OERu First Year of Study:
Open, Online, and International
Marc Singer
Thomas Edison State University
What is OERu, and where did it come from?
- Initial meeting in New Zealand 2011
- 202 attendees from 46 countries
- Otago, USQ, Athabasca, and UNESCO
Open Planning Meeting
What is that lowercase "u" about?
How it Works
- Members collaborate to develop free and open courses
- Course materials are made available to learners
- Assessments can be administered for a fee by any partner, toward credit or a credential
The Goal
To widen access to higher education for learners who currently don't have it.
Accomplishments (so far)
- Over 30 partners
- Dozens of courses created and available at Oeru.org
- Students have begun earning credit at low cost
- Technology solutions implemented--common platform
- OERu First Year of Study almost complete
Business
Certificate of Higher Education (Business Studies), University of Highlands and Islands
General Studies
Certificate of General Studies, Thompson Rivers University
Two exit credentials:
Current Efforts
- Course transfer and articulation
- Using open-source technology to develop and deliver courses
- Marketing and outreach
- Learner engagement
Challenges
Or, Is collaboration across continents all you dreamed it would be?
Different national systems
- US accreditors will not allow international transfer
- Course lengths and levels are different
- Some systems have national standards and frameworks
- English is a complicated language
12 AUS credits = 8 ECTS credits = 4 US credits
US Sociology 101 = Australian "Oh we would never use that"
Different methods
- Course development methods vary
- Institutional goals and capacities differ
- Need to create better incentives to collaboration
- How do we harness our unique strengths?
Benefits
What's in it for me?
1. Community Service: Widen access to higher education for those who don't have access
2. Networking: Join an international network of like-minded institutions
3. New services: Explore new business opportunities that arise from getting involved in open education.
4. Low-cost, high-impact practices
http://oeru.org/Invite
Open Business Model
First-Year Curriculum (MVP)
- Scheduled for completion this Spring
- Courses are open, offered through oeru.org site
- Can also be offered by individual institutions
- Alternative: open courses followed by institution's low-cost assessments.
That's it. Thank you.
OERu presentation OpenEd16
By Marc Singer
