I had a chat with some fellow educators over the weekend and the topic of my course work came up. When I started to describe some of the ideas we have been looking at over the weeks...copyright, copyleft, creative commons, OER's, MOOC's etc. Initially I was shocked when, with the exception of copyright, they had never heard of any of them! Then I got to thinking about where my knowledge level was at regarding what I will broadly refer to as the Open Movement, prior to starting OLTD. I was at the exact same place.
To be fair, both myself and my colleagues have likely been using/accessing some form of open resources during our quests for content and lesson ideas over the years...but we had never fully realized what is was we were participating in. Granted it was a one way participation when it came to web based resources, but we were participating nonetheless. We were oblivious to the larger movement that was growing around us. I am definitely not the first one to observe this. One blog that I stumbled upon, The Ed Techie, had an interesting take where Martin Weller lays out what he refers to as, "The Iceberg Model of OER Engagement". Weller sees OER usage broken down into one of three categories as shown below. I would argue that these categories could just as easily translate to the larger Open Movement.
"Primary OER usage – this group is “OER aware”, in that the term itself will have meaning for them, they are engaged with issues around open education, are aware of open licences and are often advocates for OERs. This group has often been the focus of OER funding, conferences and research, with the focus on growing the ranks of this audience.
Example: Community college teacher who adopts, and contributes to open textbooks
Secondary OER usage – this group may have some awareness of OERs, or open licences, but they have a pragmatic approach to them. OERs are of secondary interest to their primary task, usually teaching. OERs (and openness in general) can be seen as the substratum which allows some of their practice to flourish, but they are not aware, or interested in open education itself, rather in their own area, and therefore OERs are only of interest to the extent that they facilitate innovation or efficiency in this.
Example: Flipped learning teacher who uses Khan academy, TED talks and some MERLOT OERs in their teaching.
Tertiary OER usage – this group will use OERs amongst a mix of other media and often not differentiate between them. Awareness of licences is low and not a priority. OERs are a ‘nice to have’ option but not essential, and users are often largely consuming rather than creating and sharing.
Example: A student studying at university who uses iTunes U materials to supplement their taught material."
Reflecting on these proposed levels, it was clear to me that I was most definitely in the tertiary category prior to entering OLTD. I feel a strange sense of accomplishment (I love lists for that!) in that at this point I feel I have fully graduated to the secondary level. The primary however still eludes me. I feel like I am dabbling in it with OLTD 505, but I definitely still have a long way to go. I'm not sure if I will ever fully embrace the 'Primary OER group', but regardless of where I end up, I have no doubt that I will peek up from the secondary level from time to time.
I have no hard data other that the multitude of impromptu conversations I have had with colleagues over the past several months, but it seems clear to me that the teachers in my district are very much at a tertiary level. It would also seem clear that if the Open Movement is to see growth, it is going to have to occur at a grassroots level. I'm not sure how we accomplish this...that is perhaps a topic for another day...but I would venture a guess that it will have to involve conversations between those of us at the upper two levels, and our colleagues who may be at the bottom. As I mentioned earlier, most educators I would guess are already involved with OER's in some capacity...I think it just takes a small shift to think about them on a more conscious and meaningful level. If one were as bold as Dean Shareski, one might say we as educators have a moral imperative to raise awareness of OER's...I am not so bold
To be fair, both myself and my colleagues have likely been using/accessing some form of open resources during our quests for content and lesson ideas over the years...but we had never fully realized what is was we were participating in. Granted it was a one way participation when it came to web based resources, but we were participating nonetheless. We were oblivious to the larger movement that was growing around us. I am definitely not the first one to observe this. One blog that I stumbled upon, The Ed Techie, had an interesting take where Martin Weller lays out what he refers to as, "The Iceberg Model of OER Engagement". Weller sees OER usage broken down into one of three categories as shown below. I would argue that these categories could just as easily translate to the larger Open Movement.
"Primary OER usage – this group is “OER aware”, in that the term itself will have meaning for them, they are engaged with issues around open education, are aware of open licences and are often advocates for OERs. This group has often been the focus of OER funding, conferences and research, with the focus on growing the ranks of this audience.
Example: Community college teacher who adopts, and contributes to open textbooks
Secondary OER usage – this group may have some awareness of OERs, or open licences, but they have a pragmatic approach to them. OERs are of secondary interest to their primary task, usually teaching. OERs (and openness in general) can be seen as the substratum which allows some of their practice to flourish, but they are not aware, or interested in open education itself, rather in their own area, and therefore OERs are only of interest to the extent that they facilitate innovation or efficiency in this.
Example: Flipped learning teacher who uses Khan academy, TED talks and some MERLOT OERs in their teaching.
Tertiary OER usage – this group will use OERs amongst a mix of other media and often not differentiate between them. Awareness of licences is low and not a priority. OERs are a ‘nice to have’ option but not essential, and users are often largely consuming rather than creating and sharing.
Example: A student studying at university who uses iTunes U materials to supplement their taught material."
Reflecting on these proposed levels, it was clear to me that I was most definitely in the tertiary category prior to entering OLTD. I feel a strange sense of accomplishment (I love lists for that!) in that at this point I feel I have fully graduated to the secondary level. The primary however still eludes me. I feel like I am dabbling in it with OLTD 505, but I definitely still have a long way to go. I'm not sure if I will ever fully embrace the 'Primary OER group', but regardless of where I end up, I have no doubt that I will peek up from the secondary level from time to time.
I have no hard data other that the multitude of impromptu conversations I have had with colleagues over the past several months, but it seems clear to me that the teachers in my district are very much at a tertiary level. It would also seem clear that if the Open Movement is to see growth, it is going to have to occur at a grassroots level. I'm not sure how we accomplish this...that is perhaps a topic for another day...but I would venture a guess that it will have to involve conversations between those of us at the upper two levels, and our colleagues who may be at the bottom. As I mentioned earlier, most educators I would guess are already involved with OER's in some capacity...I think it just takes a small shift to think about them on a more conscious and meaningful level. If one were as bold as Dean Shareski, one might say we as educators have a moral imperative to raise awareness of OER's...I am not so bold