Group Admins
Description
The OER movement has long recognised a need to self-organise and systematically collectevidence about its impact and effectiveness (D’Antoni, 2013; McAndrew et al., 2013). The OERWorld Map (oerworldmap.org) has been funded by the Hewlett Foundation since 2014 toprovide an overview of the global OER movement. The project is led by the North Rhine-Westphalian Library Service Centre (hbz) in collaboration with The Open University (UK) andBerlin based graphthinking GmbH. An overview of the state of the project is provided byNeumann & Ostrowski (2017).There are currently more than 800 organisations; 400 projects; 400 services, 280 expert users and180 events registered on the map. Combined with the recently introduced data types of‘publications’ and ‘tools’ the platform allows users to map and link all relevant elements of OERecosystems with hitherto unknown precision and reliability.Visual maps are one way of exploring what is essentially a highly sophisticated database oflinked open data about OER actors and activities, but the platform supports other forms ofexploration including the export of statistics. In the case of Germany we have demonstrated whatis possible with a coordinated effort to collect comprehensive information for one country. TheOER Atlas (Neumann & Muuß-Merholz, 2016) presents more than 100 pages of structuredinformation about OER in Germany and surrounding areas and serves as a comprehensiveoverview. The further extended OER Atlas 2017 will be published by the end of November 2017(Neumann & Muuß-Merholz, 2017).There is no equivalent to this overview available in the UK. In recent years there has beenreduced funding available for OER programmes and there remains a need to co-ordinate activity.In this session we would like to explore how the OER World Map could serve the needs of OERpractitioners in the UK through a structured group discussion covering topics like: establishing ashared vision for UK OER; strategies for coordinating data collection; sharing successes;“lighthouse” projects (Neumann, 2017); and opportunities for networking through the platform.Concrete examples from the OER World Map will be used to demonstrate successful practiceand delegates will be invited to contribute suggestions for future activity. Delegates can bringtheir own device (preferably laptop or tablet) and add/edit their data on the map in real time.
References
D’Antoni, S. (2013). A world map of Open Educational Resources initiatives: Can the globalOER community design and build it together? Summary report of an international conversation:12–30 November 2012. https://oerknowledgecloud.org/content/world-map- open-educational-resources-initiatives- can-global- oer-community- design-and- build-iMcAndrew, P., Farrow, R., Law, P., & Elliot-Cirigottis, G. (2012). “Learning the Lessons ofOpenness” in Comas-Quinn, A., Fitzgerald, A., & Fairweather, I. (eds.) Journal of InteractiveMedia in Education. Special Issue Cambridge OER 2012.http://jime.open.ac.uk/article/download/2012-10/450Neumann, J. & Muuß-Merholz, J. (2016) (eds.). OER Atlas: Open Educational Resources:Akteure und Aktivitäten in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz. http://open-educational-resources.de/16/atlas/Neumann, J. & Muuß-Merholz, J (2017) (eds.). OER Atlas 2017: Open Educational Resources(OER) – Deutschsprachige Angebote und Projekte im Überblick.https://oerworldmap.wordpress.com/2017/11/28/printing-the- oer-world- map-oer- atlas-2017/Neumann, J. & Ostrowski, F. (2017). OER World Map – Platform Presentation December 2017.https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_M3xiW3FZa48UpqakDMkwlqaltFMlz4wgWpTkSrAjug/edit?usp=sharingNeumann, J. (2017). Identifying Lighthouses.https://oerworldmap.wordpress.com/2017/11/27/identifying-lighthouses/
