This week’s topic has inspired and energized me into revisiting notions I’ve had for a few years. Unfortunately, I’ve found that whenever I try to take them forward there is such inertia from within the institution that they never get off the ground or they falter shortly afterwards. One area that I have found particularly frustrating has been trying to get institutional buy-in to the development, production and use of Open Educational Resources (OERs). There just doesn’t seem to be the interest or passion at the top level. However, the efforts David has made and continues to make are inspiring.
David Wiley: iSummit ’08 Keynote Address from isummit 08 on Vimeo.
David wasn’t afraid to make mistakes, as he outlined in the video. I should also learn from my own past ‘failures’ (for example the disappointments expressed in my previous post) and use them as a springboard to try again and achieve more.
To this end I’ve decided to develop a grassroots community approach to openness within my institution. To achieve this I’ll need to put together a convincing argument that senior management will allow me to take forward. I wonder if members of MOOC Change11 will help me to develop this argument throughout this week (week 5)? Here are some potential questions I need answers to.
- What points do you think would be useful to make? Are the following useful for a community to discuss?
- What technologies would be appropriate for the community members to use to produce & host OERs?
- How can we promote the use of Open Journals for publishing research?
- How can the reuse of OERs be encouraged within the institution?
- Can we aggregate appropriate subject specific open content as a community for within the institution and beyond?
- How can we promote the sole use of open content and open textbooks within a course?
- How can I convince management that a grassroots approach would be appropriate?
- Would it be sustainable as a venture?
- Would it have any direct benefits for the institution?
I look forward to any input or advice you can give. Many thanks.
