated by other creators• Research zone• Collaborative social computing tools• Fostering learning communities• Giving online teaching and learning a social life

10

FOR

LEARNERS

AND

EDUCATORSLearningspace PLUS

new content, versions, tools

11

Sense making tools

• Collaborative social computing tools

• Fostering learning communities– Educators– Learners– Other Users

• Giving teaching and learning a social life

12

Benefits to learners

• Testbed for improving study skills;

• Sample HE study before enrolling;

• Pursue in depth a topic that interests them;

• Discuss topics and share experiences with others;

• Refresh/update knowledge or skills

• Keep a personal record of what they have done.

13

Benefits to educators

• Investigate OU approach to teaching a particular topic;

• Download Units incorporation into courses;

• Reversion and localise Units for their own purposes;

• Share materials and ideas with other educators;

• Collaborate with others in developing new OERs.

14

Testing the Possibilities

• The practice of informal learning• The transition from informal to formal• Content and learning management tools• Widening access• Lifelong learning• The wisdom of the university crowd• Content and the university business model• Sustainability

15

May 2007

2703 LearningSpace Hours

4504 LabSpace Hours

23-25,000 Unique Visitors a Week

1m+ a year

93% non-OU students

16

Top 10 Units

• Exploring distance time graphs• Diversity and difference in communication• Manufacturing• The Enlightenment• Exploring data: graphs and numerical summaries• Children and violence: an introductory, international

and interdisciplinary approach• English grammar in context• Early development• Global warming• An introduction to business cultures

17

The Sustainability Debate

Dan Atkins, John Seely Brown, Allen Hammond, Review of the

Open Educational Resources (OER) Movement: Achievements,

Challenges and New Opportunities (February, 2007).

Andy Lane, The Open Content Initiative: Sustainability – boon

or burden (December 2005)

Stephen Downes, Models for Sustaining Open Educational

Resources (January 2006)

David Wiley, On the Sustainability of Open Education Resource

Initiatives in Higher Education (September, 2006)

18

Funding Models Downes:

• Endownment• Membership• Donations• Contributors Pay• Sponsorship• Institutional• Governmental

Dholakai:• Replacement• Foundation• Segmentation• Voluntary Support

19

PUBLIC GOOD

x3

x1

x2INSTITUTIONAL GOOD

SOCIAL GOOD

x4

State/Donor /Replacement Funding.

Sponsorship/Development Funding

Purchased Services/Advertising

The Model of Sustainability

20