Open Educational Resources (OER)

Open educational resources are digital materials that can be used, re-used and repurposed for teaching, learning, research and more, made freely available online through open licenses such as Creative Commons. OER include a varied range of digital assets from course materials, content modules, collections, and journals to digital images, music and video clips.

Building on the work of the pilot phase (2009/10) and a second phase of funded projects and activities (2010/11) that successfully saw a significant amount of new and existing learning resources made freely available online, the HEA and JISC are currently supporting projects in a third phase of the UK OER programme.

Between October 2011 and October 2012, we will be funding projects that address key strategic and thematic priorities while building on the lessons learnt within the first two OER phases. Phase three strands include:

• Post Graduate Certificate Development - projects to develop PG Cert programmes for new staff so that it becomes culturally acceptable for them to develop, use and repurpose OER in their evolving teaching practice.
• Open Materials for Accredited Courses (OMAC) - projects involving the release of high quality resources to support HEA accredited programmes or schemes of professional development that meet the UK Professional Standards Framework (UK PSF).
• Institutional Change – a Change Academy model focussing on whole institutional change, with outputs stated as reviewed change strategies addressing the development and use of OER by teaching staff and students.
• OER Themes - projects involving the collection and release of OER.

In addition to funded projects, we are directly commissioning areas of work including:

a) A survey and focus group series with the NUS to assess the current level of OER awareness and use among students.
b) Further technical work supporting the creation and reuse of OER, to include a Rapid Innovation call and a Hack Challenge.
d) Work to promote UK OER overseas.
e) Work with Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRBs) and subject associations to reach those not currently engaged with OER at a discipline level.
f) Research investigating institutional reluctance to open practice and further work to promote debut ventures into OER creation.

If you have any queries concerning the OER programme please contact alex.fenlon@heacademy.ac.uk.