On a day-to-day basis, learning designers are deeply engaged in designing learning experiences, crafting and curating resources, and enhancing the capabilities of academics. Central to our ethos are values such as inclusivity and sustainability, which guide our efforts towards creating learning environments that cater to a diverse range of learners.
Similarly, the principles behind developing open educational resources (OERs) align closely with our learning design goals. Like learning designers, OERs developers aim to make education accessible to all by adopting and adapting resources to meet diverse needs. However, while learning designers possess the skills to create OERs, their engagement with open educational practices (OEP) is often unintentional and limited.
In conversations about open education across platforms and workplaces, learning designers often showcase a fundamental grasp of open education, yet hesitate to fully embrace it. Another observation is the amalgamation of everything ‘open’ under OERs, with little attention given to the broader concepts of OEP, open pedagogy and other dimensions of openness. I often hear that learning designers find it challenging to fully engage with OEP due to many barriers, but I didn’t pay close attention to what these barriers were until recently.
Who is leading the OER space? And why should learning designers join?
Libraries often take the lead in OEP efforts at Australian universities, driving initiatives such as open research and textbook projects. They excel in advancing open access research and have made significant contributions to curating OER for faculty. However, their role in integrating OEP into everyday learning and teaching practices is less prominent.
This gap is not due to a lack of effort from librarians. Rather, it highlights the need for learning designers to take on a more active role and have greater agency in supporting faculty adoption of OEP. Learning designers are well-positioned as change agents in the ‘third space’ because they bring the same skills needed to develop OERs as they do to create any other learning materials. Central to their role is relationship building and a human-centred approach to design, which focuses on improving education to foster social justice. These principles closely align with the core values of open education.
What are the barriers?
Despite our potential as change agents, learning designers are often absent from the conversation around open educational practices. Our engagement with OEP tends to be unintentional, and we often stumble into open education rather than actively embracing it. This raises the question: what barriers are preventing us from fully committing to OEP? Let’s highlight 4 of these challenges, along with initial solutions to help overcome them.
1. Understanding copyright laws and Creative Commons licences
While many in the education sector are familiar with the concept of copyright, fully grasping the nuances of Creative Commons licences, especially when combining works with multiple licences, remains difficult for those who are not well-versed in copyright intricacies. When learning designers aim to create educational resources that incorporate various OER materials, determining how to correctly mix and match licences becomes a major hurdle. This complexity can lead to uncertainty about what is permissible, often discouraging the use of OERs altogether.
To address these challenges practically, I would recommend the Remix game.
2. Lack of faculty support for prioritising OEP
Academics are often required to meet key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with established faculty priorities. When OEP is not included as a priority, faculty members are unlikely to dedicate additional time and effort to it, given their existing responsibilities, which include teaching, grading, governance, research and professional development. Without faculty support and alignment with strategic goals, OEP remains a secondary consideration.
Read the work of Abbey K. Elder, Mahrya Burnett, Anne Marie Gruber, and Teri Koch for insight into how faculties can adopt OEP in their learning and teaching strategies.
3. Equating OERs with low quality
This misconception entails resistance from academics which stems partly from the ‘quality myth’ – the notion that ‘you get what you pay for’ leads some educators to question the value of OER. However, evidence from adopting OER in learning and teaching reflects the positive impact of these types of resources on the student learning experience.
4. Lack of familiarity with the pedagogical implications of OEP
There is often confusion between using OERs and engaging with OEP, which involves active learning and innovative teaching methods. Faculty members may not realise that OEP can include practices like allowing students to co-create course materials, using open assignments that contribute to the public good, and encouraging participatory learning. I find this as a great opportunity that is often missed.
As a solution to this challenge, consider insights from The Open Pedagogy Notebook. It contains a rich collection of methods on utilising OEP and open pedagogy in learning and teaching practices.
Breaking the barriers
As a learning designer or someone whose work intersects with learning design, have you encountered similar barriers? If so, what were your experiences like? Have you faced any other challenges that might serve as barriers to committing to OEP?