Module 6
The OER Life Cycle
This module is adapted from the work of Santally Issack and an article published in The European Journal of Open, Distance and E-learning with the title: OERs in Context – Case Study of Innovation and Sustainability of Educational Practices at the University of Mauritius (http://www.eurodl.org/?p=current&article=419)
Instructional Design Process
Through the years various approaches to instructional design of materials have been developed. The process can be described in the following diagram:
How does this process compare to the OER Life Cycle described in the above article?
Summary - The OER Life Cycle
1. Prepare
- Module Specifications Sheet (Outline, Duration, Learning Outcomes, Assessment Criteria, Learning Units Description).
- Context of Use (whether mainstream educational system through programmes of studies or short professional development courses or both).
- Identify type of Open Licensing to be used.
- Selection of the pedagogical strategy and instructional techniques.
For a tutorial on how to identify an Open Licence: http://wikieducator.org/Open_Educational_Content/olcos/CHOOSE_a_license
2. Search and Classify
- Identify repositories to be used (e.g. Openlearn, Connexions, MIT, OERCommons, WikiEducator or Wikipedia etc).
- Look for related content – browse metadata, check licence type, check content quality, level, format, pedagogical approach, duration etc.
- Build a checklist of available content – classify according to the pertinent criteria above or as per one's requirements.
- Identify what is missing and what needs to be added, developed from scratch and/or adapted/repurposed/ recontextualised.
For a tutorial on how to search for OER: http://wikieducator.org/Open_Educational_Content/olcos/SEARCH
3. (re)Purpose
- Decontextualise highly adapted learning content.
- Rewrite material that is not contextually correct, write new materials to cater for those that are missing, and/or mix materials from different sources.
- Add context-related learning activities that meet the pedagogical approach selected.
For a tutorial on how to produce and remix OER: http://wikieducator.org/Open_Educational_Content/olcos/PRODUCE_%26_REMIX
4. Value Addition
- Add new learning/pedagogical scenarios that improve the learning experience of learners.
- Provide multiple modalities (such as animations and multimedia) for learning to suit individual preferences of learners (such as learning/cognitive styles).
- Provide multiple access/delivery modes to increase accessibility to learners with different constraints such as internet connection, limited bandwidth etc.
5. Publish and Deliver
- Publish on e-learning platform, stand-alone websites, and CD/DVD formats.
- Deliver the course to target audience.
- Monitor the learner progress and achievements and provide tutoring/technical support.
- Share in the different OER repositories or simply put the content available on your local website and let others know about it.
6. Review
- Gather feedback from learners on the course.
- Review content to improve the course for subsequent cohorts.
- Restart the cycle if there are changing requirements and/or to keep up-to-date with ongoing developments in the area or to check for other OER that have been published or improved.
The complimentary nature of the Instructional Design Process and the OER Life Cycle
When you map the OER Life Cycle unto the Instructional Design Process, you will get the following:
Activity 6
Discuss the complimentary nature of the Instructional Design Process and the OER Life Cycle and how you can apply it in your own work.
Go to Concluding Remarks
Go to Concluding Remarks