OER ACHIEVEMENTS, CHALLENGES, AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Figure 3 illustrates the relationship we are assuming between the model in Figure 1 and that in Figure 2.
| OER Logic Model | Original Model |
|---|---|
| Sponsor high-quality open content | (a) Fund and promote exemplars of high-quality open content; (1) Establish quality benchmarks for various forms of content. |
| Remove barriers | (b) Create a Web-based consumer guide (barrier of discovery); this list was later augmented to include barriers of intellectual property, interoperability, multilingualism, culture (mix and remix), and technology infrastructure accessibility. |
| Understand and stimulate use | (c) Create networks of builders and users to share and collaborate; (d) support R&D analyses of ways to increase effectiveness and make evaluation stronger. |
Figure 3—Functional relationship between initial and current model.
The initiative is now often known as the Open Content Initiative or as the Open Educational Resources (OER) Initiative. We will use what we consider the more inclusive term, Open Educational Resources (OER). “Open content” could also include content that is not necessarily educational although in this report we will not make this distinction. The articulation of definitions, goals, and frameworks has, as is appropriate in leading-edge emerging activities, evolved as the Foundation has developed the program with its grantees and others. The description of Open Educational Resources (OER) from the Hewlett website is as follows:
- What are Open Educational Resources?
- OER 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 or re-purposing by others.[1] Open educational resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.
- OER 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 or re-purposing by others.[1] Open educational resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.
- ↑ But not necessarily for commercial use—it depends on which Creative Commons license is used.
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