1. Open Education Research: Past, Present, Future
The Open/Technology, Education, Scholarship and Society
Association (OTESSA) Conference 2023
Robert Farrow, Beck Pitt, Martin Weller & Carina Bossu

2. • Trends in Open Education Research
• Introduction to GO-GN
• Our Network
• GO-GN Member Research
• GO-GN Fellowships
• Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Project
• Open Research Handbook
• Reflections
• Get involved!

3. Jordan & Weller (2017) used
citation network analysis to
describe clusters of related
research and identify some key
areas of open education
research.
Trends in Open Education Research

4. Jordan & Weller (2017) used
citation network analysis to
describe clusters of related
research and identify some key
areas of open education
research.

5. • Content
Title
Weller, Jordan,
DeVries & Rolfe
(2018) developed
this analysis and
found that there is
often little overlap
between research
trends.

6. Bozkurt, Koseglu & Singh (2019)
found in their review of trends that
openness can be understood as a
cluster of related concepts.
Most literature (n=970) comes from
developed countries: the ‘open
divide’.
Trends in Open Education Research

7. Bozkurt, Koseglu & Singh (2019)
Trends in Open Education Research

8. • Institutional Consolidation and Instructional Design
(1970s-1980s)
• Quality Assurance and Student Support (1990s-2000s)
• Virtual Universities, Online Interaction and Learning
(2000s-2010s)
• AI, Big Data, and Intelligent Support Systems (2010s-
2020s)
…most research is focused at the ‘micro’ level of
implementation in teaching and learning
Four Phases of Research
(Zawacki-Richter and Bozkurt, 2022)

9. • Pandemic had a massive impact on education but did not
result in increased OER uptake
• Research into open education in this period still being
published…
• Stracke, C. M., Sharma, R. C., Bozkurt, A., Burgos, D., Swiatek Cassafieres, C., Inamorato dos
Santos, A., Mason, J., Ossiannilsson, E., Santos-Hermosa, G., Shon, J. G., Wan, M., Agbu, J.-F.
O., Farrow, R., Karakaya, Ö, Nerantzi, C., Ramírez-Montoya, M. S., Conole, G., Truong, V., &
Cox, G. (2022). Impact of COVID-19 on Formal Education: An International Review of Practices
and Potentials of Open Education at a Distance. The International Review of Research in Open
and Distributed Learning, 23(4), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v23i4.6120
Impact of Covid-19?

10. Global OER Graduate Network
The aims of the GO-GN are to:
• raise the profile of research into open education
• offer support for those conducting doctoral research in
this area
• promote equity and inclusion in the field of open
education research
• develop openness as a process of research

11. Our Network
• Funded by Hewlett Foundation
since 2013
• 52 members and alumni in 2016
• 142 members and alumni in
September 2022
• 173% increase in members and
alumni since 2016
• As at September 2022 41
members (29%) from Global
South

12. Global OER Graduate Network

13. Category 2016 2017 2022
Project case study 3 6 8
Technical 1 2 5
OER as subject 3 5 12
Research with Impact Data 2 6 8
Policy 3 6 8
Practitioner 10 10 26
OER for Development 4 5 9
MOOCs 11 12 19
Pedagogy 0 1 6
Open Practices 6 9 19
In progress 9 13 27
Total 52 75 147
GO-GN Member Research

15. Google Scholar: GO-GN Citation
Summary

16. The GO-GN Fellowships (2020 – 2022)
https://go-gn.net/fellowships/

17. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
https://go-gn.net/go-gn-edi-project/

19. • Consolidates our other publications
• More than 40 contributors from 17
countries
• Future planned sections include
guides to doctoral supervision;
publishing & disseminating research;
funding applications;
• https://shorturl.at/bcjuW

20. • Openness is a dynamic and diverse
research area
• Core themes in 2022: open
practices, practitioners
• Growing connections between
research clusters
• Application of OER and OEP in
broad range of different contexts
• Building research capacity and
shared knowledge through open
Reflections

21. GET INVOLVED!
@GOGN_OER #GO_GN
go-gn.net/join/

22. https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/5YR564U319

23. Thank you
@GOGN_OER #GO_GN
go-gn.net gogn.oer@gmail.com
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
All images are by Visual Thinkery for ALT (OER222 images) or GO-GN and are licensed CC BY 4.0.

24. Bibliography
Bozkurt, A., Koseoglu, S., & Singh, L. (2019). An analysis of peer reviewed publications on
openness in education in half a century: Trends and patterns in the open hemisphere.
Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 35(4). https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.4252
Bozkurt, A., & Zawacki-Richter, O. (2021). Trends and Patterns in Distance Education (2014–
2019): A Synthesis of Scholarly Publications and a Visualization of the Intellectual
Landscape. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 22(2),
19-45. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v22i2.5381
de los Arcos, B. (2017, October). A review of PhD research into open education. ICDE World
Conference on Online Learning, Toronto, Canada. https://www.slideshare.net/GO-GN/a-
review-of-phd-research-into-open-education (Last accessed: 6 October 2022)
de los Arcos, B. (2016) Global OER Graduate Network: Raising the Profile of Research into
Open Education. EADTU Rome 2016. Retrieved from:
https://www.slideshare.net/BdelosArcos/global-oer-graduate-network-raising-the-profile-of-
research-into-open-education (Last accessed: 6 October 2022)

25. Bibliography
Farrow, R. Pitt, B, Iniesto, F. & Weller, M. (2022, May 23)The Global OER Graduate Network:
Open Research, Open Community, Open Values. OE Global 2022, Nantes, France.
GO-GN (n.d.). Global OER Graduate Network. https://go-gn.net/
Weller, M., Pitt, B., Iniesto, F., Farrow, R., Bossu, C. and Vladimirschi, V. (2021). Annual Review
2021. Global OER Graduate Network. https://go-gn.net/gogn_outputs/2021-in-review/ (Last
accessed: 18 May 2022)
Weller, M. (2016) Emerging OER Discipline. Retrieved from:
https://www.slideshare.net/mweller/emerging-oer-discipline
Weller, M. (2016). Different Aspects of the Emerging OER Discipline. Revista Educacao e
Cultura Contemporanea, 13(31). http://oro.open.ac.uk/47209/ (Last accessed: 18 May
2022)
Zawacki-Richter, O., and Bozkurt, A. (2023). Research Trends in Open, Distance, and Digital
Education. In: Handbook of Open, Distance and Digital Education. Springer, Singapore.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0351-9_12-1

26. Categories (1)
• Project case study – on findings of a particular case study, or
implementation of a project.
• Technical – focus on the technical specification of a particular
project i.e. an OER repository.
• OER as subject – focus on OER field itself, nature of openness,
direction for OER, suggestions for adoption, etc.
• Research with impact data – evaluation of the impact of OER
implementation, using educational research methodology such as
control groups, pre and post test, etc.
• Policy - on existing OER policies, the need for policy or standardized
approaches, national frameworks, etc.
Martin Weller, Different Aspects of the Emerging OER Discipline http://www.slideshare.net/mweller/emerging-oer-discipline

27. Categories (2)
• Practitioner – use of OER by practitioners in a particular context, i.e.
teachers or librarians.
• OER in developing nations – use of OER in the context of developing
nations i.e. TESSA.
• MOOCs – an emerging field of its own, or MOOCs interpreted as
OER and reclassified under other categories.
• Pedagogy – on the possible impact of OER on pedagogy, or as a
vehicle for change in teaching practice.
• Open data/practice/access – an intersection with other aspects of
open practice that have varying degrees of relevance to the OER
community.
Martin Weller, Different Aspects of the Emerging OER Discipline http://www.slideshare.net/mweller/emerging-oer-discipline