Whether you are a seasoned open education advocate or a newcomer to the movement, communicating about “open” can be a challenge. The English language alone has more than 40 definitions of “open” (according to Dictionary.com), and the term has gained myriad nuanced meanings to different communities, from free software to open access research to open education. Effective communication is the key to success for any movement, so it’s important for OER advocates to hone their skills.

1. @txtbks | #oer16
COMMUNICATING
“OPEN”
Nicole Allen, SPARC
@txtbks #oer16
www.slideshare.com/txtbks
www.sparcopen.org
Except where otherwise
noted...

2. @txtbks | #oer16
Open Educational Resources
are teaching, learning, and research
resources that reside in the public
domain or have been released under
an intellectual property license that
permits their free use and re-
purposing by others.
- Hewlett Foundation

3. @txtbks | #oer16
Open Educational Resources
are teaching, learning, and research
resources that reside in the public
domain or have been released under
an intellectual property license that
permits their free use and re-
purposing by others.
- Hewlett Foundation

4. @txtbks | #oer16
Open Educational Resources
are educational materials that are
distributed at no cost with legal
permission for the public to freely
use, share, and build upon the
content.
http://tinyurl.com/oer-faq-policy

5. @txtbks | #oer16
Open Educational Resources
are educational materials that are
distributed at no cost with legal
permission for the public to freely
use, share, and build upon the
content.
http://tinyurl.com/oer-faq-policy

6. @txtbks | #oer16
TIPS

7. @txtbks | #oer16
1.Avoid jargon
CC BY
CC BY-NC
CC BY-NC-WTF

8. @txtbks | #oer16
1.Avoid jargon
2.Have a message, and repeat it

9. @txtbks | #oer16
1.Avoid jargon
2.Have a message, and repeat it
3.Use stories over rhetoric

10. @txtbks | #oer16
1.Avoid jargon
2.Have a message, and repeat it
3.Use stories over rhetoric
4.Know your audience

11. @txtbks | #oer16
1.Avoid jargon
2.Have a message, and repeat it
3.Use stories over rhetoric
4.Know your audience
5.Focus on the end goal

12. @txtbks | #oer16
CASE #1

13. @txtbks | #oer16

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don’t feed the fire

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16. @txtbks | #oer16
let facts speak
for themselves

17. @txtbks | #oer16

18. @txtbks | #oer16
CASE #2

19. @txtbks | #oer16
State’s $300,000 e-textbooks flunk out with critics
Laura Berman, The Detroit News 11:32 p.m. EDT October 12, 2015
The first batch of textbooks commissioned under a $600,000 state
Department of Education grant is online and ready for Michigan social
studies teachers and students with one catch: Some textbook experts and
educators around the state are so disturbed by factual inaccuracies, poor
grammar, overgeneralizations, clumsy word choices and cultural
insensitivity, they are recommending teachers not use them in their
classrooms.
Released in August, the first four books produced in the Michigan Open
Book Project were written by Michigan social studies teachers. Their
mission was to produce “dream” resources that teachers around the state
could download to iPads and other electronic devices at no cost.

20. @txtbks | #oer16
turnabout is fair play

21. @txtbks | #oer16

22. @txtbks | #oer16

23. @txtbks | #oer16
community is the
first line of defense

24. @txtbks | #oer16
Rapid Response Talking Points
• Developing educational materials is a process, and it’s an
unfortunate fact of life that errors happen. That’s true of traditional
materials as well as OER.
• What matters is the process in place to address errors. With
traditional materials, it takes years for corrections to make it to
student. With OER, it can happen instantly.
• In this case, the problems were fixed within 48 hours. This kind of
rapid response is only possible in an open environment.
• The benefits of OER go beyond the ability to fix errors. OER also
offers the advantage of updating and improving the materials in
real time. Traditional textbooks are often 7 years out of date by the
time they are replaced, but OER can be updated to include new
resources and current events.

25. @txtbks | #oer16
the messenger
matters

26. @txtbks | #oer16
“My elementary teachers who are using it
absolutely love it. Is it perfect? No, it is
not, but if my district wanted to buy new
[traditionally published] social studies
textbooks, they would not be error free
either and a social studies text is out of
date the day it is purchased.”
- School Superintendent

27. @txtbks | #oer16
CASE #3

28. @txtbks | #oer16
By Mary Jo Madda Feb 24, 2016
Do you remember how it felt when you first read what would eventually
become your favorite book? For many students, that’s a feeling that’s hard
to come by—books aren’t always cheap or easily accessible, especially
when school budgets are stretched thin.
However, the government is hoping to help schools save money and time
by offering thousands of popular and award-winning titles—$250 million
worth of books, in fact—to Title I, military base and special education
teachers and librarians, and by extension, students. How, exactly?

29. @txtbks | #oer16
“Back in October of 2015, the U.S.
Department of Education
launched #GoOpen, a campaign to
encourage educators and their respective
schools and districts to use openly licensed
educational resources (OERs). Today’s
launch furthers the White House’s efforts
to push for more OER usage in American
schools, something educators and librarians
are hungry for.”

30. @txtbks | #oer16
fight back against
openwashing

31. @txtbks | #oer16
“Back in October of 2015, the U.S.
Department of Education
launched #GoOpen, a campaign to
encourage educators and their respective
schools and districts to use openly licensed
educational resources (OERs). While this
effort is separate from the
administration's OER work (in that Open
eBooks is primarily composed of
copyrighted materials), today’s launch is
complementary in its goals and furthers
the White House’s efforts to push for more

32. @txtbks | #oer16
Nicole Allen
nicole@sparcopen.org
@txtbks | @sparc_na
www.sparcopen.org