The first thing that occurred to me reading the assigned chapter is that these small elements of OER materials are just like learning objects, without the formality of form, such as SCORM. Anyway, to the task…
Small OERs
Benefits of small:
Cost effective, being an off-shoot of something created for an existing, funded and resourced, purpose. ‘frictionless’, and by product of normal operations.
Can avoid unpredictability of the internet.
Ideal for addressing the long tail aspect of online education, i.e. tapping into niche markets.
More likely to get buy-in from staff and less likely to require institutional support.
More likely to encourage creativity and risk taking by authors.
Less likely to require expensive technology and software.
Drawbacks of small:
Not likely to conform to any specific format, therefore not likely to fit with any ‘plug and play’ requirements.
Likely to have been produced for a specific context and therefore likely to require re-working to fit with specific needs.
Likely to be too small to utilise as a stand alone course. More like an individual component, as with a learning object.
More likely to require institutional permission due to contractual issues related to intellectual property ownership.
BIG OERs
Benefits of big:
Likely to be able to use as stand alone, complete courses.
Because of their size, perhaps more likely to have a longer life cycle.
More likely to conform to standards, such as SCORM, copyright, Creative Commons.
Possibly greater credibility due to size or the brand behind the MOOC.
Drawbacks of big:
They can cost a lot of money to produce and maintain.
No sustainable business model has so far been proven.
Not suitable for niche applications.
More likely to need institutional support in terms of resources.
Less likely to engage a large number of authors at any given institution.
Activity 11
The first thing that occurred to me reading the assigned chapter is that these small elements of OER materials are just like learning objects, without the formality of form, such as SCORM. Anyway, to the task…
Small OERs
Benefits of small:
Cost effective, being an off-shoot of something created for an existing, funded and resourced, purpose. ‘frictionless’, and by product of normal operations.
Can avoid unpredictability of the internet.
Ideal for addressing the long tail aspect of online education, i.e. tapping into niche markets.
More likely to get buy-in from staff and less likely to require institutional support.
More likely to encourage creativity and risk taking by authors.
Less likely to require expensive technology and software.
Drawbacks of small:
Not likely to conform to any specific format, therefore not likely to fit with any ‘plug and play’ requirements.
Likely to have been produced for a specific context and therefore likely to require re-working to fit with specific needs.
Likely to be too small to utilise as a stand alone course. More like an individual component, as with a learning object.
More likely to require institutional permission due to contractual issues related to intellectual property ownership.
BIG OERs
Benefits of big:
Likely to be able to use as stand alone, complete courses.
Because of their size, perhaps more likely to have a longer life cycle.
More likely to conform to standards, such as SCORM, copyright, Creative Commons.
Possibly greater credibility due to size or the brand behind the MOOC.
Drawbacks of big:
They can cost a lot of money to produce and maintain.
No sustainable business model has so far been proven.
Not suitable for niche applications.
More likely to need institutional support in terms of resources.
Less likely to engage a large number of authors at any given institution.