OER1141 Oral Presentation pptx

Wednesday 11 May 16.20 Cockcroft Theatre

Is open education between the Cathedral and the Bazaar?: the promise and pitfalls of borrowing models and metaphors for the OER community.

R. John Robertson, University of Strathclyde
Phil Barker, Heriot Watt University
Lorna Campbell, University of Strathclyde
Li Yuan, University of Bolton

Conference Theme: OER strategy and sustainability

Abstract: OER initiatives and Open Education have the potential to have a dramatic impact on formal education and lifelong learning but there is as yet no dominant model to sustain their release and, given the diversity of educational needs, opportunities, and institutions, it is unlikely there will be one model that meets all the sector's requirements. There are, however, an abundance of metaphors and models of community from other contexts surrounding OER and Open Education – some of which inspire seemingly unquestioning adherence while others appear to have become clichéd already. We propose to examine a number of models and metaphors that have been suggested as appropriate for the OER community, briefly illustrate their use, and provide an initial assessment of their respective strengths and weaknesses. As the list of examples below indicates there is a great deal of confusion around the use of models and metaphors. It is often not clear if a particular model is intended to offer an business case or simply an analogy. Metaphors are mixed and illustrations become the basis for business cases.

The models and metaphors we will consider include:

Our aim in this presentation is not to try to create or offer a meta-model but to promote a more critical engagement with these metaphors and models of community and organization and to suggest some of the unintended consequences inherent in these models, which need to be considered and addressed. It may also be possible to identify some common features that fit well with OER initiatives and some features which seem to either be spurious or have hidden pitfalls.

Keywords: communities; models; oer

References:

Examples of the use of some of these metaphors include: