Abstract:

The UNESCO (2019) recommendation recognises the potential for open educational resources to build more inclusive and open knowledge societies and sustainable development through co-ordination, capacity building and exploring alternative models for educational delivery.

Ramirez-Montoya (2020) recently presented a review of literature pertaining OER and educational innovation, noting that although definitions of openness vary across sectoral spaces, the crossover between openness and innovation is an area of increasing interest. A core part of the story of open educational resources is that they can be used to create spaces for innovation in teaching and learning (Orr et al., 2015; Pitt & Smyth, 2017; Weller et al., 2015). As Coughlan et al. (2018) argue, there has been a lack of detailed analysis of the specific function of OER as a driver of innovation, and a single model has not yet captured the multi-faceted relationship between openness and innovation. This presentation will explain theories of innovation, their relevance and potential for open education in Europe. These frameworks (Carroll, Kellog & Rosson, 1991; Rogers, 2010; Puentedura, 2006; Orr et al., 2015; Berkhout, 2007; Coughlan, Pitt & Farrow, 2018) will be of interest to practitioners seeking a stronger theoretical and practical understanding of how OER can support innovative practice.

This presentation contributes to the European Network for Catalysing Open Resources in Education (ENCORE+, 2021), a pan-European Knowledge Alliance funded under the Erasmus+ programme. The project is running from 2021 to 2023 to support the modernisation of education in the European area through OER to articulate a vision for the future OER ecosystem.

References:
[1] Carroll, J. M., Kellogg, W. A., & Rosson, M. B. (1991). The task-artifact cycle. In Carroll, J. M. (Ed.), Designing interaction: Psychology at the human-computer interface, 74-102. Cambridge, UK.
[2] Coughlan, T., Pitt, R. & Farrow, R. (2019) Forms of innovation inspired by open educational resources: a post-project analysis. Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 34:2, 156-175. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680513.2018.1552579
[3] ENCORE+ (2021). European Network for Catalysing Open Resources in Education. https://encore-project.eu/
[4] Orr, D., Rimini, M. & van Damme, D. (2015). Open Educational Resources: A Catalyst for Innovation, Educational Research and Innovation. Paris: OECD Publishing. DOI:10.1787/20769679
[5] Pitt, B. and Smyth, K. (2017). Creative open everyday practice: Thinking differently at UHI. Case study produced for Open Education Practice Scotland. https://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/course/view.php?id=2854
[6] Puentedura, R. (2006). Transformation, technology, and education [Blog post]. http://hippasus.com/resources/tte/.
Diagram: https://www.showbie.com/using-showbie-with-the-samr-model/
[7] Ramirez-Montoya, M. S. (2020). Challenges for Open Education with Educational Innovation: A Systematic Literature Review. Sustainability, 12(17), 7503. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12177053
[8] Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (4th ed.). London: Simon & Schuster
[9] UNESCO (2019). Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (OER). http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=49556&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
[10] Weller, M., de los Arcos, B., Farrow, R., Pitt, B., and McAndrew, P. (2015). The Impact of OER on Teaching and Learning Practice. Open Praxis, 7(4), 351–361.

Keywords:

Open education, innovation, open educational resources, open educational practices, ecosystem.