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VLE, Open Source, Open Content, Web 2.0:

Recent Experience of the OUUK in eLearning.

EDEN Conference 2007

Naples, Italy

16 June 2007

Dr. Paul ClarkPro-Vice-chancellor (Learning and Teaching)The United Kingdom Open University

www.open.ac.uk

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Plan of Talk

1. Short Resume of the OUUK

2. Development of OUUK VLE

3. OUUK’s Engagement with Open Source: Moodle

4. Open Content: the OpenLearn project

5. Web 2.0 and the OUUK

6. Conclusions

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Overview of the Present Day OUUK

1. No required entry qualifications

2. 218,000 students, different age profile

3. 8 Faculties and Schools

4. 334 u/g courses; 179 p/g courses, 1500 doctoral research students

5. ODL research institutes; IET, KMi

6. Ranked 5th out of 140 institutions for teaching

7. Ranked 1st for quality of student support

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Distribution of OUUK students with age (2005/06)

Undergraduate Postgraduate

Male : female ratio 40:60 53:47

Age profile

Under 25 13% 3%

25-34 30% 33%

35-44 31% 38%

45-54 16% 20%

55-64 7% 5%

65 and over 3% 1%

Median age of new undergraduate level students 32

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Overview of the Present Day OUUK

1. No required entry qualifications

2. 218,000 students, different age profile

3. 8 Faculties and Schools

4. 334 u/g courses; 179 p/g courses, 1500 doctoral research students

5. ODL research institutes; IET, KMi

6. Ranked 5th out of 140 institutions for teaching

7. Ranked 1st for quality of student support

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OUUK Model of ODL (95-05)

• High quality printed texts• Websites (personal, course-based)• Email, computer-conferencing (student-tutor,

student-student)• Computer-enhanced audio conferencing

(Lyceum)• Computer-based assessment;• Secure online assignment handling• Digital resources from OU Library online• eBooks, simulations, A/V materials• Student Record System – separate system

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Building the OUUK VLE• Major development project (2005-2010)• Integration of services to suit pedagogic and

administrative needs• New versions of existing applications

(conferencing, email, instant messaging)• New functionality (blog, wiki, ePortfolio,

eAssessment, mobile learning) • Student tracking, AL-student communication• Access to full range of OU information • Release dates in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

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Open Source Activity at the OU: MOODLE

• Open Source Movement: a collaborative production of software for the benefit of all potential users;

Four reasons for adopting Moodle

1. Strong base for development of required functionality

2. Open architecture

3. Designed for co-operation and collaboration

4. Joining the Moodle community

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VLE Functionality:2007

Forums Calendars

Blogs RSS Feeds

Wikis Federated search

Instant messaging eAssessment

Database News

Choice myStuff (ePortfolio)

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Staff and Student Development

• Academic staff: new modes of teaching

• Associate Lecturers (7500): New modes of support

• Many parts of OUUK have to change at once

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OUUK Open Content: OpenLearn

OCI, OER: Ambition to share, redevelop and reuse

MIT initiative: Massive sharing, little redevelopment

OUUK initiative: OpenLearn

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OpenLearn

• Learning Space: 2700 hours of OUUK study materials

• 2300 hours of study materials to follow

• Lab space: download materials reversion and return

• Usage: 500,000 unique visitors• URL: http://www.openlearn.open.ac.uk

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Challenges to OCI, OER

• Reluctance to version, use and return open content – connection with same phenomenon with learning objects

• Financial sustainability of OER project – where’s the revenue stream to come from?

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Web 2.0 and the OUUK

Levels of discussion: • Evolution of Web technology: AJAX, REST, Open APIs

• Business properties of Web 2.0 companies: Long tail, Network effects

• Web user behaviour and its educational consequences

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Typical forms of Web 2.0 Behaviour

• Sharing information and experiences (blog, wiki)

• Delivering a personal broadcast: (video clip on YouTube

• Enlisting the “Wisdom of Crowds” to solve problems

• Building an online community (social bookmarking)

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Web 2.0 world characteristics(1)

• Sharing user-generated content• Harnassing collective intelligence• Co-operative activity to build unique product (Wikipedia)• Forming online communities• Reusing and/or remixing content• Exploiting “network effects”

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Web 2.0 world characteristics (2)

• Users add value, seen as co-developers• Exploiting large data sources (Amazon, student tracking)• People-power• Personalised delivery• Open standards, open systems

User becomes active, creative participant

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Web 2.0 issues for higher education

• Integration of public domain software

• Web 2.0 and academic ethos

• OUUK’s response to the opportunity and challenge of Web 2.0

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Integration of Public Domain Software

• Security?

• Stability?

• Student-tracting?

• Integrated online experience?

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Web 2.0 and OUUK academic experience

• Web 2.0 experience and structured learning experience?

• Web 2.0 and academic ethos

• Net generation and OUUK student profile

BUT

• OUUK coming to grips with the impact of Web 2.0??

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Bits of the way forward

• Use and research Web 2.0 tools in OUUK VLE

• Web 2.0 experiments already in operation (Biodiversity Observvatory

• Focus on student response to current activity

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VLE, Open Source, Open Content, Web 2.0:

Recent Experience of the OUUK in eLearning.

EDEN Conference 2007

Naples, Italy

16 June 2007

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