The UKOER IntOERnational project funded 115 projects over 3 phases totaling £13 million to promote UK open educational resources (OER) internationally. The projects involved 66 institutions and international partners. Phase 1 explored effective OER use and reuse. Phase 2 expanded OER use and knowledge sharing through partnerships. Phase 3 focused on policy, student and staff engagement, professional development, and support for senior managers. 18 projects in Phase 3 involved international collaboration on topics like iTunes U, search engine optimization, networking techniques, and staff development issues.

1. UKOER IntOERnational:
International Collaboration; Promoting UK
OER Internationally
Alex Fenlon
May 2013

2. 3 years of HEFCE funding
~£13million
3 phases, multiple calls per phase.
115+ distinct projects.
66 different lead institutions (HEI’s,
FEC’s, and professional bodies).
All home nations involved + some
international partners.
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UK Open Educational Resources
Programme- JISC & HEA
Russell Group
Post 92
94 Group
FEC
University
Alliance
UKADIA
Million +
Professional
Body
Unaffiliated

3. Phase 1 2009 – 2010 £5.7mil
Supported the development of a diverse range of resources aimed at
addressing the needs of teachers, practitioners and students, and the
exploration of effective use, reuse and adaptation of resources.
Phase 2 2010 – 2011 £5mil
Expanded the use of OER and the knowledge from phase 1, using
partnership models to cascade information. Looked at issues around
reuse and tracing released resources, reward and recognition for staff...
Phase 3 2011 – 2012 £2.8mil
Focusing on institutional policy and change, the student voice in
OER, significant thematic development, initial and continuing professional
development for staff, work with professional and learned societies, and
support for senior managers.
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UK Open Educational Resources
Programme- JISC & HEA

4. UKOER3 JISC Academy ukoer 3 themes and focus areas —Lou McGill
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/4776236/ukoer3

5. 18 projects- 17 Institutions
University of Plymouth University of the Arts, London,
Newcastle University Lincoln University
Southampton Solent University University of Southampton
University of Birmingham University of Leicester
University of Nottingham The Open University
Aston University University of Leeds
Falmouth University University of Liverpool
Sheffield Hallam University Anglia Ruskin University
Oxford University (x 2)
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International Projects

6. Projects included
Itunes U lifecycle- from conception to use to death and rebirth.
Search Engine optimisation- metadata, revision of homepages.
Networking and dissemination techniques- social media vs email.
English for Academic Purposes
Adapting to UK Higher Education- students and staff.
Analytics for OER Projects
Digital Literacy
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International Projects

7. iTunes U – 3 projects
Leicester- opening an iTunes U account. Processes issues and how to launch an
account.
Plymouth- existing iTunes U account. ~1.5 mill downloads. Active
usages, continuously uploaded.
Southampton- existing iTunes U account- left to die- not managed, not active.
Rebourn- increased importance because of recent developments- Futurelearn.
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Project Detail

8. Search Engine Techniques – 5 projects
Nottingham- involve international office, add resources to IO pages. Appeal to
internationalisation agenda.
Open University- audit pages, who is using, how can we increase use, promote to
other users.
Oxford(1)- revise home page, added metadata, simpler descriptions.
Newcastle- foreign language metadata, simplified language used in description.
Falmouth- analytics instructions for educators. How to use it and what it means.
Solent- Revised homepages, focus on international audiences.
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Project Detail

9. Networking – 4 projects
Sheffield Hallam University- using institutional partners to review and evaluate
OERs, how they can be used internationally.
Leeds- social media channels versus contact lists, personal emails- what works
best.
Oxford(2)- using international project partners to assess and promote OER tools
to feed into other activities- FLAX, ToeToe. EAP activities.
UAL- exploring issues associated with joining OCWC- how, why.
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Project Detail

10. Staff Development issues- 6 projects
Anglia Ruskin- marketing of OER materials to students and lecturers to promote
the institution.
Aston- use resources for staff development of global issues in HE, how HE may
change, how HEI’s can remain relevant.
Liverpool- develop resources to help academics adapt to UK HE.
Birmingham- help address the digital literacy issues in staff and students. How
can OER help increase digital increase.
Lincoln- look at how to support international students studying the UK, how can
support be improved. How can support be improved for student distance learning
students in other countries.
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Project Detail

11. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
Free online courses that anyone can sign up to. You commit as much time and
effort as you like.
Numbers speaker for themselves.
Funding model?
Pedagogy?
FutureLearn
‘Futurelearn will bring together a range of free, open, online courses from leading
UK universities, in the same place and under the same brand.’
Led by OU, but involves 12 18 leading UK HEI’s- launch later 2013.
Can it compete with www.coursera.org & www.edx.org?
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Recent Developments

12. Free approach to aims and objectives-
Allowed rich mix of different project types and methods used.
Collaboration at international level-
Building of sustainable networks- leading to continuing activity and work
iTunesU lifecycle mapped-
All aspects of initiation, use and develop through to what can happen when key
people leave covered by case studies.
Online dissemination not as good as face to face-
Social good at mass market but return is better through contacts. F2F meetings are
still the best way of building relationships. Once they have been started online
works well.
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Conclusions

13. Foster awareness
Develop ICT, searching skills and platforms
Ensure projects are sustainable (without funding)
Tap in to existing agendas (sustainable
development/ ecological issues)
Allow for OER translation
Lobby for OER for all public funded bodies
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Recommendations

14. http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/oer-phase-3-4ai-
international
Questions?
Alex Fenlon
Operations Manager- OER and Online Learning
Alex.fenlon@heacademy.ac.uk
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Thanks