open educational practices in the netherlands 2011

Open Educational Practices and the Open University in The

Netherlands

Ben JanssenMarch, 24, 2011

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Context

2006 start of OpenER project of OUNL as the first OER project in The Netherlands

2007 OCW initiative of University of Technology Delft

2008 Decision to build OUNL strategy on OER

2009 start of the Dutch national project Wikiwijs

Start of Networked Open Polytechnic 2010 start of OpenU 2010 start of Free Technology Academy

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OpenER@OUNL

OpenER

a project offering small open educational courses, derived from OUNL bachelor and master programs, launched in December, 2006

Objectives lowering thresholds for access to formal Higher

Educationwidening and increasing participation in Higher

Education

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Means

Offering of high-quality short open courses developed for self-study (each about 25 hrs)

By means of a ‘portal of temptation’ to HE In order to bridge informal learning and

formal education And offering official examination options

(earning Bachelor credits)

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Fundings

The Directorate Learning and Working, established by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Ministry of Social Affairs

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Total funding €660,000

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Some data

Much media attention More than 1,250,000 visitors 12% of visitors return 25 courses online (4 – 45 hours per

course) Costs for creation of OER: €3,000 -

€30,000 10% of students who registered for an

OUNL course reported to be influenced in their decision by OpenER

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Some data

Secondary schools are using OpenER courses for their students (including OUNL examination)

OpenER led to overall strategic decision to change towards a business strategy based on OER

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Spinoza@OUNL

Objectives: eminent Dutch researchers bring their body of

thought and views to a broad public

Means:develop and offer OpenER courses with all its

qualities (self-study, activating, interactive, different media, etcetera)

work with Spinoza Premium laureates (highest research award: 2,5 M€)

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National project Wikiwijs

To stimulate development and use of OER improve access to both open and ‘closed’ digital

learning materials support teachers in arranging their own learning

materials and professionalization increase teacher involvement in development and

use of OER extend options for customized education increase quality of education through more flexible

and up-to-date learning materials

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Wikiwijs will offer …

a Repository of open educational resources a Referatory to digital educational resources:

open and closed free access and access to be paid for public and commercial

easy to use arrangement and development tools for teachers / professors

end-user support for teachers when creating and using learning materials

Networked Open Polytechnic

Objectives

establish a second track through HE for Lifelong, Open and Flexible (LOF) learning in a professional / vocational context (alongside the Open University system for academic HE)

explore an innovative open business model: an open network, using open source, open access and open content (rather than cloning OUNL)

Networked Open Polytechnic

Means

Development of new educational programs in networks

Major NOP characteristics:- Open Educational Resources (CC-BY-SA)- modularity- assessment of prior learning (APL)- workplace learning - learning communities- regional offering in national infrastructure- link with professional practice

Free Technology Academy

The FTA is a joint initiative of:Open Universiteit of the Netherlands (OUNL)Universidad Oberta de Catalunya, Spain University of Agder (UiA) Norway Free Knowledge Institute (FKI), The Netherlands


Offers online master course modules for IT professionals, students, teachers and

decision makers on Free Software & Open StandardsLearners can choose to enroll in an

individual course module or register for the whole program


Learning materials are only freely licensed materials

Tuition takes place online in the FTA virtual campus and is performed by teaching staff from the partner universities

Credits obtained in the FTA program are recognized by the participating universities

The full master program can be completed at one of the universities

Contributions

Fred Mulder on national strategy and OER policy; holder of the UNESCO chair ‘Open Educational Resources: studies on strategy, implementation and impact’ ([email protected])

Robert Schuwer on OpenER and Wikiwijs ([email protected])

Lex Bijlsma on Free Technology Academy ([email protected])

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References

http://www.ou.nlhttp://www.opener.ou.nlhttp://www.spinoza.ou.nlhttp://portal.ou.nlhttp://www.wikiwijs.nlhttp://www.noh.nlhttp://ftacademy.orghttp://oer.unescochair-ou.nl

Contact: [email protected]