[Open-education] OpenMed Open Symposium

Thu Apr 7 18:54:03 UTC 2016

Dear All

As part of the OpenMed project, Coventry University (UK) will be hosting a
symposium on the 3rd of May.

Attendance is free but places are limitted, so if you wish to attend please
sign up here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/openmed-open-symposium-tickets-24398195660

I hope you find it of interest.

Best wishes

Daniel

*AGENDA*

13.30-14.15:

*The Battle for Open, by Prof. Martin Weller*

Many aspects of open education have begun to enter the mainstream of
academic practice. Open access publishing has been mandated in many
countries, and similar arrangements are now in place for open data. Open
education resources (OERs) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have
reached millions of learners. Open scholarship practices see academics
sharing content, making new connections and utilising new technologies and
methodologies. However, there are also issues involved in the growing
acceptance of open – the manner in which it is used as a marketing term,
the control of open approaches by publishers, and new pressures on scholars
in establishing online identities. In this talk Martin Weller, author of
the book The Battle for Open, will explore the rise of the open approach,
and these current tensions.

Martin Weller is Professor of Educational Technology at the Open University
in the UK. He chaired the OU’s first elearning course in 1999 with 15,000
students, and has been the VLE Director at the OU. He was part of the team
that initiated the OpenLearn project and is currently Director of the OER
Research Hub project. He is author of the books The Digital Scholar and The
Battle for Open. He holds the ICDE Chair in OER. He blogs at edtechie.net

14.15-15.15:

*Workshop on Open Badges initiative at Coventry University*

Open badges

15.15-15.45:

Break / Time for networking

15.45-16.30:

*Opportunities and Challenges of OER in the MENA region, by Prof. Sana EL
Harbi*

The MENA region is at the midst of redefining its political system.
Education is at the heart of vibrant social movements, it is the focal
point of interactions between societal values, economic constraints and
internationalization challenges. Despite its potential in promoting
knowledge and its beneficial effects on boosting economic opportunities,
open educational resources originating from the region are rare and open
practices are far from entering the mainstream of academic practices. Yet,
the MENA region is replete with young people who are naturally very exposed
to internet and social media and receptive to digitized contents. This
young population is a window of opportunity that would underpin the use of
open educational practices. Sana Harbi analyses the challenges and
opportunities of open practices in the education field in the MENA region
and the potential implications they may have on local communities as well
as on the region.

Sana Harbi is a Professor of Quantitative Methods at the University of
Sousse (Tunisia). She initiated the team of Open Education Resources at the
University. She involves her students and colleagues in activities and
projects that reflect open education practices. In the last years, her
academic interest focuses on the economic value and the business model
underpinning OER. In addition, Sana Harbi is a member of the University
board and the academic commission at the Higher Education Ministry. She was
recently honored as a UNESCO Chair in OER.

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OpenMed (http://openmedproject.eu/) is an Erasmus+ project aimed at
widening participation and adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER) and
Open Educational Practices (OEP) to support the modernisation of the Higher
Education sector in the Arabic Mediterranean Region.
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