[Open-education] Wow Stories and OER Testimonials

[Marieke Guy]

Thanks Alex,

I think you've hit the nail on the head here! I've been thinking quite a 
lot recently about the assumptions I make as someone who is involved in 
the open movement but isn't necessarily a practitioner.

I know this is slightly off topic but I'd like to recommend this blog 
post written by my colleage Zara Rahman about the assumptions she made 
prior to working on the Open Development toolkit 
http://opendevtoolkit.net/en-US/blog/lessons-learned-toolkit/ She talks 
about the need to ask the right questions and how we often think we know 
what people need help with but are wrong. I like her honesty when she 
says: "As with the previous point, understanding this as a cultural 
shift rather than simply a lack of information makes the task a lot more 
daunting - but, I would suggest, more realistic." Sometimes we have all 
the right parts but they still don't fit together.

Your recommendation that we find out "through observed usage" makes a 
lot of sense here. It's no easy task - and an even harder one to show 
the impact of what we do.

Marieke



On 03/02/2015 13:47, Alexandre Enkerli wrote:
> Sounds like an interesting project, collecting inspiring stories about 
> OER use (and not just top-down investment in big OER projects). Will 
> ask around, as it might also help us.
> In my experience, one challenge with collecting those things is that 
> some of the most stimulating things appear commonplace for people who 
> do them. It's a very common thing we notice, in ethnography, that the 
> most interesting stuff is what sounds completely obvious to some but 
> amazingly wonderful to others.
>
> So, a good technique could be to facilitate a workshop during which 
> people can explain how they use OER, providing examples of people who 
> use them properly. It could also be done through observed usage and 
> open-ended interviews. Some UX people are really good at this type of 
> thing.
>
> Otherwise, it's likely that the second- or third-degree contacts from 
> the OER field will provide the concrete examples of practical use we 
> seek. It's not just about the BBC's use of Linked Data. It's about 
> learners empowering themselves.
>
> Let us know how it goes!
>
> --
> Alex Enkerli, Learning Technology Advisor
> Vitrine technologie-éducation
> +1-514-332-3000 #5023
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> open-education at lists.okfn.org
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-- 

Marieke Guy
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