Session "OER in Practice" Katerina Zourou

1. Session « OER in Practice 1 »
Moderator: Gosia Kurek
Rapporteure: Katerina Zourou

2. Themes emerging from the discussion
Higher education challenges and expectations for OER uptake:
• Fear of open spaces - agoraphobia!
• Lack of sharing culture
• Fear of competition within and outside institution
• Fear of transparency and criticism
• Fear of technology
• Low awareness of IPR, etc.
BUT ALSO:
+ Digital scholars at HEIs
Change towards +openness;
social connectivity => a more
positive approach to OER

3. Themes emerging from the discussion (2)
OER and new business models
Some countries promoting cooperation between publishers and open
access providers (e.g. Finland); in other countries dichotomies are more
present
=> at the quest for new business models allowing the co-existence of
copyright protected and open content?
=> Quality of resources: different expectations by different stakeholders
(quality= recognition of a single author? Peer reviews? Format?)
Further explore how new services that publishers offer can present an
entry to new business models

4. Themes emerging from the discussion (3)
Appropriation of OER in local contexts
• Adaptation is more than translation
• Teaching resources may remain unexplored if the adaptation
is not appropriate
• Each language – every LUL -corresponds to a completely
different teaching context, cultural different communities –
great disparity
cultural awareness should prompt greater instructional flexibility
and lead to the creation of culturally adaptive materials

5. Themes emerging from the discussion (4)
Community engagement; bottom-up dynamics
Lesser-used languages make big achievements (i.e. TESS India, OEPS,
KlasCement).
Some thoughts to see more examples in this direction:
-Moving beyond a « purist » approach to OER? facilitate the co-
existence of OER with non-OER (i.e. Photodentro, Greece, enables
merging of OER and UGC)
-approach OER not as off the shelf,polished products but as work in
progress
-get inspired by crowdsourced, totally bottom-up initiatives (OpenStax,
Open Translation project, Amara) and rethink of the role of
communities in OER uptake for lesser used languages

6. Recommendations
To the Commission:
1.1 Revitalise the commitment to OER that it expressed in Opening Up
Education, with a particular focus on OER in LUL as a means of maintaining
cultural and linguistic diversity.
To governments/governance structures in nations and regions
2.8 Support collaboration with other nations or regions in establishing
quality OER in LUL.
New recommendation:
• Be open and attentive to what speakers of LUL already do in crowdsourced
spaces while enriching open resources in this LUL; support them in their
struggle for sustainability.