ADAPTATION, SUBVERSION AND AGGREGATION. A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN OER

One of the key issues surrounding reuse of open educational resource is the extent to which materials can be adapted and repurposed for use in a different context or environment. There is no “one size fits all” solution to repurposing or adaptation but a number of templates, solutions and work-arounds are emerging, often using tools that were not specifically designed for an OER-related purpose in the first place, but which academics have subverted for used in this way. Here we present a series of case-studies around the use of tools and templates that allow repurposing of OER content in the area of health sciences. The first case-study focuses on the development of a tool to allow aggregation of open content, known as the CORE tool (compiler for open resources in education). This was developed from an earlier tool that enabled the aggregation of specifically templated learning objects (Taylor et al, 2008), the tool allows the user to select and aggregate a wide range of open content such as flash-based, html-based and pdf-based resources. It allows the user to add their own specific contextual information, that we term the “glue” and then add other learning tools such as glossaries, resources and reflection before releasing the resources as an integrated package to their users. Some times more specific pedagogical templates are required to scaffold a particular area of open content creation or repurposing. In the second case study we present the development, use and evaluation of such a tool, designed as a flexible template for the creation of case-study based resources, which feature so highly within health science education. The tool, based on Flex and XML technology was initially designed for use for repurposing content in the area of pain management during cancer care, but by extracting the generic pedagogical pattern from the specific content the tool is now flexible enough to be used for many other areas of case study design. Finally we present a case study showing how tutors without specialist technical expertise, within our School (Nursing, Midwifery and Physiotherapy, University of Nottingham, UK), are utilising a range of other bespoke pieces of software in the creation and repurposing of OER. These include content tools such as EXE, XERTE and GLO-maker as well as the Powerpoint conversion tools such as Articulate. In one example Articulate was used as a template to allow the conversion of a series of resources created by students in the area of learning disability nursing into Welsh. As well as showing examples of these tools in use for OER creation and adaptation, we will discuss the benefits and issues that each presents and reflect more generally on the challenges facing the OER community in the area of the provision of tools for aggregation and adaptation.