Critical Evaluation of Quality Criteria and Quality ...lre.eun.org/wp/LRE_White_paper_003.pdf ·...

WHITE PAPER

CriticalEvaluationofQualityCriteriaandQualityInstrumentsinOERRepositoriesforthe

EncouragementofEffectiveTeacherEngagement

DRMARINACONNELLJOHNCONNELL

JANUARY2020

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. 2KEYWORDS...........................................................................................................................................................2ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................... 2

INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 3DEFINITIONOFTERMS...................................................................................................................................3PURPOSEOFTHEWHITEPAPER...............................................................................................................4BACKGROUNDANDTHEORETICALAPPROACHOFTHISREVIEW.............................................5METHODOLOGY..................................................................................................................................................6INTENDEDBENEFITSOFTHISREVIEW.................................................................................................7OVERVIEW OF LEARNING RESOURCE QUALITY CRITERIA AND FEEDBACK SYSTEMS 9TAXONOMIESOFQUALITYINRELATIONTOUSINGOER..............................................................9THEIMPORTANCEOFQUALITYTOTHEUPTAKEOFOER.........................................................14EVALUATINGQUALITYINOER................................................................................................................15RANKINGSYSTEMS&COLLECTIVEINTELLIGENCE......................................................................17EXAMPLESOFREPOSITORIESWITHEFFECTIVEQUALITYSYSTEMS...................................18KlasCement.........................................................................................................................................................18Curriki...................................................................................................................................................................20MERLOT...............................................................................................................................................................21FurtherDiscussion..........................................................................................................................................23

THEQUALITYCHALLENGES:ThreeShortCaseStudies................................................................25CaseStudy1:Scientix.....................................................................................................................................25CaseStudy2:GeoGebra.................................................................................................................................27CaseStudy3:Photodentro...........................................................................................................................30

DIFFERENTAPPROACHESTOQUESTIONSOFQUALITYINOER.............................................31CONCLUSION: A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF QUALITY CRITERIA ............................. 32

APPENDIX: ACTIONABLE POINTS & RECOMMENDATIONS .................................... 36

BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................... 38

ABSTRACT ThispaperoffersashortevaluationofthevarietyofqualitycriteriausedinOpenEducationalResourcesandsomeofthemethodsandpracticesinusetoensurequality.Thepapersurveysandreviewseffectivepracticesandtechnologiesusedinlearningobjectrepositoriestomoreeffectivelyengageeducatorsinprovidingstructuredfeedback.Theaimistoprovideausefulresourcetorepositoryownersandmanagersseekingtodevelopandimproveontheservicestheyalreadyoffertoeducators.AnimportantadditionalaimistosupportteachersinusingdigitallearningresourcesintheclassroomsothatthedeploymentofOERinschoolsinparticularmightgrowandflourishoverthenextfewyears.‘Quality’isbynomeansasimpleconcepttodefineinthecontextofOERrepositoriesandthepaperseekstolayoutanumberofdifferentwaysinwhichtheconceptcanbeanalysedandmadeuseful.Thepaperwasproducedthroughashort-termqualitativeanalysisinwhichweexaminedanumberofexistingOERrepositories,awiderangeofacademicandotherwritingsonthesubject,asmallnumberofinterviewswithkeyexpertsandsomepublishedslidewarerelevanttothesubject.Thepaperoffersasetofpotentialfurtherresearchquestionsaswellasadistillationofanumberof‘actionablepoints’thatOERleadersmightbeabletouseasstartingpointsforongoingdevelopmentworkontheirownqualityassurancesystems.

KEYWORDS Quality, Quality Criteria, Quality Circle, Collective Intelligence, Evaluation, OER, Repository

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Anumberofpeoplegaveustheirkindandgenerousassistancewithourtaskinresearchingandwritingthiswhitepaper.WearethankfultoallofthemfortheirhelpinproducingwhatwehopewillproveausefulpapertotheOERcommunityinEuropeandbeyond:DavidMassart,ElenaShulman,HansDeFour,BramFaems,ElinaMegalou,JoeWilson,PaulBacsich,MarthaZellinger,NeilButcher,AndrewMoore,FernandoCampos,NellyBuchser Anydeficienciesinthefinalpaperremaintheresponsibilityoftheauthorsalone.

INTRODUCTION TheOpenEducationmovementhasgainedsubstantialtractionsincethetermOpenEducationalResources(OER)wascoinedin2000.However,thereremainsmuchscopeforfurtheradvocacyandpromotionofOpenEducationgenerallyandoftheprinciplesandvaluesthattheconceptembodies.OpenEducationisabroadcanvasthatisabletoaccommodatearangeofunderstandingsoftheterm.Itisalsoatermthatgathersanarrayofdifferentelementsbeneathitsumbrella,ofwhichOERisone,althoughonethatismuchdiscussed.OERsaregenerallystoredinaLearningObjectRepository(LOR).

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Intermsoftheunderstandingof‘open’inOER,thispapertakesasastartingpointthestatementfromDavidWileythat:

“Openisacontinuous,notbinary,construct.”1

Inotherwords,therecanbenofixeddefinitionof‘open’inthecontextofOER.Insteaditshouldbeinterpretedinrelativeterms–isarepository,forexample‘openenough’tobedefinedasofferingOER,orisonerepository‘moreopen’or‘lessopen’thananother?Itshouldbeacknowledged,however,thatmanyofthosewhoworkinthefieldprefertoacceptmorefixedandprescriptivedefinitionsofopenness.‘Open’,inthesenseusedinthisreport,relatestotheextenttowhichusersaregrantedrightstousearepositoryoraresourceinrelationtothe5Rsofopeneducationalresources,namely:

Retain-therighttomake,own,andcontrolcopiesofthecontent(e.g.,download,duplicate,store,andmanage)

Reuse-therighttousethecontentinawiderangeofways(e.g.,inaclass,inastudygroup,onawebsite,inavideo)

Revise-therighttoadapt,adjust,modify,oralterthecontentitself(e.g.,translatethecontentintoanotherlanguage)

Remix-therighttocombinetheoriginalorrevisedcontentwithothermaterialtocreatesomethingnew(e.g.,incorporatethecontentintoamashup)

Redistribute-therighttosharecopiesoftheoriginalcontent,yourrevisions,oryourremixeswithothers(e.g.,giveacopyofthecontenttoafriend)2

1https://opencontent.org/blog/archives/11232http://opencontent.org/definition/

Themorethattherightsattachedtoaresourceorarepositorymeetthe5Rs,themoreitcanbejudgedtobe‘open’.The5RsalsoofferareasonablefoundationforanexplorationofqualityinrelationtoOERandopenrepositoriesgenerally.Theoft-accepteddefinitionofOERisthatdevelopedbytheTheWilliamandFloraHewlettFoundation,derivedfromanumberofprecedingdefinitions:

“OpenEducationalResourcesareteaching,learningandresearchmaterialsinanymedium–digitalorotherwise–thatresideinthepublicdomainorhavebeenreleasedunderanopenlicensethatpermitsno-costaccess,use,adaptationandredistributionbyotherswithnoorlimitedrestrictions".3

ThisdefinitionstatesthatOERcanincludebothdigitalandnon-digitalresources.Ashorter,sharperdefinitioncomesfromOECD,butonethatfocusesondigitalresourcesinparticular:

“Digitisedmaterialsofferedfreelyandopenlyforeducators,studentsandself-learnerstouseandre-useforteaching,learningandresearch.”4

Thispaperwilladdressitselfmainlytodigitalresources,althoughtheissuesdealtwithpertainbroadlytonon-digitalresourcesaswell.PURPOSE OF THE WHITE PAPER Intheirpaper,OpenEducationalResourcesPlatformBasedonCollectiveIntelligence,theauthors,DeOliveiraetal5,setoutinsuccincttermstheissuethatliesattheheartofthiswhitepaper.

“AnOERischaracterizedbyitsmetadata….TheOERsarestoredinrepositories.ThepurposeofOERrepositoriesistosupporteducatorsinsearchingforcontentinastructuredway,sharingtheirownresources,reusingexistingmaterialsandcreatingnewresourcesthroughadaptingortranslating,andincollaboratingwithothermembersoftheusercommunitybycommentingupon,reviewing,promotinganddevelopingresources.”

EducatorssearchingforOERbyandlargemakeuseofrepositoriestosearchfor,locate,download,use,re-useandadaptthelearningresourcestheyneedfortheirteaching.Itwouldseemtomakesensethateffectiverepositorieswillmakethisprocessassimpleandaseasy-to-useaspossible.Theyshouldalsoseektogiveteachersmechanismsthatwillallowthemtoprovideprofessionalfeedbackonthevalueandusefulnessoftheresourcesoncetheyhavedeployedthemintheirteaching.Bythismeans,andothers,therepositorywillthenbeabletoofferteacherssomeinformationbywhichtheyareabletopre-determinetosomeextentthequalityoftheresourcestheyselect.

3https://hewlett.org/strategy/open-educational-resources/TheWilliamandFloraHewlettFoundation. Retrieved27March20134http://www.oecd.org/education/ceri/38654317.pdfIschinger,BOECDGivingKnowledgeforFree,p.105https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8537851deOliveira,etalOpenEducationalResourcesPlatformBasedonCollectiveIntelligencep.1

Thefocusofthiswhitepaper,therefore,istoundertakeashortevaluationofqualityissuesinrelationtoOER,withafocusontheK12sectorwherethatispossible,andtoexamineanytechniquesthatcanbeidentified,eitherinproposalsbyeducatorsandacademicsorinactualuseinOERrepositories,thatmightsupporteducatorsinintegratingdigitallearningresourcesintotheirteachingpractice.MuchoftheliteratureandresearchintoOpenEducationalPractices(OEP)generally,andintoOERinparticular,hasbeenproducedandcarriedoutfromahighereducation(HE)ortechnical&vocationaleducation&training(TVET)perspective,and,todate,withafewhonourableexceptions,lesssofromtheperspectiveofteachersandstudentsintheschoolssector.Forwhateverreasons,thereseemstohavebeenanidentifiablylowerlevelofengagementwithOpenEducationfromwithintheK12sectorgenerallyovermanyyears.Ofcourse,manyoftheOpenEducationlessonslearntandappliedwithinHEandTVETwillapplyjustasmuchtoOEPinschools,butweshouldbecautiouslyawarethattheirapplicationinK12mightraisesomecontextuallyspecificissuestoo.

BACKGROUND AND THEORETICAL APPROACH OF THIS REVIEW ThiswhitepaperhasbeencommissionedbytheLearningResourceExchange(LRE)SubcommitteeofEuropeanSchoolnet.TheLRESubcommitteeisagroupofEuropeanMinistriesofEducationandotherorganisationsthatpromotesandsupportsthecreation,discovery,exchange,and(re-)useofOERandOEP.TheLRESubcommitteefeelsthatthetimeisrighttosurveyandreviewbestpracticesandtechnologiesused,orproposedforuse,bylearningrepositoriestomoreeffectivelyengageeducatorsinthetermsalreadydescribedabove.Thepaperprovidesareviewandasmallnumberofrecommendationsonqualitycriteria(eitheralreadyinuseorbasedoncurrentpedagogicalresearchliterature)anduser-feedbacksystemsthataremosteffectiveinclosingthegapbetweenOERs,inproposalsorinrepositories,andtheiractualuseinclassrooms.Thepaperattemptstodescribeestablishedgoodpracticesforeducationalrepositorieswithregardtoratingandevaluativesystemsandfeedbackmechanismsbasedonprofessionaljudgementoronwell-foundedqualitycriteria,withafocusonsystemsthatcaptureuserfeedbackwithinOERrepositoriesthemselves.Toachievetheseaims,thepaperwasrequiredtoencompassfivekeydeliverables:

• Abriefoverviewoflearningresourcequalitycriteriaandrankingsystems• Keyexamplesofimplementationsoftheserankingsystemsthatcapture

userfeedbackonOERs• ChallengesfacedbyK12educationalrepositoriesthathaveimplemented

rankingsystemsbasedonuserfeedbackandthesolutionsadoptedbyrepositoriesthataddresschallenges;

• Anevaluationoftheeffectivenessofdifferenttypesofqualitycriteriaforstructuringfeedbackandrankingsystemsthatsupportteachersinusingdigitallearningresourcesintheclassroom;

• Acomprehensivebibliographyreferencingrelevantreadingsandstudiesthatcanbeusedinselecting,developingorimplementingqualitycriteriaandrankingsystemsthateffectivelyexploituserfeedbackforevaluatingandusingOERs.

Someofthedeliverablesweremoresuccessfullyachievedthanothers.Inparticular,arathersmallnumberofOERrepositorieswereidentifiedthatseemtohaveimplementedeffectivesystemsforevaluatingqualityorforrankingresourcesbyquality,andfewalsothatsystematicallyinvolvedusersinfeedingbackonthequalityoftheresourcestheyfindordeploy.However,withinthatsmallsample,thereweresomeexamplesofgoodpractice.

METHODOLOGY Giventheshorttimescaleavailabletoproducethispaper,theinformationanddatawereexaminedandprocessedonthebasisofthetype,goalsanddeliverablessetoutabove.Inconductingthereview,weusedthefollowingtechniques:

a) Contentanalysisb) Small-scalesurveyingofkeyrepositoriesandindividualsc) Deskresearchd) Interviewsbyemailandbyaudio

Theresearchisexclusivelyqualitativeinnature,usinganexploratoryapproachtoanexistingrangeofacademicandotherworkinthefield.Afewkeyinsightsweregainedfromextensivereadingofthematerialfoundandfromasubsequentattempttosynthesizeandsummarizethethinkingaroundquestionsofqualityinrelationtolearningresources.Anumberofworkingrepositorieswereidentifiedandasmanyofthemascouldbeidentifiedwithinthetimeavailablewereexamined.Theexaminationwasalsocarriedoutwithintheconstraintssometimesimposedbytherepositoriesthemselveswithregardtoauthenticationandease-of-access.Itwashopedtogainafeelforthoserepositories,ifany,thathavesoughttoestablisheffectivepracticeintheuseofqualitycriteriaandrankingsystems.Averysmallnumberofkeyexpertswereidentified(fromourownknowledgeandfromourreadingoftheliterature)whoitwasfeltcouldofferinsightsbasedontheirgreaterexperienceofthefield,and‘interviews’wereconductedbyemailorbyphone.Witheachpartofourapproach,theaimwastofocusinparticularonthesituationinrelationtoK12,thisdespiteanapparentdearthofmaterialandpracticerelatingtotheschoolssectorinOpenEducation.SomegoodpracticeintheK12sectorwasidentifiedandthishasbeenhighlightedinthepaper.

However,itwasnecessarytodependtosomeextentonthinking,writingandpracticeemanatingfromHEandTVETtoo.Theinformationgatheredforthereportrangesacrossabroadspectrumofsources,includingsomewell-known(andsomeless-well-known)academicpapers,educationalblogsandwebsites,socialmediagroups(includingFacebook,Youtubeandothers),whitepapersandavarietyofreports.Throughouttheprocess,theinvestigationsoughttoaddresstherequirementsofteachersinrelationtotheiractualneedsintheclassroomandtoavoidwherepossibleanyemphasisontop-down,centralized,pre-determinedassertionsofqualityforresources.Tothisextent,itishopedthatthelongertermneedsofrealeducators,especiallyintheschoolssector,willbemetbythoserepositoriesthatendeavourtogiveteachersthemselvesinfluenceoverthedeterminationofcontentquality.Theaimistoprovidesomesemblanceofawayforwardforthosewhoseektomakefurtherprogressinthisarea.Thereportalsofocusesontheassumptionthat,nomatterhowmuchqualitycanbeascribedtoanysingleresourceortoanycollectionofresources,whetheropenorotherwise,ifthoseresourcesdonothaveapositiveimpactonstudents’learning,theyareultimatelyofnoeducationalvalue.Thisis,however,anassumptionthatisitselfsomewhatproblematicwhenweconsiderOERinrelationtotheneedsofteachersandtheirteachingpracticeaswellasinrelationtothelearningthatfollowsfromthatteaching.Havingperusedthesubsetoftheidentifiedliterature,itisdifficultnotagree,ingeneral,withtheviewofPaulBacsich,BarryPhillipsandSaraFrankBristowintheirFinalReportonLearnerUseofOnlineEducationalResourcesforLearning,that:

“Theliteratureonlearneruseofonlineeducationalresourcesisveryimmature,withalackofmeta-reviews.Theoverwhelmingmajorityofpublishedstudiesdonotgeneralisebeyondtheirparticularcontextsofstudy.Thereisnoconsistentmethodology.”6

Theirfindingextendsalongwayintotheliteratureonqualitycriteriaandfeedbacksystemsinlearningresources,whethertheyareopenorotherwise,andthatisperhapsevenmorethecasewhenthefocusisonthesequestionsisinrelationtoK12.Ofcourse,thosewhohavealreadycontributedovertheyearstotheliteratureonOERhavedonesoextensivelyandinsightfully.However,thefieldisstillyoungandneedstogrowandmatureoverthenextfewyears,buildingontheverygoodworkalreadydone.INTENDED BENEFITS OF THIS REVIEW Inashortreportsuchasthis,itisdifficulttocaptureanythingmorethananimpressionofthestateofplaywithregardtothequestionsathand.However,it

6https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/learner-use-online-educational-resources-learning-luoerl-final-reportBacsich,P;Phillips,B;Bristow,SFLearnerUseofOnlineEducationalResourcesforLearningP.3

ishopedthatthethoughtsgatheredherewillbeabletoactasaspurtodeeperandbroaderworkinfuture.AdditionalresearchwillundoubtedlyberequiredtopromoteandexpandontheeffortsthathavealreadybeenmadetoensurethateducatorsarebetterabletoselectandintegratedigitalresourcesintotheirteachingpracticeacrossEuropeandbeyond.Ifthepaperleadstofurtherresearchintoquestionsraisedhere,thatwillberegardedassuccess.

OVERVIEW OF LEARNING RESOURCE QUALITY CRITERIA AND FEEDBACK SYSTEMS

TAXONOMIES OF QUALITY IN RELATION TO USING OER

Anyattempttodefinequalityinrelationtoeducationalresources,whetheropenornot,isfraughtwithdifficulty.Qualityisbothsubjectiveandheavilycontext-specific,andattemptingtosetouttheparametersofqualityinrelationtoOERoftenleadstosubjectivelayerbuiltuponsubjectivelayer,witheachlevelofdefinitionprovingdifficultorimpossibletomeasureinanysimpleway.Thereisalsothesimpleassertionthattherecan,ultimately,benoinherentorintrinsicsenseof‘quality’withinaresourceotherthaninaparticularcontextwhereithastoservespecificneedsforeducators,studentsorself-learners.Itmustimpactonthelearninginapositiveway.A‘good’resourceinonecontextmightbea‘poor’resourceinanother–itdependsupontheusetowhichitisputandforwhosebenefit.

AsDavidWileysosuccinctlydescribestheissue:

“…thecoreissueindeterminingthequalityofanyeducationalresourceisthedegreetowhichitsupportslearning.Butconfusingly,that’snotwhatpeoplemeanwhentheysaythatatextbookorothereducationalresourceis“highquality.”….thedegreetowhichitsupportslearningistheonlycharacteristicofaneducationalresourcethatmatters.”7

However,Wiley’scontention,thoughafundamentaltruth,isnotenough.Itistoosimplisticandittakeslittleaccountoftherealitiesofateacher’sneeds.Takingaccountofthebroaderresponsibilitiesrequiredinteachingandlearning,itisimportanttokeepinmindthatteachers,beforeteachingorlearningeventakesplace,havetofindlearningresourcesthatareappropriatetotheirteachingrequirements,thatarereadilysearchableandavailable,andthat,wherepossible,alreadyhavesomeperceivedleveloftrustworthinessbecausetheresourcehaspreviouslybeencuratedorhasprovedusefultoothereducators.SowhileWiley’sviewiscentraltoanyconsiderationofquality,sotooaretheneedsofteachersastheyseekout‘goodquality’learningresourcesinplanningtheirteachingandtheirstudents’learning.Ofcourse,teacherswanttheirlessonsandtheresourcestheydeploytohaveapositiveimpactonstudents’learning,buttheycannotknowwhetherthatwillbethecaseuntilaftertheteachinghasbeencarriedoutandthelearninghasbeenassessed.Beforeallthatcanhappen,teachersneedsomeassuranceabouttheperceivedqualityofaresourceinordertohelpthemselectthebestcontentpossiblefortheirteaching.SoinlookingatqualitywithrespecttoOER,weshouldthinkof‘quality-before-the-fact’aswellas‘quality-after-the-fact’.Neitherissufficient,andbotharenecessaryincontemplatingthedomainofOEP.If,outoftheirteachingpractice,teachersareabletoevaluatethequalityoftheresourcestheyusedinthe

7https://opencontent.org/blog/archives/3821Wiley,DStopSaying“HighQuality”

classroom,that,inasense,completesacircleofquality:eachtimethecircleiscompleted,theperceivedqualityofaresourcecanberenderedmoreandmoretrusted.So,afteraresourcehasbeendeployedtheteacherisabletogivefeedbackonwhetherandhowtheresourcewasusefulornot.Aneffectiverepositoryshouldallowtheeducatortocompletethis‘qualitycircle’,fromdiscovery,touse,toprofessionalevaluativefeedback,andtheprocesscanthenberepeatedasmanytimesasnecessary.

A Simple Outline of the Notion of the ‘Quality Circle’ in Relation to OER

Thiscanleadtoarankingoftheresourcesavailablefromarepositoryorothersource,sothatwhenanothereducatorcomesalonglookingforsimilarresources,therepositoryisabletoserveupanorderedlistthatreflectspreviousevaluations.Evenbetterisafunctionthatenablessortingbymorethanonemetric,asisthecaseinsomeoftheexamplesexaminedinthispaper.Thequalityofalearningresourcedependsonthedemandsandrequirementsbothoftheeducatorandofthelearnerratherthanonsomepre-determinedcharacteristicoftheresource:

“Inthissense,qualityassuranceandvalidationcannotcomefromatop-downapproachthatwillperformacentralizedqualitycontrol.Onthecontrary,suchqualitycontrolshouldtakeintoaccounttheend-users,engagethemproactivelyinprovidingfeedbackandsuggestionsforenhancements,supporttheminadaptingthecontentthemselvesandsharingitwiththecommunity.”8

Takingthisapproachfurther,oneofthemostusefuldelineationsofqualityinthiscontexthasbeenprovidedbyCamilleri,EhlersandPawlowskiintheir“State

8http://lre.eun.org/wp/LRE_White_paper_001.pdfChounta,Irene-AngelicaAreviewofthestate-of-artoftheuseofmachine-learningandartificialintelligencebyeducationalportalsandOERrepositoriesp.22

oftheArtReviewofQualityIssuesRelatedtoOER”9.Intheirpapertheysetoutthefollowingfeatures,someofwhichareuniversalorgeneralwhileothersaremorespecifictoaparticularinstanceofusebywhichitmightbepossibletocometoanunderstandingofthequalityofalearningresource:

Efficacy–bythisismeantthefitnessforpurposeoftheobject/conceptbeingassessed.WithinthecontextofOER,thismightincludeconceptssuchasease-of-reuseoreducationalvalue.Impact–impactisameasureoftheextenttowhichanobjectorconceptproveseffective.Impactisdependentonthenatureoftheobject/conceptitself,thecontextinwhichitisappliedandtheusetowhichitisputbytheuser.Availability–theconceptofavailabilityisapre-conditionforefficacyandimpacttobeachieved,andthusalsoformspartoftheelementofquality.Inthissense,availabilityincludesconceptssuchastransparencyandease-of-access.Accuracy–accuracyisameasureof(a)precisionand(b)absenceoferrors,ofaparticularprocessesorobject.Excellence–excellencecomparesthequalityofanobjectorconceptto(a)itsquality-potential,i.e.themaximumtheoreticalqualitypotentialitcanreach.

Thefirstofthesefactors–efficacy,orfitnessforpurpose–mightbeviewedasthesinglefactormostrelevanttoteachersseekingeffectiveresourcesfortheirteaching.Whetherthatisthecaseornot,allfivefactorstakentogetherembraceboththequestionofimpactonlearningandtheneedfora‘pre-definition’ofqualitythatworksfortheteacherhopingtocreateinterestinglearningexperiencesforstudents.Intakingforwardthesecharacterizationsofquality,theyproposeaconceptualframeworkbuiltaroundthreesetsofqualityapproaches:

QualityAssuranceofResources–…alifecyclemodeltounderstandthequalityfactorsaffectingindividualresources,includingtheircreation,useandevaluationQualityAssuranceofStrategies/Policies–usingamaturitymodel…theinstitutionaldevelopmentofpolicieswhichgovernandpromotethecreationofOERQualityAssuranceofLearning–…course-specificqualityassurance,includingprocessesofteaching,assessmentandrecognition10

Bytakingthisapproach,theygobeyonddefiningqualityintermssimplyofsomeintrinsiccharacteristicsoftheresources.Forexample,theyoutlinethevaluereinforcedintheresourcesbythefeaturesbuiltintotheprocessofcreatingtheresourcesinthefirstplace.Evenhere,though,theultimatequalityoftheresource,nomatterthecalibreofitsprovenance,canonlybemeasuredagainst

9https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/475a/50bbc6bb0b0e580aa1470ff88d972b60983d.pdfCamilleri,AnthonyF.;Ehlers,UlfDaniel;Pawlowski,JanStateoftheArtReviewofQualityIssuesrelatedtoOpenEducationalResources10Camilleri,AnthonyF.etalibid.

itseffectivenessinfacilitatinglearning.Theynotetoo,inpassing,thatapplyingtheprocessofresource-creationtoOERisnecessarilymorecomplexthanthesameprocessappliedtotraditionally-producedresources,giventhepotentialmultiplicityoffacetsofauthorship,sharing,modification,useandre-useinOER.Intheirpaper“QualityAssuranceintheOpen”AtenasandHavemann11consideredthewiderapproachoflookingatthesharedcharacteristicsofOERrepositoriesratherthanthequalityoftheresourcesthemselves.Theytookasastartingpointtheassumptionthat:

“ThepurposeofOERrepositoriesistosupporteducatorsinsearchingforcontentinastructuredway,sharingtheirownresources,reusingexistingmaterialsandcreatingnewresourcesthroughadaptingortranslating…”12

Onthisbasistheysetoutwhattheyidentifyasthedefiningcharacteristicsofthemosteffectiverepositories,characteristicsthatareeithersocialortechnical,orboth.Whilethetablebelowwouldbedifficulttotranslateintoguidelinesforteachersseekingtoevaluateresources,itdoesserveapotentiallyusefulpurposeforthosewhoaretryingtodevelopeffectiveandfully-functioningrepositories13.

QualityAssurance

Description Themes Characteristics

Featuredresources

Abilityoffeaturingresourcesthatarepotentiallyofhighinterestforteachersbecauseoftheirdesignorcontent.

Search,Share,Collaborate

Social

Userevaluationtools

Toolsfortheresourcestobeevaluatedbyusersaimingtoratearesource.

Collaborate Social

Peerreview Peerreviewaspolicytoreviseandanalyseeachresourcetoensureitsquality.

Collaborate Social

Authorship Analyseiftherepositoriesincludethenameoftheauthor(s)oftheresources.

Search,Reuse Social

Keywords Methodicallydescribetheresourcestofacilitatetheretrievalofthematerialswithincertainspecificsubjectareas

Search Technical

Metadata Introducestandardisedformatsofmetadata(DublinCore-IEEELOM-OAI-PMH14)forinteroperability

Search,Share,Reuse Technical

11https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/8609/1/30-288-1-PB.pdfAtenas,JavieraandHavemann,Leo(2013).Qualityassuranceintheopen:anevaluationofOERrepositories.INNOQUAL:TheInternationalJournalforInnovationandQualityinLearning12Atenas&Havemann,ibid,p.2413WearegratefultoDavidMassartforofferingclarificationonthisdistinction14OAI-PMHisaprotocolforexchangingmetadata,notametadataformat.See:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Archives_Initiative_Protocol_for_Metadata_Harvesting

Multilingualsupport

Designtheinterfaceoftherepositoryinamultilingualwaytowidenthescopeofusersbyallowingthemtoperformsearchofcontentindifferentlanguages.

Search,Share,Reuse,Collaborate

Technical

SocialMediasupport

Introducesocialmediatoolstoenabletheuserstosharetheresourceswithinsocialmediaplatforms.

Search,Share,Reuse,Collaborate

Social,Technical

CreativeCommonsLicences

SpecifythetypeofCreativeCommonsLicenceperresourceorgiveinformationaboutthespecifictypeoflicenceforalltheresources.

Search,reuse,collaborate

Technical

SourceCodeorOriginalFiles

Allowdownloadingtheoriginalfilesorsourcecodeofresourcessotheycanbeadapted.

Reuse,Collaborate Technical

Theimportanceofensuringqualityindigitallearningresources(indeedanylearningresources,nomattertheirformat)cannotbeunderestimated.Camilleri,EhlersandPawlowski,alreadycited,madetheimportantpointthat,althoughopenlearningresourcesaregenerallyavailable,theyare‘notfrequentlyused’.Inthereasonsforwhythismightbeso,theylistthefollowing:

“…[lackof]organisationalsupport,alackofsharingculturewithinorganisations,lackofskills,quality,trustortimeandskillsforadaption.Onlyoneelementisrelatedtotheavailabilityoftechnicaltoolsforsharingandadaptingresources.Notasinglebarrierrelatestothequestionofaccessibilityandavailability.”15

So,lackofquality(including,wepresume,perceivedlackofqualityasaconsequenceofapaucityofpriorevaluations),orevenasimplelackofinformationaboutquality,isadeterminingfactorsintherelativelackofactualuseofdigitallearningresources.Inthecreationofdigitallearningresources,theEuropeanConsortiumforAccreditationsuggests16anumberofqualitycriteriawhichshouldbetakenintoaccountwhendesigningsuchlearningobjectives:

• Internalandexternalstakeholdersshouldbeinvolvedintheprocessofdesigningandrevisinglearningobjectives,forexamplebyparticipatinginmeetings,pedagogicalboards,satisfactionsurveys,evaluationprocedures,etc.

• Learningobjectivesshouldbedescribedinacomprehensibleway.Inparticular,theyshould:

o Bedefinedinclearandconcreteterms(shortandsimplesentences),

15Camilleri,AnthonyF;etal,ibidp.2516Camilleri,AnthonyF.;etalibid.p.17QuotingfromEuropeanConsortiumforAccreditation-http://ecahe.eu/w/images/b/ba/Publication-Learning_Outcomes_in_Quality_Assurance_and_Accreditation.pdf

o Focusonwhatstudentsareexpectedtobeabletodemonstrateanddescribeobservableabilitieswhichcanbeassessed.

However,giventhattheperceptionofqualityisjustoneofseveralbarrierstouptakeandusageofOER,anystrategiesundertakentoimprovequalitymustbeseenasjustonefacetofpoliciesdesignedtoincreasetheuseofOERinanyeducationalsector.Questionsoftrust(itselfoneelementofquality,ofcourse),time,skillsandculturemustbedealtwithalongsidequestionsofquality.

THE IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY TO THE UPTAKE OF OER SomestudieshavelookedatwhatteachersneedinordertoencouragethemtouseOERrepositories.Inherpaper,ClassificationandQualityCriteriaforOpenEducationalResourcesintheFieldofForeignLanguageLearning,ZitaKrajcsomadetheself-evidentbutwholly-necessarypointthat:

“…teachersneedhighqualityresources.”17

However,shewentontosay:“Furthermore,thepoolofresourcesmustbebigenoughtooffersomethingformany.Thesearchingmechanismfortheresourcesisalsocrucial;teachersneedefficientwaysforsearchingandfindingmaterials(reachedwithinthreeclicks)fromdifferentcurriculabackgrounds(classificationbysubject,topicsandlevel).”18

Andshecontinues,echoingtheconceptofthe‘qualitycircle’alreadymentioned:

“Classificationassuchiscrucialforthesearchmechanism,butqualityfactorsdeterminethelong-termsuccessfulnessofdigitalresourcesontheusers’side.InthecaseofOERthesefactorsrelatetoinput(qualityofthestructureandpotential),implementation(process)andoutput(outcome)aspects).”19

Shemakestheimportantpointthatensuringqualityintheprocessofcreatinglearningresourcesdoesnotnecessarilyequatetohighimpactontheeventuallearningintendedbyitsuse:

“…[a]focusontheinputqualitycriteriaofOER….hasnotbeenprovenascausalforthelearningeffectyet.Moreresearchisneededtoconfirmandextendthefollowingqualitycriteria.”20

Weispossible,perhaps,toassertwithsomeconfidencethatthisisacausalrelationshipthatisunlikelyevertobeprovenasauniversalrule.

17https://content.sciendo.com/configurable/contentpage/journals$002fjolace$002f4$002f1$002farticle-p48.xmlKrajcso,RClassificationandQualityCriteriaforOpenEducationalResourcesintheFieldofForeignLanguageLearningp.4918Krajcso,Ribid.p.4919Krajcso,Ribid.p.5020Krajcso,Ribidp.50

EVALUATING QUALITY IN OER Ingeneral,itwasdifficulttoidentifyasignificantbodyofworkrelatingtospecifictoolsortechniquesthatcanbeused,andmoreimportantlyarealreadybeingused,byeducatorsandotherstoevaluatethequalityoftheresourcestheyuse.Asmallnumberofrepositorieswereidentifiedthathavesuccessfullyimplementedeffectivefeedbackqualitymechanismsandthesewillbeoutlinedonpages18to24below.IntermsofthequestionofqualitybothinthecreationandchoiceofOER(asopposedtothequalityoftheresourceinrelationtoitsimpactonlearning)anumberofattemptswereidentifiedthatsetoutsomeguidelinesthatteacherscoulddeploytoassisttheminusingOERwell.ArelativelyclearandstraightforwardrubricwascreatedbytheUniversitySystemofGeorgia(theUSGiscomposedof26highereducationinstitutionsincludingfourresearchuniversities,fourcomprehensiveuniversities,ninestateuniversitiesandninestatecolleges,aswellastheGeorgiaPublicLibraryService,allintheUSStateofGeorgia).AcomponentofUSGcalledAffordableLearningGeorgia21setoutthefollowingguidelinesforteachers:AFFORDABLELEARNINGGEORGIAOEREvaluationCriteriaClarity,Comprehensibility,andReadability

• Isthecontent,includinganyinstructions,exercises,orsupplementalmaterial,clearandcomprehensibletostudents?

• Isthecontentwell-categorizedintermsoflogic,sequencing,andflow?• Isthecontentconsistentwithitslanguageandkeyterms?

ContentAccuracyandTechnicalAccuracy

• Isthecontentaccuratebasedonbothyourexpertknowledgeandthroughexternalsources?

• Arethereanyfactual,grammatical,ortypographicalerrors?• Istheinterfaceeasytonavigate?Aretherebrokenlinksorobsolete

formats?AdaptabilityandModularity

• Istheresourceinafileformatwhichallowsforadaptations,modifications,rearrangements,andupdates?

• Istheresourceeasilydividedintomodules,orsections,whichcanthenbeusedorrearrangedoutoftheiroriginalorder?

• Isthecontentlicensedinawaywhichallowsforadaptationsandmodifications?

21https://www.affordablelearninggeorgia.org

Appropriateness• Isthecontentpresentedatareadinglevelappropriateforhigher

educationstudents?• Howisthecontentusefulforinstructorsorstudents?• Isthecontentitselfappropriateforhighereducation?

Accessibility• Isthecontentaccessibletostudentswithdisabilitiesthroughthe

compatibilityofthird-partyreadingapplications?• IfyouareusingWebresources,doeseachimagehavealternatetext

thatcanberead?• Dovideoshaveaccurateclosed-captioning?• Arestudentsabletoaccessthematerialsinaquick,non-restrictive

manner?

SupplementaryResources• Haveyoureviewedthesesupplementaryresourcesinthesamemanner

astheoriginalOER?Whilethetenorofthisparticularrubricisfairlyspecifictoitsowninstitutionalsetting(forexample,atleastsomeofitsfocusseemstobeonmakingavailablecompletecoursesaswellassingle-useresources-teachersaremorelikelytorequirethelatterthantheformer),itdoesseemtooffersimpleguidelinesthatcouldbeadaptedformanyothercontextswhereteachersareeithercreatingorchoosingOER,orboth.Itshouldbenotedinpassingthat,accordingtoarecentpiecefromLibbyVMorris,USG’sAffordableLearningGeorgiahassavedstudentsmorethan$31montextbookcosts.22Morepertinenttothispaper,Morrisgoesontoraisethequestionofquality,amongstanumberofotherissues,thatshebelievesoughttoinformtheresearchagendaonOEPandOERforthenextfewyearsatleast:

“Thequantityofopenmaterialsislargeandgrowing,andthewidespreadenthusiasmisevident.Nextupistobuildamorerobustresearchagendatobetterunderstandquality,creationandadoptionprocesses,andoutcomes.Whataretheeffectsofopeneducationalresourcesoncoursedevelopmentandimplementation?Onstudentlearning?Whatarethecharacteristicsofcreatorsandearlieradopters?Howdofacultymembersidentify,select,andevaluateopenresourcesforcollege-levelcourses?Howdoinstructor-designedresourcesdifferfromadoptedandadaptedresourcesincoursedesignandeffectonlearning?Willstudents’priorexperiencewithOERaffectmotivationtoindependentlylocateanduseotherfreematerialsforlearning?Howwillthisinfluenceachievementandsuccess?”23

22https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10755-019-09477-7.pdfMorris,LibbyVContemplatingOpenEducationalResourcesp.2publishedinInnovativeHigherEducation(2019)44:329–33123https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10755-019-09477-7.pdfMorrisibid.p.3

ManyofthesequestionsplaydirectlytoanyconsiderationofqualityinrelationtoOER.RANKING SYSTEMS & COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE DeOliveiraetalintheirpaper,alreadycited,OpenEducationalResourcesPlatformBasedonCollectiveIntelligence,describehowcumbersomethetaskcanbeforteacherstosearchfor,locate,downloadanduseOERfromrepositories:

“Theircontentcanbeofmixedquality,withseveralresourceslackingimportantdescriptivemetadatawhich,alliedtotheoftensub-optimalindexingfromtheirsearchengines,resultsintheuserhavingtosortthroughmanyirrelevantcontentwhenqueryingforspecificeducationalresources.Sinceitisofteneasierforuserstosearchforcontentontheirpreferredsearchengine,theserepositoriesarerarelyaccessed.”24

Forthesereasons,anintelligentuserofGoogleoranyothercapablesearchengineisoftenabletoidentifylearningcontentandevenOERmoreeffectivelythanispossiblewiththeinternalsearchcapabilitiesofmanycurrentlyoperatingOERrepositories(althoughwithsomehonourableexceptions,aswillbeseeninthecasestudyonKlasCementbelow).Giventheaddedfactthatmanyrepositoriesareslowtorefreshtheircacheofcontent(usuallyforgood,thoughsometimesbureaucratic,reasons),andthatauniversalsearchenginecanbeusedeffectivelytopinpointrecentlycreatedresourcesfromacrosstheWeb,theneedforaneffectivesystemthatwilltrulyfacilitatethetaskoftheteacherseekingresourcesfromwithinasinglerepositoryisobvious.IfarepositoryistocompetewithGoogleanditspeers,itmustbeabletomatchthemwithinitsownlimiteddomainintermsofeaseofuse,flexibilityandpower,andofcoursetherepositoryitselfneedstobeextensiveenoughtoofferalargeandenticingcacheofresourcesfortheeducatortowishtoreturntoagainandagaintomineforcontent.DeOliveiraetalposittheideathatthiscanmosteffectivelybeachievedthroughthedevelopmentofaplatformthatexploitstheconceptofcollectiveintelligence:

“Theplatform’sgoalistoprovideaninteractivewebplatformwithsocialnetworkfeatures,toeasethepublication,searchandrankingofopeneducationalresourcesthroughacollectiveintelligence.Althoughcollectiveintelligencemaybringtomindtheideaofgroupconsciousness,incomputerscienceitusuallymeansthecombiningofbehavior,preferences,orideasofagroupofpeopletocreatenovelinsights.”25

Theyseektoharnesscollectiveintelligencetocreateasystemthatwillrankcontent(andusers)overtimeandthroughmultipleusesinwhich:

24https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8537851deOliveira,etalibid.p.125https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8537851deOliveira,etalibid.p.1-2

“….thehigherthescore,themorereliabletheuserorthecontentis…”26

Collectiveintelligence,whencombinedwithmachinelearning,isalsothemeansbywhichbureaucracycanbereduced,since:

“ThePlatformtrustsinthecommunitytodecidewhichuserisallowedtopublishresources,givinghighrankinguserstheabilitytopublishandinvitenewusersaspublishers.Thenewresourcesgothroughanautomaticfiltering,wheremachinelearningalgorithmstrytofurthermitigatethepresenceofinappropriatecontent.Theresultofthisfilteringisthenvalidatedbyhighrankingusers,toavoidanywronglyclassifiedresource.”27

Thisapproachformedthebasisforthecreationofaprototypeplatform,calledPlataformaMECdeRecursosEducacionaisDigitais28(MECREDforshort),inpartnershipwithBrazil’sMinistryofEducation.Theplatform,asofOctober2018,hadsome30,000publishededucationalresourcesand5000registeredusersaveraging1200downloadspermonth.Whileitwasnotpossibletomakeuseoftheplatformforthepurposesofthisreview,theapproachoutlinedbytheauthorsaboveisonethatcouldperhapsbeencouragedandlearnedfrom.Someconsideration,however,mightbegiventotheexpectationthatcombiningcollectiveintelligenceandmachinelearningcanonlybetrulyachievablewheretherepositoryenjoysacriticalmassofdata,bigenoughforMLtofunctioneffectively.29EXAMPLES OF REPOSITORIES WITH EFFECTIVE QUALITY SYSTEMS Asmallnumberofrepositorieswereidentifiedthat,itisfelt,aremakinggooduseofqualityfeedbackandranking.Wefocusonthreeoftheseherethatofferinterestingexamplestoconsiderinthecontextofthelong-termdevelopmentofOEP,butgivenmoretime,itiscertainthatotherscouldhavebeenidentifiedtoo.

KlasCement KlasCement30,anopenrepositorystartedbyoneteacher,HansDeFour31,inaschoolinFlandersin1998,isnowavaluableandextensiveOERrepositorysupportedbytheMinistryofEducationthatserveseducatorsinFlanders(andintheNetherlands,bydintoftheirsharedlanguage),aswellasacrossEurope.Withmorethan220,000uniqueusers,averyhighpercentageofthemactive,andwithmorethan58,000resourcescurrentlyheldintherepository,KlasCementisamajorplayeramongstOERrepositoriesinEuropeandbeyond.

26https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8537851deOliveira,etalibid.p.227https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8537851deOliveira,etalibid.p.228See:https://plataformaintegrada.mec.gov.br/home29ThankyoutoDavidMassartformakingthispoint30https://www.klascement.net31https://www.klascement.net/profiel/1/YouneedtoberegisteredonKlasCementandloggedintoviewthisprofile

Theavailableresourcescovermanydifferenttypesoflearningmaterials,includingarticles,downloadablelearningmaterials,websites,apps/software,interactiveexercises,images,videos,audiomaterials,andothers.Registereduserscanmakeflexibleuseoftheresources,beingabletosearch,view,download,re-useandadaptcontentfortheirteachingandlearningrequirements.Theyarealsoabletocommentoncontent,giveratingstoindividualresourcesandcanprintresourcesaswellassharethembyemailoronTwitter,Facebookandothersocialmediaplatforms.KlasCementisacontinuallydevelopingplatform,onethatseekstostayattheforefrontofOERfunctionality,notforitsownsakebutinordertocontinuetoofferitsuser-bodythemosteffectiveandusefuleducationalrepositorythatitcanintothefuture.ThosewhodirectKlasCement(agroupthatstillincludesitsfounder)useagroupofpart-timeteachersemployedbytheMinistryofEducationtoensurethatallcontent,whetheruser-generatedornot,meetstheirminimumstandardsofqualitybeforeitisapprovedforinclusionintherepository.Thesequalitystandardsinclude,amongstothers:

• ThattheresourcemetadatameetstheIEEE-LOMMetadatastandardtoensurethatitenablesfullinteroperability,coveringtitle,keywords,subjectmatteretc

• Thattheresourcealsoincludesadditionalmetadatatocoversareassuchaspedagogicalcontext,theme,etc.

• Thattheresourceisfullyproof-read,freeofmistakes,trustworthy,curriculum-relatedandpractical

• Thattherearenocopyrightviolations• Thatitoffersanidentifiableusefulnessinaneducationalsetting

Thereisalsoa‘crowd-sourced’componentthattakesaccountofuserreviews,commentsandratings.Forexample,foreachresourceavailablethroughKlasCement,theteacherorusercancommunicateanissueabouttheresourcetomoderators–theycanraiseissuesoffactualerror,problemswithhyperlinks,oranyotherissuethattheplatformshouldtakeaccountof.Tohelpeducators,KlasCementdeliverssearchresultsbasedonamathematicalformulathatincludes:

• Correspondencewiththekeywordinthesearchbar• Scoresgivenbyusers(andthenumberofusersthatgivethescore),• Timeonline• Typeofcontributor(teacher,student,companyetc)

Theendresultisaplatformthatservesitsuserstotheextentthat,withinitsownimmediateregionalandnationalcontext,itencouragesmanyuserstobypasstheubiquitousGoogleandinsteadtogofirsttoKlasCementwhentheyaresearchingforgoodandtrustworthycontentforalessonoracourse.IntheirconstantdesiretoimprovethefunctionalityofKlasCementsothatitbettermeetstheneedsofitsusers,theplatform’smanagershaveindicatedthattheywouldliketobeabletocreateamoredetailedandricher‘collectiveintelligence’thantheyarecurrentlyusing.Forexample,thescoregivenbyateachertoaresourcethathasbeenusedinteachinghasalimitedutilitygiventhefactthatthescoremightbe

givenforavarietyofreasons:designoftheresource,culturalcompatibility(anassessmentthat,ofcourse,willvaryfromculturetoculture),factualerrors,andmanyothers.Eachofthese,andanyother,reasons,mightinthemselvesbesignificantbutifafutureuserdoesnotknowwhatthatreasonwas,thenthescoreinitselfhasrestrictedvalue.32KlasCementisanOERrepositorythathasbeenabletogrowandprosperorganicallysinceitshumbleoriginsmorethantwodecadesago,tothepointnowwhereitoffersteachersandstudentsinFlandersandbeyondatrulyvaluableandadmirableplatform.Butevenmorecommendablethanwhathasbeenachievedtodateisthedeterminationofthosewholeadittocontinuetoimprovethequalityofitsofferingstoteachers.Itisarepositorythatdeservestobebetterknownbeyonditsownoriginalboundaries.

Curriki ThefeedbackmechanismsemployedbyCurriki33arealsoausefulreferencepointinthisdiscussion.CurrikiisanAmericaneducationnon-profitwhoseaimistobuildalargeglobalcommunitylibraryofOER,andtheyplacesharingattheheartoftheirmission.Theyaskmembersto:

• Sharewhatyoulearn.• Sharewhatyouknow.• Shareyourcontent.• Together,wecanmakeeducationmoreequitable.

WhenyousearchforcontentonCurriki34theresultinglistofresourcesoffersanumberoffunctionsthatateachercanusetoenhancethesearchandtoevaluateresourcesforothersinthefuture.Therearelinksofferingagreaterlevelofinformationonsubjects,appropriategrade/agelevels,andresource-types,aswellaslinkstoenabletheteachertosharetheresourcebyemail,onFacebook,TwitterandGoogleClassroom,andasaURI(forexample,inablogpost).Userscanflagthecontentasinappropriateandalsonominateforreview.Finally,ofcourse,ausercangivetheresourcearatingbetween1starand5stars,afeaturealreadydiscussedinthesectiononKlasCementabove.Currikiadditionallyratesresourcesaccordingtoitsownrubric,fromNR(notyetrated)upto3.0.Whenauserconductsasearchtheyareabletosorttheresultinglistofresourcesaccordingtomultiplecriteria:bytitle(A-ZorZ-A),bynewestfirstoroldestfirst,bymemberratingandbyCurrikirating.Interestingly,italsoenablesresourcestobesortedby‘standardsaligned’.Indeed,thesearchfunctioncanbeenhancedbysearchingaccordingtowhichevercurriculumstandardsyouwishtobealignedto.ThisismostobviouslywhereCurriki’slimitationsbecomeevidentto

32Indeed,ifascoreoutof5,forinstance,isfraughtwithdifficulty,thenasimplelike/dislikebinaryevaluationofaresourceisevenmoreproblematic,sincethereasonforthechoicecanvaryconsiderably,fromapplicabilitytoaparticulargroupoflearners,toeducationalrichness,togrammaticalcorrectness,topedagogicalprinciples,andsoon.33www.curriki.org34NotethattheCurrikiwebsiteprovedproblematicattimesintheSafaribrowseronAppleMacintosh,problemsthatwerenotapparentonotherbrowsers

aninternationalaudience.Despiteitsglobalaspirations,CurrikiisverymuchanestablishedAmericanplatformandsothe(admittedlyverylong)listofstandardsthatresourcescanbealignedtoisalmostexclusivelyAmerican,fromCommonCoretomanyindividualStatestandards.

Finally,asamemberofCurriki,ausercanalsoaddtheresourcetotheirpersonallibraryofcontent.CurrikiisverymuchfocusedontheK12sectorand,fromabriskperusalofthesite,mostofthecontentdoesseemtoofferresourcesofatleastreasonablequalitytoteachersandmanyappeartobeofhighquality.ItsAmericanoriginsmight,ofcourse,limititsusefulnesstoEuropeanandotherinternationalschoolssystems.Nonetheless,itoffersamodelthatotherOERrepositoriescouldlearnfrom.

MERLOT AnotherAmericanrepositoryofmuchlongerstandingthanCurriki,isMERLOT35,onewhichisverywell-knowngenerallyintheOpenEducationmovement.Itoffersaccesstocuratedonlinelearningandsupportmaterialsandcontent-creationtools,andisledbyaninternationalcommunityofeducators,learnersandresearchers.MERLOTwassetupin1997attheCaliforniaStateUniversityCenterforDistributedLearningandhasaHigherEducationfocus.AssuchitsusefulnesstoK12educatorsisnecessarilylimited.However,itdoesappeartoofferagoodmodelinrelationtotheevaluationofqualityfromwhich,aswithCurriki,otherOERrepositoriessitedelsewhereintheworldcouldlearn.

35https://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm

MERLOTissimilartoCurriki(andpossiblyofferedamodelthatCurrikimightitselfhavelearnedfrom)inthatitoffersusersthecapabilitytoratearesourcefrom1starto5stars.Resultsofacontentsearchcanbesortedbytheirratings,buttheycanalsobesortedbywhetherornotusershavecommentedontheresourceoraddedtheirown‘learningexercises’totheresource.Thesearchfunctionalso,importantly,permitssearchingbyaccessibility,andbyitsinclusioninany‘bookmarkcollections’or‘coursee-portfolios’.A5-starratingsystemsuchasthismighthavethevirtueofsimplicity.However,itcanalsobearguedthatsuchasystemistoosimplistic,asalreadynotedinthesectiononKlasCementabove.Theunderlyingreasonswhyausermightgiveascoreof1outof5,example,candiffersogreatlythatthescoregivenreallyofferslittleofsubstancetosubsequenceusersofthatresources,sincetheywillnotknowwhetherthelowscorewasgivenbecauseofpoordesignoranerroroffactoraculture-clashorwhatever.Ontheotherhand,ifascorecanbeascribedalongsidesomequalitativecommentastothereasonforthescore,thatwouldatleastgosomewaytoincreasingtheutilityofthebarerating.Asacentrallycuratedrepository,thereisa‘top-down’aspecttoMERLOT,butalsoa‘bottom-up’aspect.Allthematerialsarecontributedbymembers(membershipisfree),butmanyofthematerialssubmittedgothroughapeer-reviewprocess,overseenbyanyoneoftwentyeditorialboards.Eacheditorialboardismanagedbyaneditorandassociateeditor,andeachhasateamofpeerreviewers.

“AlloftheseitemshavebeencontributedbytheMERLOTmembercommunity,whohaveeitherauthoredthematerialsthemselves,orwhohavediscoveredthematerials,foundthemuseful,andwishedtosharetheirenthusiasmforthematerialswithothersintheteachingandlearningcommunity.”36

Materialsarereviewedonthebasisof:

• Qualityofcontent• Potentialeffectivenessasateachingtool• Easeofuse

MERLOTevenprovidestrainingforpeerreviewers,althoughallpeerreviewersarerecognisedauthoritiesintheirownfield.Crucially,MERLOTisnotarepositoryinthesensethatitactuallystoresallthecontentwithinitsownstoragespace.Rather,itisametadata-basedrepository.Inotherwords,allofthecontentmadeavailablethroughMERLOTisretainedinitsoriginallocationanditisthemetadataattachedtotheresourcesthatmakethemsearchableinMERLOT.ThecontentismerelyrendereddiscoverableandretrievablethroughMERLOT.Ofcourse,thiscreatestheoverheadofhavingto

36http://info.merlot.org/merlothelp/topic.htm#t=MERLOT_Collection.htm

verifyallthelinksonaregularbasis.MERLOTcarriesoutthistaskonamonthlybasisandreportsadeletionrateofapproximately2%onaverage.Thisisamodelthat,ontheonehand,mightappearmoreflexibleandexpandablethanafixedrepositorythatstoresallofitscontentwithinitsownbounds.However,itshouldalsobenotedthat,inaccessingasystemsuchasthis,theteacherrunstheriskofcontentpreviouslyuseddisappearingthenexttimeitissearchedfor,aproblemsthatisunlikelytooccurinarepositoryinwhichresourcesarestoredonafixedsingleserverorsetofservers(suchasisthecasewithKlasCementalreadydescribed).BothCurrikiandMERLOTofferveryeasy-to-usemechanismstouserswhowishtoratethecontenttheydownload,usingasimple5-starsystem.Othersystemsofferuser-feedbacksystemsthataremuchmorecomplex.Oneofthemost

complexfoundduringthereviewwasthatofferedbyOERCommons37inwhichusersfirsthavetoalignthecontenttooneormoreofalargenumberofUS-basedcurriculumstandards,andthenareaskedtoevaluatetheresourcesacrosssixfurthersetsofcriteria.

Further Discussion ItispossibletoconcludethatKlasCement,CurrikiandMERLOTalloffer,tosomeextent,systemsthatworkonthebasisofaformof‘collectiveintelligence’notdissimilartothatoutlinedbyDeOliveiraetalabove.Thesimplefactthatlargenumbersofusersareevaluatingresourceswithinaverylargecacheofcontentbuildsalevelofcommonandsharedknowledgeacrosstheplatformsthatwouldappeartoservethebroadneedsoftheircommunitiesofusersverywellindeed.Itshouldbenoted,however,thatthosedevelopingandmanagingKlasCementfeelthattheycanandwillgofurtherindevelopingtheconceptofcollectiveintelligenceintheirrepository.Largeandeffectiverepositoriessuchasthesealsoenablethe‘qualitycircle’concepttooperate,ensuringsomemeasuresofqualityboth‘beforethefact’–i.e.whentheteacheristryingtolocategoodqualityusablecontentforuseinteachingpractice–and‘afterthefact’–i.e.whentheimpactofanyparticularresourceisassessedandsuchintelligenceisfedbackintothesystem.

37https://www.oercommons.org

OERCommonsUser-FeedbackSystem

AcursoryexaminationofvariouscategoriesofresourcesinOERCommonssearchedforrevealsthatmanyoftheresourceswithintherepositoryareasyetunevaluated.Thecomplexityandsomewhatbureaucraticnatureoftheevaluationprocessmighthaveabearingonthis,buttheeffectisthatanyperceptionofcollectiveintelligencedissipatesthroughthesystem’sseeminglackofuse.Theease-of-useofasystemforevaluatingandfeedingbackonaresourceis,itcanbeinferred,asignificantfactorindeterminingwhetherornottheresourcesareevaluatedtoanyusefulextent.Complexandcumbersomesystemsarelesslikelytobeusedsuccessfullyorextensively.Ofcourse,feedbackmechanisms,aswellasbeingtoocomplexorcumbersome,canalsobetoosimplistic.AnexampleofthisthatcanbetakenfrombeyondtheworldofOERrepositoriesisthetoolthatYoutubeprovidestoenableaviewertolikeordislikeavideo,thesimplethumbs-uporthumbs-down,whichineffectworksinsimilarfashiontothe‘Like’facilityinFacebook.UsingsuchatoolinanOERrepositorywouldcertainlymakethetaskoffeedingbacksimpleforeducators.However,asalreadynoted(p.24)thevalueofasimplebinary‘like’or‘dislike’islikelytobeinadequateforthepurposesofrankingresourcesforusersinanyrigorousway.However,arankingsystemthatatleastletsusersseehowmanytimestheresourcehasbeenopened,andmoreimportantly,downloaded,wouldatleastoffersomenotionofthepopularityofaresource.Whetherthatpopularitycanbetranslatedintoanassessmentofqualityisquestionable,ofcourse,sincearesourcecreatedforanichesubjectwillappeartobemuchlesspopularthanamuchmoreprevalentsubject.Asimplerankingby‘numberoftimesdownloaded’thereforeneedstobetreatedwithcaution.BothEuropeanSchoolnet’sownEuropeanSchoolnetAcademy38andtheEuropeanTeacherAcademy39(whichwasdevelopedforSchoolEducationGatewaybyEuropeanSchoolnetonthebasisofitsexperiencewithSchoolnetAcademy)havesimilartools,namelyathumbs-uplinkforeachofthecoursesorwebinarsmaterialslistedintheircatalogues.However,ratherthansimplyregisterauser’s‘like’ofacourseinthecatalogue,SchoolnetAcademytakestheusertoitsFacebookpagesothatheorshecanleaveanapprovingmessageorarecommendationthere(or,wepresume,anoteofdisapproval).Whilebothoftheserepositoriesundoubtedlyoffercontentofahighquality,theapparentlackofuseofthecommentinganduser-feedbacksystemsavailableonthemmustdetractsomewhatfromtheoverallutilityoftheplatforms.OntheTeacherAcademy,forexample,thereareclearlymanyhighlyusefulcoursesforteachersseekingtobuildontheirknowledgeandskills(thesheerbreadthanddepthofqualitythatisevidentacrossallthecoursesonofferisundeniable,andespeciallysosinceteacherscanoftenfinditdifficultorevenimpossibletoobtainstrongandeffectivesupportfortheirprofessionaldevelopmentneedsneedfromanywhereelse).However,ithastobesaidthat,despitetheobviousqualityon

38https://www.europeanschoolnetacademy.eu39https://www.schooleducationgateway.eu/en/pub/teacher_academy.htm

offer,ateachercomingtothecatalogueforthefirsttimewillfinditdifficulttogetanypriorfeedbackfromusersonhowusefulthecourseswereandwhy.

THE QUALITY CHALLENGES: Three Short Case Studies Thefocusinthissectionisonthechallengesfacedbyrepositoriesastheyseektoensurethatusershavethebestexperiencepossibleinrelationtothequalityresourcestheylocateandsubsequentlymakeuseof.Threeshortcasestudiesthatprofiledifferentqualityissuesareoffered.Scientixisastronglycuratedsitethatadmitscontenttoitsrepositoryonlyifitmeetsitsownminimumstandardsofquality.WhenuserssearchScientixforcontent,theycanbesurethatleastthecontenttheyidentifyhassomebasiclevelofquality.ThissectionofferssomequalitativeconsiderationsbasedontheexaminationofthesearchfunctioninScientix.GeoGebraisaninteractivemathematicsapplicationthatisbothbrowserandappbasedonmultipleplatformsandthatisaimedatmathematicslearnersfromprimaryschoolthroughtouniversity.Arecentpaperco-authoredbyGeoGebra’sCEOofferssomefascinatinginsightsintohowaplatformmightgoabouttryingtoimprovethequalityofitssearchfunctionsoastoensurethatusersfindtheresourcesthataremostappropriatetotheirneeds.PhotodentroLORistheNationalLearningObjectRepositoryforprimaryandsecondaryeducationinGreece.Itisanextensiveplatformthathostsalargecacheoflearningobjects,eachofthemtaggedwitheducationalmetadatabasedontheIEEE-LOMMetadatastandard.Itisopentoeveryone:students,teachers,parents,andothers.

Case Study 1: Scientix Scientixwascreatedin2010ontheinitiativeoftheEuropeanCommissionandhasbeencoordinatedbyEuropeanSchoolnetsinceitsfoundation.Ithasbecomeaverypopularplatform,onethatoffersaverylargecomplementofmainly(but

notonly)STEMresourcesacross24EUlanguages.AllofitsservicesareaccessibletoanySTEMeducatorsandotherstakeholdersforfree.TheScientixUpdate,201940,describeditsofferingsthus:

• AccesstoinformationonEuropeanscienceeducationprojects• Accesstohigh-qualityresourcesinscienceeducation,withon-demand

translationofsometeachingmaterialforfree

40SCIENTIXUPDATE2019http://files.eun.org/scientix/scx3/publications/Scientix3_Final_Publication_web.pdf

• AccesstoScientixnews,enablinguserstokeepinformedaboutthelatestnewsonscienceeducationinEurope

• AScientixeventcalendar,bringingtogetherscienceeducationeventsfromacrossEuropeandbeyond

• Exchangeandsharingtoolssuchasforumsandchats.AcriticalobjectiveofScientixistosupporttheSTEMteachingcommunityacrossEuropetoenableeducatorstofind,downloadandmakeuseoftheverybest,high-qualitylearningresourcesthatcanbefoundinSTEMeducation.Therepositoryitselfisacollectionthatisdividedintoteachingmaterials,STEMreportsandtrainingcourses.ItalsooffersopportunitiestoattendorparticipateinwebinarsandconferencesrelevanttoSTEM.Inadditiontothis,Scientixprovidesarobustplatformfordiscussionandexchangebetweenministriesofeducation,NGOsandotherrelevantagenciesandorganisationsastheydevelopandimplementSTEMpoliciesacrossthecontinent.Importantly,itiscentraltotheScientixvaluesandprinciplesthatteachersthemselveswillplayakeyroleininfluencingstudentperceptionsofSTEM(andother)subjectsandinsupportingstudentstoaimforSTEMopportunitiesinhighereducationandintheircareersintothefuture.TheScientixresourcerepositoryisacuratedcollectionoflearningmaterialscentredonSTEMeducation.ManyoftheseresourcesaretheproductsofprojectsthathavebeenfundedandledbyScientix,andtodatealmost2,500teachingmaterialssitintherepositoryalongsidehundredsofSTEMreportsanddozensofhighqualitytrainingcourses.TherepositoryalsogivesaccesstoarangeofScientixMoodlecourseswhichareself-pacedandnon-tutored.ThecurationprocessiscentraltohowScientixoperates.RegisteredusersontheScientixportalareabletouploadresources,andthesearethenreviewedbytheScientixeditorialteam.Uploadguidelinesareofferedsothatresource-creatorshaveaclearideaforhowtheycanensuretheirresourcesareacceptedintotherepository.AswiththeMERLOTrepository,itisonlythedetailedmetadataoftheresourcethatisuploadedsinceScientixlinkstotheoriginallocationoftheresource(andallsuchlinksareverifiedbeforeinclusion).Inmostcases,thisisthewebsiteoftheprojectthatcreatedtheresourceinthefirstplace.Thoseuploadingresourcesarerequiredtoofferpre-defineddatasuchastypeofresource,appropriateeducationalstageandage-rangeofstudents,andschoolsubjects,amongstmanyothers41.Itshouldalsobenotedthat:

“TheScientixresourcerepositoryisnotopentoprojectscreatedwithoutofficialendorsement(i.e.theymusthaveprivateorpublicfunding,beit

41D.MassartandE.Shulman,LearningResourceExchangeMetadataApplicationProfileversion4.7,EuropeanSchoolnet,2011.OurunderstandingisthatScientixusesavariantoftheLREMetadataApplicationprofile,asdoanumberofEuropeanMinistriesofEducationprovidingresources

regional,nationalorEU),self-fundedprojectsorschoolprojects(teacher'sprojects).Resourcesfromsuchprojectswillbeautomaticallyrejected.”42

PerceptionsofqualityinthelearningresourceswithintheScientixrepositoryarealmostentirelybasedonthefactthatallresourcesarecuratedbytheScientixeditorialteamandthatalltheresourceshavebeendesignedtomeettheminimumqualityrequirementssetbytheeditorialteam.Therepositoryplacesalinkwithineachresourcedescriptiondesignedtopermituserstoaddcommentsandaratingfortheresource,but,ontheevidenceofourbrisksurveyoflearningmaterialsoffered,theydonotseemtobeusedmuch.Qualitytherefore,inthisparticularcontext,ispredeterminedbytheproceduresoftherepositoryanddoesnotappeartodependmuchifatallonusers’perceptionsofquality.Itisclearthatplatformoffersabroadrangeofhigh-qualityresourcesintheformofteachingmaterials,reports,trainingcoursesandLREmaterials.Evenacursoryexaminationbyaprofessionaleducatoroftheresourcesonoffershowsthatthematerialsandcoursesavailableoffermuchofvaluetoteachersandlearners.Eachresourceoffersverycompletelevelsofmetadataforfilteredsearching,aswellastheoptionsofwritingcommentsaboutthematerial,ratingthematerialfrom1starto5stars,andreportingproblemswiththecontent.Additionally,Scientixhasmadetheverypositivemovetoofferthesearchfunctionin24Europeancommunityandotherlanguages.Indeed,Scientixalsooffersafreetranslationserviceforanyonewhowantstotranslatearesourceintoanotherlanguage.ThesearchfunctionitselfwithinScientixappearstobehighlyeffective.AsearchformaterialsinScientixoffersfilteringbysubject,byresource-type(forexample,app,case-study,course,experiment,lesson-planetc),byappropriateage-group,andbylanguage.However,onaccessingtherepository,itquicklybecomesclearthatonlyaminorityofresource-usersareactuallymakinguseofthefeedbackmechanismsavailabletothem.ThisisofcoursenotachallengethatisfacedexclusivelybyScientix.Rather,itisachallengefacedbyallOERrepositories.

Case Study 2: GeoGebra Averyeffectiveandwell-designedOERrepositoryintheEuropeancontextisGeoGebra43.ItisbasedinAustriabuthasaninternationalfootprint.Ithaswonastringofawardsanditusesaverylarge,flexibleanddynamicglobalteamtodevelopitsresourcesandtotranslatethoseresourcesintomultiplelanguages.Itisanopenplatformbothinthesensethatanyonewiththeknowledgeandskillstodosocancreateanduploaddynamicresourcestothe

42http://www.scientix.eu/resources/upload-guidelines43https://www.geogebra.org

GeoGebrarepository,andinthesensethatitisopentoanyonetomakeuseofforteachingandlearningpurposes.GeoGebradescribesitselfthus:

“GeoGebraisdynamicmathematicssoftwareforalllevelsofeducationthatbringstogethergeometry,algebra,spreadsheets,graphing,statisticsandcalculusinoneeasy-to-usepackage.GeoGebraisarapidlyexpandingcommunityofmillionsofuserslocatedinjustabouteverycountry.GeoGebrahasbecometheleadingproviderofdynamicmathematicssoftware,supportingscience,technology,engineeringandmathematics(STEM)educationandinnovationsinteachingandlearningworldwide.”44

GeoGebraoffersaconvenientandinstructivecasestudyofsomeofthechallengesfacedbyanyOERrepositoryasitseekstodeliveraplatformthatisconsistentlyabletoofferusers‘gooddynamicmaterials’thataccordwiththeirown–thatis,theusers’–ownstandardsofquality.Forthissection,extensiveusehasbeenmadeofahighlyusefularticlewrittenbyMarkusHohenwarter(CEOofGeoGebra)andCristianHedes,entitled:“UsingQualityFactorstoFind“Good”ResourcesontheGeoGebraMaterialsSharingPlatform.”45(ThepaperwasverykindlysharedwithusbyMarthaZellinger,whooffersPartnerSupportforGeoGebra.)HohenwarterandHedesoffertheinsightthatexpertusersofGeoGebrahaveindicatedthattheytendtosearchformaterialswhichhavebeenproducedby‘highqualityauthors’,namelyresourceproducerswhotheyknowhaveproducedgoodqualitymaterialsinthepast.Inresponsetothis,GeoGebratookthestepofaddingtheoptionforuserstofollowcertainauthorsandtoreceivenotificationswhenevertheseauthorsuploadednewcreationstotheplatform.Butanumberofotherqualitymeasuressuggestedby‘expertusersandliterature’werealsoaddedintotheplatform,andHohenwarterandHedesexplainwhatthosefactorsareandhowtheychosetodealwiththeminGeoGebra.UsingthefindingsofKimeswenger201646,theydefinedthreefurtherfactorsthatneededtobetakenintoaccountintheirattempttoimprovethesearchforgoodmaterials.Thesearethematerialfactor,theauthorfactorandtheuserfactor.Thefirstofthese–materialfactor–seekstomeasuretheactivityhappeningaroundacertainmaterial,forexample,howmuchitisbeingused,copiedandfavourited.Theyderivedthefollowingparameterstomeasurethisfactor:

44https://www.geogebra.org/about45http://www.iadisportal.org/digital-library/using-quality-factors-to-find-%C2%93good%C2%94-resources-on-the-geogebra-materials-sharing-platform46Kimeswenger, B., 2016. Addressing Quality Aspects of Dynamic Mathematics Materials. Proceedings of 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME 13). Hamburg, Germany

• featured:materialsthathavebeenfeaturedbytheGeoGebrateamshouldhavehigherpriority

• type:books(collectionsofworksheets)shouldhavehigherprioritythansingleworksheets

• derived:materialswithmanycopiesshouldhavehigherpriority• groups:materialsusedbymanygroupsshouldhavehigherpriority• books:materialsusedinmanybooks(collections)shouldhavehigher

priority• favourites:materialsthathavebeenfavouritedbymanyusersshould

havehigherpriority• viewsperday:materialsthatareviewedmoreoftenshouldhavehigher

priorityThesecond–authorfactor–hastoreflectthe‘expertiseandrelevanceofthematerial’sauthor’.Inotherwords,resourcescreatedbypeoplewithmanyfollowersshouldbegivenhigherprioritythanthosewithfewerfollowers.Theyderivedthefollowingparameters:

• followers:materialsofauthor’swithmanyfollowersshouldhavehigherpriority

• community:materialsofauthorswithGeoGebracommunitybadgesshouldhavehigherpriority

• publicmaterials:materialsofauthorswithmanypublicmaterialsshouldhavehigherpriority

• teacher:materialsofteachersshouldhaveslightlyhigherprioritythanmaterialsofotherusers

Thefinalfactor–userfactor–isareal-timemeasureusedatthepointofsearching,andisdependentupontheuserdoingthesearching.Theparametersthatwerederivedare:

• language:materialsinthesamelanguageastheuser’slanguageshouldhavehigherpriority

• userID:thematerialsofthesearchingusershouldhavehigherprioritythanmaterialsfromotherusers

Bycombiningthesenewfactorswiththeequationspreviouslyusedtodoatext-relevancesearch,usingnormalizationfunctionsandweighingfactorsderivedfromanalysingtopsearchresults,GeoGebrahasbeenable,theybelieve,toimprovethequalityofsearchresults.Thisis,theysay,stillverymucha‘workinprogress’andtheyareworkingtofurtherimprovethequalityofresultsbydelvingfurtherintothedetailofthevariousparametersestablishedforeachoftheadditionalfactors.Theyarealsoawarethattheroutetheyhavetakenmighthavethedetrimentaleffectofmakinggoodqualitymaterialscreatedbynewauthorslessvisible,andmakeittougherfornewauthorstoestablishafootholdintheplatform.

Case Study 3: Photodentro

AcriticalcomponentoftheGreeknationalinfrastructureforK12educationisthePhotodentroplatformwhichoffers5OERrepositoriesmakingdigitalcontentavailabletoallschoolsinthecountry.Theplatformactsasacentralaccesspointtoschool-basedlearningresourcesintheGreekeducationsystem.Italsoactsasanationalaggregator,aserviceforharvestingeducationalmetadatafromexternalcollectionsandrepositories.Theplatformnowservesastheparamountdigitalwork-spaceformorethan120,000teachersandmorethan1,000,000studentsinthecountry’sprimaryandsecondaryschools.Greecehasestablisheddigitaleducationalcontentasoneoffivefundamentalpillarsintheeducationsystem,theotherfourbeing:

• In-serviceteachertraining• Thedigitalclassroom(classroomsequippedwithinteractiveteaching

systemsandsupportedbyanation-wideschoolnetwork)• Horizontalsupportactions• Electronicadministrationplatformscomplementthegroupofpillars.47

Atthemetadatalevel,qualityinPhotodentroisassuredthroughadherencetothePhotodentroIEEELOMGRApplicationProfile.However,thetaskofassuringthequalityofthecontentintherepositoriesisachievedbymeansofthePhotodentroQualitySeals,whichis:

“…anewrepositoryofthePhotodentrofamilytosupportaqualityassuranceschemeforitscontentbasedonQualitySeals.AQualitySealcanrepresenteitheraprocess,orasetofevaluationcriteria,orabrandname.TherepositoryhostsandmanagesQualitySeals,stampingrecordsforOERs,whileithasaRegistryofCertifiers.”48

Thereisastrongemphasisacrosstheplatformonmetadataqualitysothatthesearchforandretrievalofcontentisaseffectiveaspossible.TheQualitySealsconceptisavaluableattempttobuildcontinuousmetadatacurationintothe

47Megalou,EandKaklamanis,COpenContent,OERRepositories,InteractiveTextbooks,andadigitalSocialPlatform:TheCaseofGreecep.1https://www.academia.edu/37054610/OPEN_CONTENT_OER_REPOSITORIES_INTERACTIVE_TEXTBOOKS_AND_A_DIGITAL_SOCIAL_PLATFORM_THE_CASE_OF_GREECE48Megalou,EandKaklamanis,Cibidp.2

platform,andisonethatshouldofferamodelthatotherrepositoriesmightbenefitfromtoo.QualityinmetadataismaintainedinPhotodentrothroughtheworkofasub-groupofteacherswhohavebeentaskedwithannotatingallcontentwithclearandrobustmetadataandpublishingit.Theyworktoaclearlyspecifiedandstandardizedprocessthatsetsouttheprocedurebywhichcoordinatorsassignresourcestoteamsallthewaythroughtofinalpublication.TheseteamsaresupportedbytrainingcoursesandtrainingmaterialsintheformofFAQs,guidesandmanuals.Beforetheprocessiscompleteforanyindividualresourceorcollectionofresources,afinalcheckisconductedbythecoordinatorofthecollection.TheGreekeducationsystemishighlycentralisedandalltheresourcescontainedinPhotodentroLORaredevelopedby120project-employedfully-qualifiedteachersworkingacross10domain-specificworkgroups,withtheaimofaugmentingandsupplementingthespecifiedGreektextbookswithhigh-qualitydigitalinteractiveresources.Eachgroupisoverseenbyanacademicwithsignificantdomainandpedagogicalexpertisesoastoensurethequalityofthelearningobjects.Thisisaverydifferentmodelfromthatemployedby,forexample,byKlasCement,Currikiandothers,whichuseamuchbroadersystemofuser-generatedcontent.Differentmodelsareneededfordifferentcircumstances,however,andtheGreekmodelinPhotodentrohasmuchtocommenditforacentralisedsystemofeducationsuchasthatwhichappliesinGreece.DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO QUESTIONS OF QUALITY IN OER Thesethreeshortcasestudiesarebynomeansintendedtoofferacomprehensivetakeonhowrepositoriesshouldseektooffertheirusersthehighestqualityoflearningmaterialspossible.Thatcannotbeachievedinashortpapersuchasthis.Howeveritdoesdemonstratethreeapproaches(ofmanypossibleapproaches)thateachoftherepositoriesinquestionhavetakentothisissue.Eachisderivedfromadifferentsetofassumptions,buteachisavalidattempttobuildsomelevelofqualityassuranceintotherepositories.Itisthecaseofcoursethat,whilesomemightseektodevelopuniversalsolutionsorglobalapproachestoqualityinOER,attheendofthedayitisuptoeachrepositorytodeterminehowbestitcanachieveitsobjectivesonbehalfofitsusers,andthatbestfitswiththeveryparticularcontextinwhichitexists.

CONCLUSION: A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF QUALITY CRITERIA Qualityliesattheheartofthispaper.Definitionsofqualityinrelationtoeducationalresources,openorotherwise,abound.Ofallthepossibledefinitions,theonethatseemstoresonatemostwiththeneedsofeducatorswhowishtosearchforanduseOERisthatof‘fitnessforpurpose’.Itistheoneaspectofthevariousdefinitionsonofferthatmostreadilybearsscrutinyfromtheperspectiveofateachersearchingfor‘goodquality’resources.Thislinksbacktothefirstofthefive‘qualityfactors’outlinedbyCamillerietalonp.11.Fromtheuser’sperspective,thebestresourcetheycanfindwillbetheonethatbestfulfilstheirteachingpurposeand,theyhope,thelearningpurposeoftheirstudentstoo.Inthissense,qualityisviewedasa‘before-the-event’conceptwithrespecttothe‘QualityCircle’describedinthispaper.Theteacherwithaclearideaofthepurposeofhisorherteachingwillbeabletoevaluateanyresourcestheyfindmoreeffectivelythantheteacherwithonlyavagueideaofwhattheyhopetoachieveinaparticularlessonorcourse.Forexample,agoodprofessionalteacherwillknowwhatknowledgeorskillstheywillbeteaching,whethertheyaretryingtobuildonwhatstudentsalreadyknoworsimplyreinforcingexistingknowledgeorskills,howstimulating,enjoyableandchallengingtheywantthelearningtobe,whatmethodologiestheyintendtoemploy,whatkindofenvironmentforlearningtheyaretryingtocreate,whatkindofassessmentandevaluationtheywilluse,andwhatpersonalqualitiestheyhopetoinstilintheirstudents.Thisisonlyasubsetofallthepotentialpurposesateachermighthaveinmindforalesson,buttheteacherwhohasaclearideaofpurposewillbebetterabletoselectappropriateandrelevantcontent.FromtheperspectiveoftheOERrepository,therefore,themoretheyareabletoprovidemetadata,descriptions,commentandratingsthatgivetheteachertheinformationtheyneedtoconnectaresourcetotheirteachingrequirements,themoreeffectivelytheteacherwillfindcontentthatis‘fitforpurpose’.Assuch,tryingtodeliveracriticalevaluationofqualitycriteriaisnotsomethingthatcanbeachievedinanyuniversalsense:suchevaluationcanonlyreallybecarriedoutonapiece-by-piecebasisbytheteacherastheylocateandusecontent.However,withthisasthekeyyardstickbywhichtomeasurequality,OERscanperhapsmoreeffectivelystructuremetadataandfeedbacksystemstohelpteacherstryingtoassessthe‘fitnessforpurpose’ofresources.Whentheissueunderconsiderationisthatofquality–andparticularlytheissueofhowarepositorydealswithratingthequalityofitsresources-thekeychallengetendstobearoundthebehaviourofitsusers:howcaneducatorsandotherswhoseekaccesstoopenresourceseitherbepersuadedtogivefeedbackonresourcestheyhavealreadyusedorgainsomeawarenessofaresource’squalitybeforetheymakeuseofit?

SUGGESTED QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Fromthereadingandresearchcarriedoutforthisshortreview,itispossibletoidentify,inconclusion,afewkeyissuesthatariseoutofacriticalevaluationoftheevidenceoutlinedinthispaper.Theycanbesummarisedthus:i. IntheEuropeancontextinparticular,therealchallengeofmultiple

languagesexists.Thelanguageofsearchandthelanguageoftheresourcesthemselvesisacriticalqualitativefactortobetakenintoconsiderationbyrepositories.Usersareoftenhavingtosearchforresourcesinasecondoreventhirdlanguagebutitisclearthatsomerepositoriesaremakinggoodprogresstowardsdealingwiththischallenge.ThisisachallengethatisalreadybeingexploredintheEUNProject‘eQNET’49,whichisexaminingthecriteriabywhichsomeresources‘travelwell’acrossnationalandculturalboundarieswhileothersdonot50.

ii. WhileusersmaybedownloadingresourcesfromOERrepositories,

theyarenotalwayscommentingonissuesofusefulnessandqualitywithintherepositoriesthemselves.Atleastonepossiblereasonforthis,andthatmeritssomeinvestigation,isthat,insomecountriesatleast,teachersoftensetuptheirownonlinegroupsandcommunitiesinwhichtoshareideas,resources,lessonplansandsoon.Thiscreatesakindofhinterlandbeyondtheopenrepositoriesandopencommunitiesinwhicheducatorsarecertainlymakinguseofopenresourcesbuttheyaredealingwithqualityissueswithinclosedorexclusivegroups,oftenataregionalornationallevel.Thereislittleresearchtodatetoverifythisassertion,whichisbasedonexperienceandobservation.

iii. Thepotentialcontentionbetweentwounderstandingsofqualityin

relationtolearningresourceshastobedealtwithpragmaticallybyrepositories.Forthebenefitofeducatorsseekingresourcesfortheirteachingpractice,theirprimeconsiderationwillalwaysbefinding‘useful’resources,resourcesthatmatchtheirpedagogicalrequirements.Intermsoflearners,however,thetruequalityofaresourcewillalwaysbeitsultimateimpactonthelearning,adeterminationthatcanonlybemadeafter-the-fact,andoftenwillbeadeterminationthatisapplicableonlyinthelimitedsituationdefinedbytheactuallearningactivityinwhichtheresourcewasused.

iv. Wefeeltheconceptofthe‘QualityCircle’inrelationtoOEPisaconceptworthdevelopingbeyonditsinitialmodestoutlinehere.TheresearchbasefordefinitionsofqualityinrelationtoOERisdividedtosomeextent,therefore,betweenthosewhowouldwishtoacceptWiley’sdefinitionofquality(outlinedonpage11ofthispaper)asparamountandthosewho,inlookingatthedomainfromateacher’sperspective,

49http://eqnet.eun.org/web/guest;jsessionid=E20318079722343915D3DFAE80661EF850http://lreforschools.eun.org/web/guest/travel-well

understandtheneedforsomepre-determinationof‘quality’sothat,whenasearchismadeforteachingresources,teacherscanbereasonablysureoffindingsomethingappropriateanduseful.

v. Furtherinvestigationcouldbemadeofthoserepositoriesthatmosteffectivelybuildpracticalandusableuser-feedbacksystemsintotheirplatforms.Theseseemmostlikelytoofferacredibleandtrustedservicetousers.Whetherthesearesimplestarratingsystemsorsomethingmorecomplex,theyseemtoworkbestwhenitistheusersthemselveswhoareabletoplayaroleindeterminingquestionsofqualityinrelationtothelearningresources.

vi. WorkcouldbedonetodeterminehowmanyOERrepositoriesareofferingsuchfunctionalitynowandhowsuccessfultheyareintheirimplementations.ItisunfortunatethatCurrikiinparticularisalmostexclusivelyaimedataUSaudiencedespiteitsstatedglobalaspirations–perhapstheycanbepersuadedtoallowtheirresourcestobemappedtocurriculafrombeyondAmericanshores,althoughwhethertheresourcesaresuitableforanon-Americanaudiencehastobeaskedtoo.

vii. Theconceptof‘collectiveintelligence’usedbyDeOliveiraetalisonethathasmuchtocommendit.SystemssuchasCurrikiandMERLOT,whilenotnecessarilyfollowingalltheconstructsofferedbytheBraziliansystemdescribed,doundoubtedlyofferanapproachtoqualityassurancethatisbuiltaroundthecollectiveviewsexpressedbyusersthroughtheuseofratingsystemsand,asaresult,offeredinthesearchfiltersthatenableuserstorankfindingsaccordingly.

viii. TheadaptationsmadetothesearchfunctionwithinGeoGebraintermsofwhattheycallthematerialfactor,theauthorfactorandtheuserfactorispersuasiveandisperhapssomethingthatotherlargerepositoriescouldtakeonboard.Theyarechangesthatcanonlybeeffectivelyappliedtorepositorieswithverylargecollectionsandaverylargeusercommunity.Again,itmightbeviewedasarealapplicationofameasureofcollectiveintelligencetothesearchtoolwithintheplatform.Thatsuchamendmentsbringtheirownissueswiththem,forexampleintermsofpossibleexcludingnewauthorsfromsearchresults,issomethingthat,asGeoGebraacknowledges,requiresfurtherresearch.

ix. Thecomplexityandlevelsofbureaucracybuiltintoarepositorywillhaveabearingonitseffectiveness.Teachersareunlikelytouseacomplicatedfeedbacksystem.

x. IfarepositoryistocompetewithGoogleanditspeers,itmustbeabletomatchthemwithinitsownlimiteddomainintermsofeaseofuse,flexibilityandpower.Therepositoryneedstobeextensiveenoughtoofferalargeandenticingcacheofresourcesfortheeducatortowishtoreturntoagainandagaintomineforcontent

xi. Somefurtherworkmightbedoneonaddingbreadthanddepthtotheconceptof‘efficacy’asitrelatestothequalityofeducationalcontent.Thefitness-for-purposeofaresourceiscriticalinhelpingteacherstofindexactlywhattheyneedforaparticularlessonorcourse.Theperceivedorstatedefficacyofaresourcesmightbethemostappropriatefactortotakeintoaccountinthinkingabout‘quality-before-the-fact’inrelationtoopeneducationresources.

Finally,whilethispaperdidnotventurefarintothequestionofArtificialIntelligenceandMachineLearning,itisreasonabletosuggestthatthisisanareathatwillprovetobeincreasinglyimportantaswemoveforwardtothenextgenerationofOERrepositories.Anyresearchquestionsarisingoutofthisareawillhavetoincludenotonlytechnicalandpedagogicalissuesbutalsoquestionsofethics,fairnessandresponsibilitytoteachers,learnersandresearchersthemselves.QualityisundoubtedlyadifficultconcepttodefineinrelationtoOER.ItisnonethelessadifficultythatmustbetackledifweallwishtoseetheOpenEducationmovementgofromstrengthtostrengthinthefuture.

APPENDIX: ACTIONABLE POINTS & RECOMMENDATIONS Alistof‘actionablepoints’havebeenextractedfromthebodyoftheWhitePaperandhavebeencollectedhereasafinal‘aidememoire’forthoserepositoriesthatareseekingtoimprovetheservicetheyoffertheirusers.Attheheartofthelistbelowisaneedalwaystostartfromtheperspectiveofthelearnerandtheteacher.Thesimpletruthusthatanyrepository,nomatterhowbigitmightbe,thatdoesnothaveaworkingconceptionofitsuserbaseandoftheirrealteachingandlearningneedsisunlikelytobeabletoservetheirneedstrulyeffectively.Eachoftheactionablepointsbelowcomeswiththerelevantpagenumberinthepapersothatthepointcanbeplacedinitscontexteasily.

• P.4o Repositoriesshouldalsoseektogiveteachersmechanismsthat

willallowthemtoprovideprofessionalfeedbackonthevalueandusefulnessoftheresourcesoncetheyhavedeployedthemintheirteaching.

• P.9o Thesimplisticnotionthatqualitycanonlybedeterminedbythe

impactofaresourceonlearningisnotsufficientforrepositories.Ittakeslittleaccountoftherealitiesofateacher’sneedsinseekingoutgoodcontent.

• P.9-10o TheconceptofaQualityCirclemightbeconsciouslyimplemented

inrepositoriesinordertodevelopamodelofcollectiveintelligencerelevantandappropriate,butthereisnoone-size-fits-all.

• Culledfromvarioussectionsofthepaper,thisisalistofpotentiallyrelevantfactorsinarepository’squalityassurancesystem

o P.11§ Efficacy§ Impact§ Availability§ Accuracy§ Excellence

o P.12-13§ Featuredresources§ Userevaluationtools§ Peerreview§ Authorship§ Keywords§ Metadata§ Multilingualsupport§ SocialMediasupport§ CreativeCommonsLicences§ SourceCodeorOriginalFiles

o P.15-16

§ OEREvaluationCriteriaClarity,Comprehensibility,andReadability

§ ContentAccuracyandTechnicalAccuracy§ AdaptabilityandModularity§ Appropriateness§ Accessibility§ SupplementaryResources

o P.16§ Whataretheeffectsofopeneducationalresourceson

coursedevelopmentandimplementation?§ Onstudentlearning?§ Whatarethecharacteristicsofcreatorsandearlier

adopters?§ Willstudents’priorexperiencewithOERaffectmotivation

toindependentlylocateanduseotherfreematerialsforlearning?

§ Howwillthisinfluenceachievementandsuccess?o P.19

§ Correspondencewiththekeywordinthesearchbar§ Scoresgivenbyusers(andthenumberofusersthatgive

thescore),§ Timeonline§ Typeofcontributor(teacher,student,companyetc)

o P.24§ Arankingsystemthatatleastletsusersseehowmany

timestheresourcehasbeenopened

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