Romanian initiatives of Open Education

1. Key Features of Open
Education in Romania
“ICT in Education in Central and Eastern European Countries“ WEBINAR
3rd “Belt and Road Open Education Learning Week” hosted by BRICOER
Beijing Normal University, Smart Learning Institute, 26-27 November 2018

2. Gabriela GROSSECK
assoc. prof. dr.
West University of Timisoara
Department of Psychology
4 Bd Vasile Parvan
300223 Timisoara, Romania
Email:
gabriela.grosseck@e-uvt.ro
Twitter, Instagram, Slideshare,
LinkedIn etc.: @ggrosseck
Carmen HOLOTESCU
prof. dr.
University “Ioan Slavici” Timisoara
Department of Computer Sciences
144 Paunescu Podeanu Str.
300569 Timisoara, Romania
Email:
carmen.holotescu@islavici.ro
Twitter, Instagram, Slideshare,
LinkedIn etc.: @cami13
La Blouse Roumaine by Henri Matisse

3. 1. Country overview
2. Key features of Digital Romania
3. Open Education // OERs and MOOCs
4. Romanian Initiatives in Open Education
5. Drivers and Barriers
Contents

4. Country overview
Area:
238,391 km2
Capital:
Bucharest
Currency: RON
EUR/ RON: 4.6
Population:
apox: 19 mill
2004 - NATO membership
2007 - EU membership
2019 - EU Presidency
Head of state:
President (since Dec 2014)
Klaus Werner Iohannis
The main ethnic groups
are Romanian (84%)
The language is Romanian
For more details see EU, Country Report Romania 2018

5. Digital Romania – at a glance

7. The full report on Romania is available here.
Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2018 ranking

8. The full report on Romania is available here.
Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2018 ranking

9. The full report on Romania is available here.
Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2018 ranking

11. See further details on https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/policies/digital-learning-ict-education

12. Opening UP education
See http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-859_en.htm
25 October 2013

13. Open Education Definition
Core and Transversal Dimensions
Open education is a mode of realising
education, enabled by digital technologies
aiming to widen access and participation to
everyone.
It offers multiple ways of teaching and learning,
building and sharing knowledge, as well as a
variety of access routes to formal and non-
formal education, bridging them.
Open education means access to content,
courses, support, assessment and certification
in ways that are flexible, and accommodate
diverse needs. Barriers, as regards for example
entry or cost, are reduced or eliminated.
Source: OpenEdu JRC IPTS Report “Opening up
Education: a support framework for HE
institutions”, 2016
ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/open-education

14. „ICT tools, Open Educational
Resources (OERs), and open
educational practices (OEPs) allow
for an increase in the effectiveness
of education, allowing for more
personalised learning, a better
learning experience.
Ultimately, opening up education
may lead to a situation where all
individuals may learn anytime,
anywhere, with the support of
anyone, using any device.”
Open Education Europa
Opening UP education through new technologies Initiative openeducationeuropa.eu
ec.europa.eu/education/policy/strategic-framework/education-technology_en.htm (Sept 2013)

15. OER Definition
[…] „the open provision of
educational resources, enabled
by information and
communication technologies,
for consultation, use and
adaptation by a community of
users for non-commercial
purposes.”
UNESCO (2002, 2018)
unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/access-to-knowledge/open-educational-resources
https://www.oercongress.org/unesco-oer-recommendation

16. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002136/213605e.pdf
What are OERs?
Open Educational Resources
„are any type of educational
materials that are in the public
domain or introduced with an
open license.
The nature of these open
materials means that anyone
can legally and freely copy, use,
adapt and re-share them. OERs
range from textbooks to
curricula, syllabi, lecture notes,
assignments, tests, projects,
audio, video
and animation.”
Big and Little OERs
(Weller, 2010)
Massive OERs = OpenMOOCs
(ECO Project, OE Consortium + EdX)

17. flickr.com/photos/mathplourde/8620174342/
2008 - 1st cMOOC: George Siemens and Stephen Downes co-taught “Connectivism and Connective Knowledge” - 25 tuition-
paying students at the University of Manitoba, Canada plus ~2300 participants worldwide.
web.archive.org/web/20080629220943/http://ltc.umanitoba.ca:83/connectivism/

18. class-central.com
mooc-list.com
MOOC platforms and directories
Adapted from slideshare.net/ggrosseck/miniatelier-de-initiere-in-mooc
edx.org/verified-certificate
edx.org/xseries
edx.org/micromasters
udacity.com/nanodegree
coursera.org/specializations
futurelearn.com/programs
In May 2015 - the largest MOOC ever:
440,000 participants in English Language
Learning MOOC
http://tinyurl.com/largestMOOC

19. openuped.eu
home.eadtu.eu
Higher Education Online: MOOCs the European way
Fostering international Higher Education
collaboration though ICT and open education
menon.org/projects/emundus
The European Multiple MOOC Aggregator
platform.europeanmoocs.eu
home.eadtu.eu
The European Association of Distance
Teaching Universities
ecolearning.eu
bizmooc.eu
movemeproject.eu
European Projects related to MOOCs
“MOOCs are online courses designed for large
numbers of participants (>148, Dunbar number),
that can be accessed by anyone anywhere as long
as they have an internet connection, are open to
everyone without entry qualifications, and offer a
full/complete course experience online for free”.
eadtu.eu/documents/Publications/OEenM/Institutional
_MOOC_strategies_in_Europe.pdf
European MOOC Consortium (EMC) - October
2017 (FutureLearn, FUN, EduOpen, OpenupEd
and miríadaX)
langmooc.com
moocknowledge.eu

20. OE Initiatives in Romania
educatiedeschisa.ro
poerup.referata.com/wiki/Romania

21. CCR was launched in
September 2, 2008, with the
help of ApTI
(The Association for
Technology and Internet)
http://ro.creativecommons.org/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ro/
http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Romania

22. National OE initiatives
1. Knowledge based Economy Project (2005-2013)
• OER educational policies (recommendations in 2007)
• OE Resources and Practices: in the schools participating in the project
2. OER in the Government Programme
• National Strategy on Digital Agenda for Romania 2020 (Feb 2015): Strategic Lines of
Development for ICT in Education: using OER and Web 2.0 in formal and LLL education -
imdd.ro/sites/default/files/library (ro);
• Implement an e-learning platform and online repositories for OERs - edu.ro/rețea-de-
resurse-educaționale-deschise-la-nivelul-inspectoratelor-școlare-județene
• Digital textbooks - manuale.edu.ro; but do not use open licences / format
3. Romanian Coalition for OER
Launced in October 2013, gathering persons and organizations that support and promote
the concepts of open access and OER - educatiedeschisa.ro; guides/workshops; organized
National Conferences for Open Education in 2014-2018; four proposals for open
education for the government inovarepublica.ro/educatie-deschisa-romania/; OER
repository was planned (spring 2016), proposal renewed for OUG (Nov 2016)
4. The Educated Romania (2016-2018)
Project of the Romanian Presidency; a broad public debate on education and research for
a set clear policies presidency.ro/ro/romania-educata

23. Regional and institutional OER initiatives
Related to FLOSS (Free / Libre / Open
Source Software):
• Groups
• Conferences/Events
• Courses / Trainings / Research
• Linux distributions and Open
Source projects development
Related to OER, OEP and Open
Content/Access:
• Courses / Trainings / Programs
• Open Content / Open Access /
Communities for OER and OEP
• Studies

24. Open Educational Resources / Practices (1)
- "OER Awareness Activities for Librarians and
Academics in Romania", funded by CC Affiliate
Project, implemented in 2013-2014 by ApTI
Association for Technology and Internet, Soros
Foundation Romania and National Association of
Libraries and Librarians in Romania:
workshops/events related to OER/MOOC, two guides
- Projects and sites that offer information/workshops
about copyright issues, open licenses and OER: Open
Educational Resources Policy in Europe
http://oerpolicy.eu/?s=romania, http://kosson.ro,
http://acces-deschis, http://oerup.eu, http://copy-
me.org, http://www.ordu.ro,
http://dreptuldeautor.noisieu.ro/creative-commons ,
http://culturaineducatie.ro
- Different products developed under CC licenses
http://ro.creativecommons.org
- Digital resources on the KEP portal created by
teachers and pupils in the pre-university system,
by using different Web2.0 technologies, guide
“OER for different disciplines”
http://tinyurl.com/KEPOERguide
- KEP launched two guides in 2012, having as
central topics the OER and collaborative
technologies (Web2.0) in education: "Integration
of new technologies in education" and "Using
ICT for educational activities"
- Open journals related to open education are
http://iteach.ro/experientedidactice,
http://www.elearning.ro
- Open materials and discussions around them:
http://forum.portal.edu.ro, http://didactic.ro,
http://e-scoala.ro, http://www.dascali.ro,
http://educatie.inmures.ro

25. - Teachers training in KEP, Didatec
project
(http://ctmtc.utcluj.ro/sites/didatec_
) received certificates, acknowledging
also their skills in using/creating OER
- Training/courses related to open
educational pedagogies are offered by
Moodle Romania, Didatec, iTeach,
Sloop2desc, ActiveWatch Media
Monitoring, UPT Technology
Enhanced Learning hosted by
Cirip.eu, Compendiu.ro - links at
http://poerup.referata.com/wiki/Rom
ania#Regional_OER_initiatives
- Projects under CC licenses for Informal Learning /
Serendipity: Romanian Encyclopedia
http://enciclopediaromaniei.ro , Veioza Arte
http://veiozaarte.ro - a video sharing platform acting as
an open source production house for the Romanian
cultural scene, Local Records http://www.localrec.ro
are collections of audio products, Brașov Creative
Commons Film Festival http://bvccfilmfest.tumblr.com
- City Projects http://cityprojects.ro - community
proposing/working on software projects for local
communities/ smart cities, based on open data
- Most of the national projects related to OER are
designed / implemented for the pre-university level,
while in academia they are implemented by a single
university or a group of universities
Open Educational Resources / Practices (2)

26. MOOC platforms
- UniCampus unicampus.ro: started in April 2014
under the initiative of Politehnica University of
Timisoara and Association of Technical
Universities from Romania (rouni.ro ); offers
cMOOCs on a platform based on Moodle;
- NOVAMOOC novamooc.uvt.ro: development
and innovative implementation of MOOCs in
Higher Education, West University Timisoara
(2015-17);
- MOOC.ro mooc.ro: developed by Moodle.ro,
currently offers 2 MOOCs about Moodle and
Articulate;
- Drivers:
- researchers and teaching staff, seldom the policy makers and managers of the institutions;
- companies and associations;
- eStudent estudent.ro: MOOCs on
psychology, communication,
business, geography and Romanian
language (APIO, CTRL-D, experts);
- Startarium startarium.ro: platform
nurturing an entrepreneurship
ecosystem; a group of organizations
and experts offer MOOCs, mentoring
and crowdfunding for around 8,000
potential entrepreneurs who design
and develop their start-up plans
using the platform features;
- MOOCs for students and teachers, for
companies/start-ups

27. Romanian MOOC projects
- UniBuc Virtual unibuc-virtual.net: Credis,
Department of Distance Learning of
University of Bucharest, offered 3 MOOCs
for Teachers Training on a platform based
on Google Apps;
- University "Vasile Goldis" Arad plans to
offer MOOCs in partnership with
Fédération Européenne des Écoles;
- University „Babes Bolyai” Cluj Napoca –
eLIADA eliada.ubbcluj.ro/proiect -
materials for 4 MOOCs;
- MOOCs on Udemy – NGO Management, Association
Young Initiative udemy.com/management-ong;
- Critical Thinking MOOC was developed and run in
2014 by Maastricht School of Management
Romania on Iversity
(msmromania.org/content/msmro-produces-first-
mooc-eastern-europe);
- MOOC in medical education – Romanian Angel
Appeal Foundation – raa.ro;
- MOOCBuddy – the 1st Messenger chatbot for
MOOCs - facebook.com/MyMOOCBuddy;

28. - For the next future:
- Virtual mobilities through MOOCs
(OpenVM – CeL);
- Pilot for credit transfer system
allowing students’ participation in
MOOCs to count towards their
degrees; at this moment for some
courses the participation in MOOCs
can contribute to the activity/project
mark;
- Developing MOOCs together with
companies assuring a better
integration in the labour market.
- MOOCs integration in blended academic courses
at Politehnica University of Timisoara (Web
Programming, Instructional Technologies,
Embedded Systems courses), University “Ioan
Slavici” of Timisoara (Multimedia, OOP and
Parallel Algorithms courses);
- MOOC accreditation at UPT - Digital Marketing -
http://atelieruldigital.jaromania.org/
- Teacher continuing professional development
using MOOCS at University “Ioan Slavici” of
Timisoara - participation in MOOCs related to
OE, but also to topics of taught courses and
research directions; Drivers:
- researchers and teaching staff;
- policy makers and managers of the institutions;
MOOC integration in formal education

29. Variants of blending MOOCs in university courses
from Carmen Holotescu, Gabriela Grosseck, Vladimir-Ioan Cretu, Antoanela Naaji. (2014). Integrating MOOCs in Blended Courses. 10th International Scientific
Conference eLearning and Software for Education, Bucharest, Romania –researchgate.net/publication/260987116_Integrating_MOOCs_in_Blended_Courses

30. For students:
- autonomy in assessing their own
learning needs for choosing the
MOOCs in which to participate
- exposing to:
- high quality materials created with
• top educational technologies
• collaboration in global learning
communities
- a broader range of experiences
For teachers:
- new skills and tasks:
- complex course design/management
- OERs and MOOCs curation
- evaluation of distributed/collaborative
activities of students,
- facilitation of the local learning community
and nurture of its integration in the global
communities of MOOCs
- improving knowledge in their own area of
expertise
- improving their competencies/skills for
adopting new models of OEP
Benefits/Challenges of MOOCs integration in blended courses/flipped classrooms
make xMOOCs more close to cMOOCs

31. MOOC events and studies
Workshops (OEW) and national
/ international conferences
(Open Education / eLSE,
SMART) related to open
education and MOOCs
organized by members of the
Romanian Coalition for OER
• Studies, PhD thesis
• search MOOC Romania on GS;
Check also:
• Opening Up Education in Romania
• OER in Romania

32. Blockchain projects
• Course about Blockchain Development (Ethereum, Hyperledger, Hashgraph) at
University “Ioan Slavici, since 2017-2018 academic year– the 1st university course
• OpenEduChain - http://openeduchain.io - a repository for open educational assets
(OERs, MOOCs, OPs), which also issues certificates & open badges for
universities/educational and training institutions
• eLSE Open Education Workshop – Blockchain Topic

33. Strengths in Romanian OE initiatives
Romania is active in the OE movement:
• trainings/courses related to OER and OEP organized for both
pre-university and university sectors
• formal documents at governamental level related to OER and
Web2.0
• national events related to open resources produced by pre-
university teachers; national guides were published too
• directories with open resources (more numerous for pre-
university level)
• projects in development for MOOCs at university level and for
continuing education
• strong communities/events for open source, open access, open
data, open licences.

34. Barriers in the OE adoption / OERs&MOOCs
development
• rigid policies in formal education related to curricular systems and assessment
practices;
• the lack of possibility to officially accredit online courses, in spite of an
impressive number of projects related to online courses over the last 18 years,
and of the policy proposals coming from different organizations. Such courses
can only be used in a blended approach in formal education;
• the lack of MOOC-related strategies at national level in formal and continuing
education;
• teachers lack of time and interest to explore, understand, evaluate and use new
technologies, OERs and MOOCs in the teaching-learning process;
• a reduced number of training programs for adopting open educational practices;
• lack of incentives, official recognition and promotion for teachers implementing
open educational practices.
Recommendations for policy makers educational institutions, teachers
http://www.edusoft.ro/brain/index.php/brain/article/view/822

35. Thank you!
Carmen Holotescu
Twitter: @cami13
Gabriela Grosseck
Twitter: @ggrosseck
1918-2018 Celebrating together