Giving Knowledge for Free: The Emergence of Open Educational Resources

CENTRE FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND INNOVATION Giving Knowledge for Free THE EMERGENCE OF OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT The OECD is a unique forum where the governments of 30 democracies work together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the forefront of efforts to understand and to help governments respond to new developments and concerns, such as corporate governance, the information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The Organisation provides a setting where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies. The OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Commission of the European Communities takes part in the work of the OECD. OECD Publishing disseminates widely the results of the Organisation’s statistics gathering and research on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as the conventions, guidelines and standards agreed by its members. This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Organisation or of the governments of its member countries. © OECD 2007 No reproduction, copy, transmission or translation of this publication may be made without written permission. Applications should be sent to OECD Publishing rights@oecd.org or by fax 33 1 45 24 99 30. Permission to photocopy a portion of this work should be addressed to the Centre français d’exploitation du droit de copie (CFC), 20, rue des Grands-Augustins, 75006 Paris, France, fax 33 1 46 34 67 19, contact@cfcopies.com or (for US only) to Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive Danvers, MA 01923, USA, fax 1 978 646 8600, info@copyright.com.  Foreword The development of the information society and the widespread diffusion of information technology give rise to new opportunities for learning. At the same time, they challenge established views and practices regarding how teaching and learning should be organised and carried out. Higher educational institutions have been using the Internet and other digital technologies to develop and distribute education for several years. Yet, until recently, much of the learning materials were locked up behind passwords within proprietary systems, unreachable for outsiders. The open educational resource (OER) movement aims to break down such barriers and to encourage and enable freely sharing content. The OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) has already addressed a number of issues regarding e-learning in higher education, publishing reports on E-learning: The Partnership Challenge (OECD, 2001) and E-learning in Tertiary Education – Where do we Stand? (OECD, 2005). The second of these reports concluded that e-learning is becoming increasingly prominent in tertiary education. All available evidence points to growing enrolments and provision, although from a low starting point. E-learning activities across tertiary education institutions are very diverse, from trivial online presence to programmes offered fully online. Modules accounted for the majority of e-learning activities, reflecting the dominant characteristic of e-learning as supplementary to on- campus delivery at undergraduate level. Learning objects were said to be viewed as a promising way forward as they can potentially cut costs and revolutionise pedagogy. Some of these issues are further analysed in this report which addresses four main questions: • How can sustainable cost/benefit models for OER initiatives be developed? • What are the intellectual property rights issues linked to OER initiatives? • What are the incentives and barriers for universities and faculty staff to deliver their materials to OER initiatives? GIVING KNOWLEDGE FOR FREE: THE EMERGENCE OF OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES – ISBN-978-92-64-03174-6 © OECD 2007 FOREWORD – 3  4 – FOREWORD • How can access and usefulness for the users of OER initiatives be improved? The report is addressed to managers of higher education institutions as well as strategists and decision makers on international, national and intermediate level. Although it only covers higher education, most of the issues raised are also of relevance for the school sector and adult education. Further investigation into use and production of OER in schools and the implications for the school sector would be of utmost interest. The project was led by Jan Hylén who is also the main author of the report. Francesc Pedró and Tom Schuller were closely involved in the design and execution of the project, and Ashley Allen-Sinclair in its administration. Barbara Ischinger Director for Education