05-25, 11:40–12:00 (Europe/Paris), Salle 200
In a time when a lot of energy is spent on launching new OER initiatives there is often a lot of enthusiasm for starting something, but quite often less attention is given to the question “how do we make this last”. Or in other words, how can we make this initiative sustainable? Sustainability is often defined as the ability of a project to continue its activities beyond the project phase. Of course, the idea of continuation is a crucial part of the meaning of sustainability. A number of business models focus on this point (Downes, 2007; De Langen, 2013; Tlili et al, 2020). However, there is a much more important aspect to the issue of sustainability, namely the question of why an OER project is being undertaken: what do we ultimately want to achieve with adoption of OER? Therefore, a view on sustainability should have a broader approach than simply the financial aspect. That is in line with (Downes, 2007) and (De Langen, 2013), but they mainly focus on the viability of the projects themselves. We want to include the context of the projects: who is doing it and why? What are the goals and the strategy to achieve the goals? Is OER part of a short- or long term perspective on open education?
In this session we will provide perspectives on this topic through the lens of considering OER as public goods.
(More details in the attached PDF)
Researcher and consultant on social, economic, organisational, ethical, fair, and inclusive aspects of the digitalization of education and learning. He has advised governmental and non-governmental organizations and companies in technical vocational education and training (TVET) and in higher education (HE), nationally and internationally. With his forty years of experience, he helps in designing, implementing, and evaluating educational strategies and policies, with a focus on open education and Open Educational Resources.
Jan-Bart de Vreede works at Kennisnet (the public organization for Education & ICT in the Netherlands) as the Domain Manager responsible for the Dutch public infrastructure for Learning Materials and Metadata. One of the products in that portfolio is Wikiwijs, an OER platform used to create, share and develop interactive online OER materials. Kennisnet also spends a lot of energy in creating transparency in the learning materials market and facilitating the use of OER materials in combination with more traditional materials used in schools.