This week I ventured to explore a number of OER projects and conduct a preliminary assessment of the reusability and remixability of the OER hosted in each. Based on earlier (albeit shallow) familiarity with some of these OER initiatives I am able to presume that the structure and technology of a selected sample OER from each is generally representative of all or most OER in the given project.

I undertook this task as Rogue Quest 1 for David Wiley’s Intro to Open Ed course. The Rogue character class that I’ve adopted focuses on content production with an emphasis on finding and releasing or untrapping "open" content to allow for reuse and remix. I have only theoretical experience with remixing OER, and so it is fitting that I begin at experience level 1.

Reuse/Remix Estimates
As I purview each of seven different OER projects I will give each collection a reuse/remix value rating based on my initial impressions and observations. These estimates may change as I move forward to release, reuse, or remix some of these OER.

My reuse/remix rating is a scale of 1 - 5, where "1" is extremely difficult or low value, and "5" is extremely easy or high value, referring to the act of taking CC content and reusing or remixing it on a separate server.

A "Christian Science Monitor" article about the OpenCourseWare movement, initiated by MIT in 2002.

A C-Net news article on an open content initiative by the South Korean government in order to bring a homegrown open-source platform to 10,000 schools in the country.

This UNU Book on ‘The Why and How of Open Education’ is an introduction to Open Education (OE), giving practical guidance on the design and delivery of OE courses while wrestling with theoretical considerations of this new and emerging domain. Educators are the main targets, but it will also be relevant to policy makers, senior education managers and the learning industry as a whole.

The book draws from three sources: first from well-established online learning ecosystems, including Open Source Software communities; second from existing Open Courses in traditional formal education and related design models such as the Meta-design framework (Fischer, 2007); and third from EU funded research and pilot projects: FLOSSCom (2006-2008), openSE (2009-2011) and openED (2009-2012). This piloting work enabled a thorough analysis and modification of assumptions that emerged from sources one and two.

The first chapter provides a brief introduction to the OE field, addressing the question: ‘Why Open Education?’. The second chapter presents cases from the openSE and openED projects on how OE might look in practice. Sustainability is as important for OE as for traditional formal education, so before joining any kind of OE venture it is important to have a clear understanding of how such a venture might be sustained, as discussed in chapter three. Theoretical considerations and practical guidance for the design and delivery of OE are presented in chapter four, ahead of concluding remarks and future prospects in the fifth and final chapter.

This ‘Version 1.0’ of the book is released together with the start of the openED course on ‘Business and Management Competencies in a Web 2.0 world’, whose second edition begins on 26 April 2011. It is also published in parallel with the re-launch of the openSE website, which is an OE framework for computer science software engineering.

A ‘Version 2.0’, with more in-depth findings from the openSE and openED projects and general improvements, is tentatively scheduled for summer 2012. Anyone interested in co-authoring this ‘Version 2.0’, be it with minor improvements or major extensions, are invited to read the editable version of this book at the following link and to correct minor mistakes ‘on the fly’!

Download or read the Book in Version 1.0 online at:

* http://www.scribd.com/doc/53332611/The-Why-And-How-Of-Open-Education-v-1-0

Co-Author the Version 2.0 of the book and read the editable Version 1.0 at the link below:

* www.openEdWorld.net

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With kind regards,
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Com os melhores cumprimentos

Andreas··Meiszner, PhD
____________________________
United Nations University
UNU-MERIT
Senior Researcher / Project Manager
Collaborative Creativity Group

Keizer-Karelplein 19
6211 TC Maastricht
The Netherlands
T +351 960 148400 (mobile)
Skype: andreasmeiszner
I www.merit.unu.edu

The purpose of open educational resources (OER) is to provide centralized access to materials and support the conditions under which new OER can be created globally and across disciplines. This article highlights the challenges to realizing these possibilities, discusses models that are emerging to address them, and calls for future research into OER use and reuse as a necessary next step in sustaining OER.

UNESCO’s international Community on Open Educational Resources has been active since 2005. It connects over 700 individuals in 105 countries to share information and discuss issues surrounding the production and use of Open Educational Resources.

To join the community, send a message to Catriona Savage at c.savage@unesco.org.

UNESCO’s work on Open Educational Resources is generously supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.