Building OER Curriculum-Alignment Networks Across States and … · 2020-07-27 · Building OER...
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1 Building OER Curriculum-Alignment Networks Across States and Higher Education Libraries Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) 1. Statement of National Need ISKME’s OER work over the last decade, including our IMLS-funded initiatives, has revealed that a principal barrier to OER use by educators is the difficulty in finding the resources that they need. Existing OER platforms, including the Open Textbook Network, ISKME’s own OER Commons, and a growing number of institutional OER repository projects (including the IMLS-funded Hyku project) provide access to high quality OER. However, these OER often do not include metadata on learning outcomes or alignment to local course requirements—making the task of identifying relevant OER time consuming and ineffective for the faculty end user. In response to this, ISKME has worked with Louisiana Library Network (LOUIS), Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA), and OhioLINK Libraries over the past two years to provide OER repositories where their enlisted faculty and library staff work to align OER to their statewide course matrices. While the resources curated through this process helps to alleviate some of the burden for subsequent faculty in discovering OER, the consortia have cited the following challenges related to faculty use of the curated resources, and the sustainability of the model overall: ● The enlisted group of library staff and faculty reviewers are unable to sustain the current level of curatorial support for finding, aligning, and maintaining OER for their centralized OER repositories. Furthermore, in the long term, their limited library staff at the consortia-level will be unable to sustain the level of OER curation support and guidance they are providing across the state; ● The curated collections that result from the process do not enable faculty users to efficiently identify how well the OER aligns to local course requirements or to understand what adaptations are needed to meet those requirements. Faculty end users also lack social endorsement of material quality by way of peer feedback and reviews of the resources; ● While full, textbook-level OER resources are now more discoverable for faculty, identifying and sharing OER resources in smaller content chunks (such as lectures, slides, videos, and assessments) remains challenging due to lack of standards and coordination in metadata tagging strategies; and ● Overall, the three consortia are not able to grow their own collections by leveraging the work of their peers because their process lacks an efficient way to ingest OER being curated by each other and by external OER repositories. Recognizing some of these challenges, national initiatives such as the OER Discovery Working Group facilitated by SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) and the Next Generation Repositories Project facilitated by COAR (Coalition of Open Access Repositories) are working to develop metadata and technical infrastructure to support the exchange of OER across repositories. Additionally, the Center for Applied Special Technologies (CAST) and the National Center on Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) are working, with support from ISKME, to build enhanced protocols and metadata for OER exchange—specifically focused on accessibility of content for students who need learning accommodations. At a regional level, the IMLS-funded Hyku project is working to support academic libraries across Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, and New York by building a shared technical infrastructure for exchanging digital collections. While the work of these initiatives informs design of underlying architectures for OER repositories, additional work is needed to map the curatorial requirements and process steps involved in identifying, evaluating, and maintaining OER collections from disparate repositories that meet the needs of local faculty end users. Over the past six months, ISKME has begun to engage LOUIS, VIVA, and OhioLINK in a pilot to enable more
Transcript of Building OER Curriculum-Alignment Networks Across States and … · 2020-07-27 · Building OER...
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BuildingOERCurriculum-AlignmentNetworksAcrossStatesandHigherEducationLibrariesInstitutefortheStudyofKnowledgeManagementinEducation(ISKME)
1.StatementofNationalNeed
ISKME’sOERworkoverthelastdecade,includingourIMLS-fundedinitiatives,hasrevealedthataprincipalbarriertoOERusebyeducatorsisthedifficultyinfindingtheresourcesthattheyneed.ExistingOERplatforms,includingtheOpenTextbookNetwork,ISKME’sownOERCommons,andagrowingnumberofinstitutionalOERrepositoryprojects(includingtheIMLS-fundedHykuproject)provideaccesstohighqualityOER.However,theseOERoftendonotincludemetadataonlearningoutcomesoralignmenttolocalcourserequirements—makingthetaskofidentifyingrelevantOERtimeconsumingandineffectiveforthefacultyenduser.Inresponsetothis,ISKMEhasworkedwithLouisianaLibraryNetwork(LOUIS),VirtualLibraryofVirginia(VIVA),andOhioLINKLibrariesoverthepasttwoyearstoprovideOERrepositorieswheretheirenlistedfacultyandlibrarystaffworktoalignOERtotheirstatewidecoursematrices.WhiletheresourcescuratedthroughthisprocesshelpstoalleviatesomeoftheburdenforsubsequentfacultyindiscoveringOER,theconsortiahavecitedthefollowingchallengesrelatedtofacultyuseofthecuratedresources,andthesustainabilityofthemodeloverall:
● Theenlistedgroupoflibrarystaffandfacultyreviewersareunabletosustainthecurrentlevelofcuratorialsupportforfinding,aligning,andmaintainingOERfortheircentralizedOERrepositories.Furthermore,inthelongterm,theirlimitedlibrarystaffattheconsortia-levelwillbeunabletosustainthelevelofOERcurationsupportandguidancetheyareprovidingacrossthestate;
● ThecuratedcollectionsthatresultfromtheprocessdonotenablefacultyuserstoefficientlyidentifyhowwelltheOERalignstolocalcourserequirementsortounderstandwhatadaptationsareneededtomeetthoserequirements.Facultyendusersalsolacksocialendorsementofmaterialqualitybywayofpeerfeedbackandreviewsoftheresources;
● Whilefull,textbook-levelOERresourcesarenowmorediscoverableforfaculty,identifyingandsharingOERresourcesinsmallercontentchunks(suchaslectures,slides,videos,andassessments)remainschallengingduetolackofstandardsandcoordinationinmetadatataggingstrategies;and
● Overall,thethreeconsortiaarenotabletogrowtheirowncollectionsbyleveragingtheworkoftheirpeersbecausetheirprocesslacksanefficientwaytoingestOERbeingcuratedbyeachotherandbyexternalOERrepositories.
Recognizingsomeofthesechallenges,nationalinitiativessuchastheOERDiscoveryWorkingGroupfacilitatedbySPARC(theScholarlyPublishingandAcademicResourcesCoalition)andtheNextGenerationRepositoriesProjectfacilitatedbyCOAR(CoalitionofOpenAccessRepositories)areworkingtodevelopmetadataandtechnicalinfrastructuretosupporttheexchangeofOERacrossrepositories.Additionally,theCenterforAppliedSpecialTechnologies(CAST)andtheNationalCenteronAccessibleEducationalMaterials(AEM)areworking,withsupportfromISKME,tobuildenhancedprotocolsandmetadataforOERexchange—specificallyfocusedonaccessibilityofcontentforstudentswhoneedlearningaccommodations.Ataregionallevel,theIMLS-fundedHykuprojectisworkingtosupportacademiclibrariesacrossIndiana,Pennsylvania,NewJersey,WestVirginia,andNewYorkbybuildingasharedtechnicalinfrastructureforexchangingdigitalcollections. WhiletheworkoftheseinitiativesinformsdesignofunderlyingarchitecturesforOERrepositories,additionalworkisneededtomapthecuratorialrequirementsandprocessstepsinvolvedinidentifying,evaluating,andmaintainingOERcollectionsfromdisparaterepositoriesthatmeettheneedsoflocalfacultyendusers.Overthepastsixmonths,ISKMEhasbeguntoengageLOUIS,VIVA,andOhioLINKinapilottoenablemore
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efficientandscalablecross-consortiasharing.ThepilotworkhasentailedmanualcrosswalkingofindividualcoursenamesandnumberswithinthethreeseparateVIVA,LOUIS,andOhioLinkcoursecatalogues,andbyusinganISKME-developedcoursemappingtool,importingandtransformingLOUISandOhioLINKcoursenamesandnumberstotheirequivalentVIVAcoursenamesandnumbers.Whilethepilothasshownpromise,itreliesheavilyontheroleofanintermediarylikeISKMEtoidentifyandacquirecollectionsfromconsortialrepositoriesandtoperformtheinitialcrosswalking.Itfurthercontinuestorelyonenlistedlibrarystaffandfacultyreviewerstomanuallyvalidatetheaccuracyandrelevanceoftheimportedcoursesfortheirlocalcontext—inthiscase,toVirginiacourserequirementsandlearningstandards.Thistaskbecameespeciallychallengingwithregardtoevaluationtovalidatealignmentwithaccessibilitystandards,asneitherfacultynorlibrariansintheinitialpilotpossessedthenecessaryexpertisetoperformthistypeofevaluation.ISKMEproposesthatlibraryconsortiawithinandoutsideoftheOERCommonsrepositoryinfrastructurewouldbenefitfromthedevelopmentofasustainablecoursemappingprocess,withenhancedmetadata,tools,workflows,andautomatedproceduresforsharingandingestingnewcontentacrossconsortia.WewillworkwithOERCommonspartnersLOUIS,VIVAandOhioLINKtodesignandpilottesttheOERalignmentnetworkservice.WewillfurtherpartnerwiththreeconsortiaoutsideoftheOERCommonsinfrastructure—thePrivateAcademicLibraryNetworkofIndiana(PALNI),thePennsylvaniaAcademicLibraryConsortium(PALCI),andtheDigitalHigherEducationConsortiumofTexas(DigiTex)—toensuredesigninputonhowexternalOERrepositoriesandlearningmanagementsystemscanbestaccessandingestcourse-alignedOERthatisbeingexchangedwithinOERCommons.Togetherrepresentingnearly400collegesanduniversities,thesesixconsortiaanticipatethefollowingbenefitsofpartneringonthedevelopmentoftheproposedsolution:
● Growthofcourse-alignedcollectionsasconsortiaingestcuratedcontentfromotherstates;● ReducedtimeforlibrarystaffattheconsortiumandinstitutionlevelincuratingOER,freeinguptimeto
supportmorefacultyandtopromotecoursetransformationsandOERpublishing;● ReductioninthesiloedOERcurationworkcurrentlybeingdonebyinstitutionallibrarystaff;● Increasedefficiencyintranslatingevaluationdataaboutresourcesfromonestatetoanother,andin
makingtheevaluationdatausefulforfacultyseekingtoidentifyOERforlocalimplementation;and● ReducedtimeforfacultyinidentifyingandadaptingrelevantOER.
2.ProjectDesign
Thisprojectseekstoexpandtheamountofcurriculum-alignedOERthatfacultyhaveaccessto,whiledecreasingtheamountoftimeandresourcesneededforlibrarianstosupportcurationandmaintenanceofOERcollections.WorkingwithsixlibraryconsortiapartnersselectedfortheirstrongcommitmenttofindingsolutionstoOERdiscoverability,theprojectwilldesignandpilotanetworkservicethatmakesitpossibletoexchangepeerreviewedandcurriculum-alignedOERacrossmultipleinstitutionalrepositories.ThenetworkservicewillbecomprisedofasuiteofAPIservicesontopofaninteroperablemetadataframeworkthatcanprovideintegrationpointswithinstitutionalrepository
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softwaressuchasDspace,ContentDM,andtheHykuproject.TheservicewillbeofferedasastandardfeaturewithinOERCommonsandourpartnerrepositories,toenablecross-repositorysharingatscale.Wewillalsodevelopsupportinguserinteraction(UI)componentsandsoftwarelibraries,whichwillassistexternalplatformdevelopersinbuildingontopofthenetworkservice.TheapproachwillentailgatheringinputfromfacultyandlibrarystaffacrossthesixconsortiatoassesstheirdecisionmakingprocessesandmetadatarequirementswhensearchingforandselectingOER.Fromanalysisofthis,technicalanddesignrequirementsforthearchitectureanduserexperiencewillbefinalizedwithconsortialeads.Thiswillbefollowedbyaphasewherenetworkservicefeatureswillbeiterativelydevelopedandtestedwithfacultyandlibrarystaffendusers.Thefinalphasewillentailreal-worldpilotswithconsortiaparticipantsfollowedbypublicationofresearchoutcomesandreleaseofAPIdocumentation,softwarelibraries,andaroadmapdetailingdevelopmentneededtoscalebeyondthebetarelease.Futurework(post-project)willfocusononboardingadditionalconsortiapartnersandimplementinginteroperabilityenhancements.Figure2outlinesthecoreprojectactivitiesandoutputsbyyear.Adetailedoutlineofprojectactivitiesisprovidedinasubsequentsection.Figure2.CoreProjectActivitiesandTechnicalOutputs,byYear
ProjectRisksTable1.Identifiedprojectrisksandrelatedmitigationstrategies
PotentialRisk MitigationStrategy
OERisdynamicinnature;contentiscontinuouslypublished,ofteninanadhocmannerandfrommultiplesources.Asaresult,oldercontentbecomesoutdatedorunavailable(linkrot).
Prioritizethedevelopmentofservicesandworkflowsthatmakeitpossibletosubscribetoeventnotificationsfromdisparatesources,whichwillalertrepositorymanagerswhennewcontentisavailableandoldcontentisupdatedordeaccessionedacrossthenetwork.
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Aggregatingmetadataandrecordsacrossmultiplerepositoriesleadstoahighdegreeofduplicationandreducedusefulnessofmetadatabecausesomepiecesofinformation(i.e.informationaboutlocalcoursealignments)mayhavehighvalueinonecontext,andlowvalueinanothercontext.
Prioritizethedevelopmentofmachinelearningassistedworkflowsforrecordsdeduplicationandconceptmappingacrossdifferentmetadatavocabularies.Examplescenariosinclude:● Conceptmapping:NetworkparticipantAuploadslocal
vocabulariesforcoursenamesandnumbers,andamachinelearningutilitycreatessuggestedmappingsbetweentheselocalvocabulariesandallothercoursenameandnumbervocabulariesuploadedbyallothernetworkparticipants.
● Deduplication:NetworkparticipantAimportsacollectionfromNetworkparticipantB.AmachinelearningutilityrecognizesthatdocumentscontainedinnetworkparticipantA’sexistingcollectionsmatchdocumentsintheimportedcollection,andflagsthemaseithersuspectedduplicatesorversions.
ExternalOERrepositorieswillneedtoconsistentlysupportthegenerationandstorageofhighqualitylocalOERmetadata.
CollaborativelydeveloprequirementsforthecoreschemabasedonworkwiththeSPARCOERDiscoveryworkinggroup,whichisanongoingefforttoagreeuponanddefineacoresetofOERmetadatafieldsacrossmultipleinstitutionswhoareusingmultipletypesofinstitutionalrepositorysoftwares,specificallyforthepurposeofcrossrepositoryinteroperability.
IntegratingintoexistingexternalOERrepositoryplatforms(thosenotbuiltonOERCommons)maybeachallengebecausedevelopmentteamswouldneedfundingandstaffingsupporttoimplementAPIintegrationwiththenetwork.
DevelopspecificationandscopingdocumentsthatdescriberequirementsforintegrationwithHykuasaninitialtestcase,withinthescopeofthisproject.Buildingontheselearnings,developastrategicplanforonboardingadditionalplatforms,includingplanstopursuesourcesoffundingeitherthroughadditionalgrants,orthroughotherstrategicpartnershipchannels.
DetailofProjectActivitiesCoreprojectactivitiesareoutlinedbelow,andinclude:
1. ConveneProjectCo-DesignPartners2. DesignandDevelopTechnicalInfrastructure3. ConductUserResearchandDevelopUserInteractionDesigns4. CreateExternalDeveloperDocumentationandSupports5. CollateandDisseminateResearchResults6. MonitorProjectandEvaluateSuccess
1.ConveneProjectCo-DesignPartners(Y1-Y3)Theprojectwillleverageapartnershipmodelprovidingmultiplelevelsofparticipationandinputfromsixconsortiathathavecommittedtoserveasco-designpartnersontheproject.Threeoftheconsortia—LOUIS,OhioLink,andVIVA—arecurrentlyISKMEclients,withrepositoriesbuiltontopoftheOERCommonsplatform.PALNIandPALCIarepartneringontheproposedISKMEprojecttoenablemoreefficientingestion
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ofexternalcollectionsintotheirownOERlibraryaspartoftheirHykuproject.DigiTexhopestomeetitsnewstrategicgoalstoenhanceaccesstohighquality,course-alignedOERforits50communitycollegedistrictsacrossthestate.1Together,theseconsortiarepresent367institutions,ofwhich103arecommunitycolleges.Theindividualscommittedtoworkingasco-designpartnersinclude:● LouisianaLibraryNetwork(LOUIS),TeriGallaway,ExecutiveDirector&AssociateCommissionerand
EmilyFrank,AffordableLearningLOUISIanaProgramCoordinator● VirtualLibraryofVirginia(VIVA),AnneOsterman,DirectorandSophieRondeau,Assessment&E-
ResourcesProgramAnalyst● OhioLINKLibraries,AnnaBendo,DirectorofAffordableLearningInitiatives● PrivateAcademicLibraryNetworkofIndiana(PALNI),AmandaHurford,ScholarlyCommunications
Director ● PennsylvaniaAcademicLibraryConsortium(PALCI),GretchenGueguen,DigitalProjectsand
CommunicationsManager● DigitalHigherEducationConsortiumofTexas(DigiTex),JudithSebesta,ExecutiveDirectorand
UrsulaPike,AssociateDirector
Thescopeoftheirparticipationislistedintable2below;theirparticipationspansfivecoreactivities:1. UserResearch&Design(Y1)—Allsixpartnerswillsupportrecruitmentoffacultyandlibrarystaffacross
theircampuseswhowillparticipateinUserResearch.Allsixwillalsoprovideinputondesignsthroughatwodayco-designworkshopandthroughreviewoftechnicaldeliverables.
2. BetaTesting(Y2)—AllsixpartnerswilladditionallysupporttherecruitmentoffacultyandlibrarystaffacrosstheircampusestoparticipateinBetaTestingofthenetworkservice.
3. PilotProject(Y3)—LOUIS,OhioLINKandVIVAwillparticipateinthedesignandimplementationofcross-repositorysharingprojectsbyengaginglibrarystaffandfacultyinOERcurationactivities.
4. ExternalIntegrationEvaluation(Y3)—PALNIandPALCIwillserveasexternalevaluatorsforthedesignofAPIservicesandsoftwarelibraries.Theywillalsocontributetothecreationofdeveloperdocumentationandtheproject’sstrategicplanforonboardingadditionalrepositorypartners.
5. Dissemination(Y1-Y3)—Allsixconsortiawilldisseminateprojectprogressandresultsthroughtheirprofessionalnetworksandsocialmedia.
Table2.ListofCommittedCo-DesignPartnersandScopeofParticipationConsortium UserResearch
&DesignBeta
TestingPilot
ProjectExternal
IntegrationEvaluation
Dissemination
LOUIS ● ● ● ● VIVA ● ● ● ● OhioLINK ● ● ● ● PALNI ● ● ● ● PALCI ● ● ● ● DigiTex ● ● ●
1ISKME’sresearchteamandDigiTex,alongsidetheTexasHigherEducationCoordinatingBoard(THECB),arepartnersonabi-annualstudytoassessuseandimpactofOERacrossTexas.DigiTexsupportsits50communitycollegedistrictsinsharinge-learningresourcesalignedtoitsstate’scoursematrices.InISKME’spre-proposaltoIMLS,TexasDigitalLibrary(TDL)waslistedastheTexaspartner;however,TDL,withTHECB,areintheprocessofdeterminingtheinfrastructurefortheirimpendingOERlibrary,andwecananticipatetheadditionofTDLinputlaterintheproject,oncetheirOERlibraryplansaresolidified.
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2.DesignandDevelopTechnicalInfrastructure(Y1-Y3)Thetechnicalinfrastructurewillincludethefollowingfourcomponents,whichwillbedevelopedinconjunctionwithchangingspecificationsresultingfromuserresearch,andbasedonco-designpartnerfeedbackover3years:1)Databasearchitecturedesignandprototypingtoensurethatthemetadataandstorageneedsforeachpartneraremet;2)APIendpointdesigntobeusedasthelogiclayerfortheapplicationandtoenableexternalplatformdeveloperstoaccessandutilizethekeyfeaturesoftheservice;3)Operationalinfrastructuresolutionsthatarecloud-managedtominimizetimeandmoneyspentonoperationaloverhead;and4)anUserinteractionlayerthatisflexibleenoughtoallowefficientdesigniterationsbasedonfeedback.ISKMEwillalsoresearch,test,andtrainmachinelearningtechniquestoaddressourconsortiapartners’needfortheautomationof:1)OERresourcededuplicationandversionidentification,whichwillhelptoflagduplicaterecordsorrecordsthatrepresenttwodistinctversionsofapieceofcontent;and2)Manytomanymetadatavocabularymappingtohelpsuggestmappingsbetweenmetadatasuchascoursealignmentsandcoursetopicsingestedfromexternalrepositories.3.ConductUserResearchandDesignUIComponents(Y1-Y3)Userresearchwillbeconductedinthreephases,brokenoutbyyear:● Year1willfocusonasurveyandinterviewswithfacultyandlibrarianendusersaswellastheconsortia
co-designleadstogatherneedsandrequirementsforthenetworkservice.ExamplesofresearchquestionsguidingYear1userresearchinclude:Whatarethetasksanddecisionmakingprocessesfacultyandlibrarystaffusewhenselecting,evaluatingandassemblingOER?;whatextensionstoexistingmetadataareneededtoaccommodatetheirdecisionmaking,includingaccessibilitymetadata?;and,whichtasksrequireautomationandhowdoweefficientlycombineautomationwithhumaninput?Afterwireframesforuserinteractionfeaturesaredevelopedbasedontheidentifiedrequirements,ISKMEwillfacilitateatwodayco-designmeetingwithconsortialeadsandtheirlibrarystafftofinalizetherequirementsandgatherinputontheinitialdesigns.TheremainderofYear1willfocusonadditionaluserresearchtovalidatethewireframesanddevelopprototypes.
● Year2researchwillfocusoniterativebetatestinganddevelopment(withlibrarystaffandfaculty)ofthelivenetworkservicecomponentsthathavebeenbuiltintotheVIVA,OhioLINK,andLOUISrepositoriesandOERCommons.
● Year3willfocusonthedevelopmentofindividualpilotprojectswithVIVA,OhioLINK,andLOUIS,wheretheywillimplementcross-repositoryOERcollectionsharingandevaluation,withouttheinvolvementofISKMEasanintermediary.PALNIandPALCIwillevaluateusageoftheAPIservicesforimplementingOERcollectionsharingwithinHyku.Feedbackfromthesepilotactivitieswillinformfinaldesignsaswellastheproject’sfutureroadmappriorities.
Table3.SummaryofUserResearch
ResearchMethod&Purpose Participants Timing
Surveytoassesscuratorialpractices,useofOERaspartofcuration,levelofexpertisewithOER,andcurationchallengesandneeds—toinformselectionofparticipantsforsubsequentuserinterviewsandtesting.
50faculty,50librarystaffacrossallsixpartnerconsortia
Oct-Nov2020
Interviewstoassesstasks,challengesanddecisionmakingprocessesusedwhenselectingOER,whatextensionstoexistingmetadataareneededtoaccommodatedecision
30faculty,30librarystaffacrossallsixpartnerconsortia
Dec2020-March2021
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making,andwhichtasksrequireautomation.
Wireframeandprototypetestingtocollectuserfeedbackondesignsaspartofiterativerefinement.
15faculty,15librarystaffacrossallsixpartnerconsortia
Apr-July2021
Betatestingtocollectuserfeedbackonlivenetworkcomponentsaspartofiterativerefinement.
15faculty,15librarystaffacrossOhioLINK,LOUIS,andVIVA
Oct2021-July2022
Pilottestingtoassesschallengesandsuccessesofusingthenetworksolutionindependently,withoutsupportfromISKME.Thedatawillbeusedtoinformfinalrefinementstothesolutionandfuturedevelopmentpriorities.
1consortiumleadeachfromOhioLINK,LOUISandVIVA,andatleast4perconsortiumoftheirlibrarystaffandfacultycurators
Dec2022-May2023
4.CreateExternalDeveloperDocumentationandSupports(Y2-Y3)InYear2,ISKMEwillcreateAPIdocumentationandtechnicalarchitecturedesignspecificationstosupportexternalplatformdevelopersinbuildingontopofthenetworkservice.WewilliterativelyupdatethesedocumentsbasedonfindingsfromtheuserresearchandthePALNIandPALCIevaluation,andfinalizethembytheendofYear3.Thedocumentationwillinclude:● APIdocumentationandtechnicalarchitecturedesignspecifications● Supportingsoftwarelibrariesanduserinteractionanddesignartifacts● Recordedwebinarthatdemonstratesuseofthenetworkservicewithinpartnermicrosites● Developmentroadmapdetailingprioritiesforfuturedevelopment5.CollateandDisseminateResearchResults(Y1-Y3)Targetaudiencesanddisseminationchannelsarelistedintable4.Keyoutputstobesharedinclude:● Afinalreportoutliningthefacultyandlibrarystaffuserresearchfindings,thedevelopedsolution,the
pilottestresults,aroadmapofdevelopmentpriorities,andrecommendationsforgrowingthework; ● Threeblogpostshighlightingthewhatandwhyofcrossconsortiasharingandhowtoengage,and
summarizingkeyfindingsandimplications(preciseanglesforeachblogposttobedetermined);● Ajournalarticleaddressingtheresearchandpilotfindings,anddiscussingtheimplicationsforOER
interoperability,aswellasforcurriculumpolicy,andforteachingandlearning;and● AnOpenGithubRepositorycontainingthetechnicalartifactslistedinactivity4,above. Table4.TargetAudiencesAndDisseminationChannelsForProjectResults
TargetAudience DisseminationChannels
Practitionerendusersincludingfaculty,librarystaffandinstructionaldesigners
● Consortiapartner’sestablishedlistservsandwebsites● OERCommonsexistingemaillistandsocialmedianetworkofover
160,000registeredusers● Targetedpresentationsatconferences,includingOpenEd,the
AssociationofCollegesandResearchLibraries,andCode4Lib
LibraryconsortialeadsandOERdecisionmakersfromacrosstheU.S.
● ISKME’sestablishedSlackchannelandemaillistforitsOERCommons’partners,currentlyconsisting27representativesfrom14differentlibraryconsortia,OERinitiatives,andstatedepartmentsofeducation
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● TargetedoutreachtolibraryconsortiathathavedemonstratedinterestinorplansaroundOERandcoursewaresharingacrossstates.ExamplesincludetheConsortiumofAcademicResearchLibrariesinIndiana,andTexasDigitalLibrary
LibraryorrepositorydevelopmentteamsinterestedindevelopingapplicationsontopoftheAPIservices
● GitHubwiththedevelopmentroadmap,APIdocumentationandtechnicalarchitecturedesignspecifications,supportingsoftwarelibrariesandUI/designartifacts,andarecordedwebinardemonstratinguse
ResearchersfromthefieldofOER,libraryscience,andthescholarshipofteaching/learning
● Formalpublicationoftheproject’sresearchfindingsinatleastonehighimpact,peer-reviewedacademicjournal,suchasInformationSystemsResearchorJournalofWebLibrarianship
Inadditiontotheabove,wewillworkwiththesixpartnerconsortiatodevelopandimplementaconcreteplanforengagingfutureconsortiaandtheirstakeholders.Preliminaryengagementstrategiesinclude:1)IdentifyinganddirectlytargetingdecisionmakersforallhighereducationacademiclibraryconsortiaintheU.S.,aswellasdigitalcoursesharinginitiativessuchastheWesternInterstateCommissionforHigherEducation’sInternetCourseExchangeInitiative;2)Targetingthe27membersofISKME’sOERCommonscommunityofpractice—spanninglibraryconsortiaandstatedepartmentofeducationleaders—whichmeetstwiceperquartertosharestrategiesandchallengesaroundOERdevelopment;and,3)ContinueddisseminationandmarketingoftheAPIservicestoenableadoptionandparticipationbylibraryconsortiaandOERinitiativesthatarenotpartofOERCommons.
6.MonitorProjectandEvaluateSuccess(Y1-Y3)Theprojectwillformativelyassessandvalidateprojectresultsbycollectingfeedbackfromfaculty,librarystaffandconsortialeadersonthetechnicaldevelopmentworkaspartoftheuserresearch,andcontinuouslyintegratethatfeedbackintoiterativerefinementoftheprojectsolution.Asoutlinedintable5,theprojectwillalsoevaluatesuccessthroughsummativesurveyswithparticipatingstakeholdersandwithfuture,externalstakeholders,andthroughcollectionofengagementdatashowinglevelofinterestinandawarenessoftheservicebythewiderfield.Table5.ProjectSuccessIndicatorsAndSourcesOfData
SuccessIndicator Measuredby
Satisfactionwithandusabilityofprojectresultsbyparticipatingconsortialeadsandthefieldatlarge
● Feedbackontheusabilityoftheproject’stechnicaldesigns(drafts)bythesixconsortialeadsduringinpersonco-designworkshop(formative,Y1)
● Closingsurveywiththesixconsortialeadstoassessperceivedusabilityandsatisfactionwiththefinalsolution(summative,Y3)
● Feedbackbyfacultyandlibrarianusertestersontheeffectivenessofthesolutioninhelpingthemtoidentifyhighquality,course-alignedresources(formative,Y2;summative,Y3)
IncreaseinthenumberofOERinVIVA,LOUIS,andOhioLINK’salignedcollectionsascontentis
● Countofprojectalignedresources,bytypeofresource,inYear3comparedtobaselinecountsineachstatecollection(summative,Y3)
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ingestedfromtheirpeersduringthepilot
IncreasedefficiencyinexchangingOERacrossthethreepilotrepositories
● AveragetimespentbyISKMEstaffduringtheprojectpilotinpreparingOERcollectionsforexport/importacrossrepositoriesusingthenetwork,comparedtobaselineaveragetimespentonthesetasks(summative,Y3)
● AveragetimespentduringthepilotbylibrarystaffandfacultyinvalidatingimportedOERusingthenewnetworkservice,comparedtobaselinetimespent(summative,Y3)
IncreasedawarenessandinterestbyfuturelibraryconsortiawhoarenotpartnerswithOERCommonsinaccessingOERthroughtheservice
● CountandnamesofexternalorganizationsexpressinginterestdirectlytoISKMEortoparticipatingconsortialeadsthroughphone,email,andin-personcommunications(summative,Y3)
● NumberandroleofparticipantsattendingISKMEconferenceandweb-basedpresentationsonprojectprogressandresults(Y2-Y3)
SustainabilityThenetworkservice,API,andAPIdocumentationwillbemaintainedbyISKMEandactivelydevelopedasacoremechanismthroughwhichISKME'sOERCommonsclientsbuildandmaintaintheirOERcollections.ThismeansmaintenanceanddevelopmentofthenetworkservicewillbefundedviaincomegeneratedfromISKME’sestablishedOERserviceandproductofferings.OERcontentandassociatedmetadatawillbecollaborativelymaintainedbyISKMEandourOERCommonsclients.
NextPhaseWorkBeyondexpandingtheworksothatadditionalstatewideconsortiaareabletoparticipate,potentialcomponentsofthenextphasework,basedonearlyinputfromthesixco-designpartners,include: ● FurtherintegrationoftheserviceintoexistingtoolsforOERmaterialmanagement;● Enhancingtheabilityofparticipatingconsortiatoingestcontentfromvariedanddisparatesources;● Developmentofsolutionstoensurethatcontentremainsuptodateascourserequirementsevolve;● Developmentofcommunitystandardsaroundcurricularalignmentsandevaluativemetadata;and● Buildingfeaturesthatfacilitatecollaborationamongcohorts(sub-groups)ofconsortia.ResourcesNeededtoCarryOutActivitiesISKMEPersonnel:TheprojectstaffwillcompriseISKMEFounderandCEOLisaPetrides,PhD,whowillserveasProjectDirector,overseeingoutputsaswellasfinancialandhumanresources;AmeeEvansGodwin,VPofResearchandDevelopment,whowillCo-Directtheprojectandleadpartnershipanddisseminationactivities;CynthiaJimes,PhD,ISKME’sDirectorofResearch&Learning,willserveasresearchandevaluationlead,andwilloverseethecompilationofallwrittenmaterialsfortheproject;AndrewKutyrev,ISKME’sleadOERplatformengineer,willserveassoftwareandservicesarchitecturelead,overseeingtheproject’stechnicaldesignspecificationsandsolutiondevelopment;MichelleBrennan,MIS,ISKME’slibraryandinformationservicesmanager,willserveastechnicalco-leadalongsideAndrew,andwillmanagethecoordinationofalltechnicaloutputs;PolinaGrinbaum,engineeringmanageratISKME,willcoordinatethedesignanddevelopmentoftheproject’stechnicaloutputs;NickLobaito,ISKME’suserexperienceresearcheranddesigner,willsupportimplementationofuserresearchandpilottesting;ChrisAdcock,ISKME’sdigitallibrarian,willsupportmetadatacreation,testing,andmaintenance;andISKME’scontractedresearchassociateAnastasiaKaraglani,PhD,willsupportdatacollectionandanalysisactivities,andserveas
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projectmanager.Theproject’stechnicalleadswilloverseethreeadditionaldevelopersanddesignersfromISKME’spooloftechnologyconsultantstosupportprototypedevelopment.PartnerContributors:Libraryandinstitution-levelcollaboratorsservingasco-designpartnersinclude:TeriGallaway,ExecutiveDirector&AssociateCommissionerandEmilyFrank,AffordableLearningLOUISIanaProgramCoordinator,LouisianaLibraryNetwork;AnneOsterman,DirectorandSophieRondeau,Assessment&E-ResourcesProgramAnalyst,VirtualLibraryofVirginia;AnnaBendo,DirectorofAffordableLearningInitiatives,OhioLINKLibraries;AmandaHurford,ScholarlyCommunicationsDirector,PrivateAcademicLibraryNetworkofIndiana;GretchenGueguen,DigitalProjectsandCommunicationsManager,PennsylvaniaAcademicLibraryConsortium;andJudithSebesta,ExecutiveDirectorandUrsulaPike,AssociateDirector,DigitalHigherEducationConsortiumofTexas.OtherResources:ISKMEmaintainsafullyfunctionalofficeandmeetingspaceforpermanentstaffandcontractors.ISKMEwillalsoprovideonlinevideoconferencingandcollaborationcapabilitiestofacilitatesynchronousandasynchronousmeetingsfortheproject.ISKMEwillprovidethenecessaryadministrativesupportincludingaccounting,andgrantsandcontractsmanagement.3.DiversityPlanThediversityplanwillensurethat:
● Overall,thereisamixofdifferentinstitutiontypesandsizesrepresentedintheresearchandpilot;● HistoricallyBlackCollegesandUniversitiesfromeachconsortiumarerepresentedinresearchandpilot;● Atleast50percentoftheproject’sresearchandpilottestparticipantsarefacultyandlibrarystafffrom
communitycollegesservingahighpercentageofPellGrantrecipients;● Researchparticipantsrepresentingdifferentgenderandracialidentitiesareincluded;and● Researchparticipantswhohaveexperienceinmeetingaccessibilityrequirementsforlearnerswithcognitive
and/orphysicaldisabilitiesareincluded.4.NationalImpactTheproject’sparticipatingconsortia—LOUIS,OhioLINK,VIVA,PALNI,PALCIandDigiTex—collectivelyspanninestatesandrepresentcloseto400collegesandovertwomillionstudents.Theprojectanticipatesthefollowingnationalimpactfortheseconsortiaandtheirstakeholders,andforfutureconsortiathatwewillengageinthenetworkservice:● Accesstobestpracticesincourseevaluation,ascross-stateconsortiaiterativelycontributeandlearnfrom
oneanotherthroughthenetwork.● Advancementofinstitution-andstate-levelaffordabilityinitiatives,asparticipatingsystemsaremore
effectivelyabletogrowandmaketheirOERcollectionsdiscoverable,towardthegoalofreducingthecostofeducationforlearners.
● Reducedtimefortheirfacultyinidentifyinghighqualitymaterialsthatmeetchangingcourserequirements,whichincreasesfacultytimetofocusoncustomizationofcontentandoninstruction.
ISKMEwillcontinuetoaddressOERexchangeacrosssilosasapriorityforourworkonanationallevelbyforgingrelationshipstobringinOERinitiativesoutsideofOERCommonsintothenetworkservice.Further,byprovidingresearch-basedinsightsonrequiredmetadataextensionsandworkflowstosupportOERexchange,theprojectwillinformtheworkofresearchersandinitiativesthatareexploringinteroperabilitysolutionsandframeworksforOER,includingtheaforementionedmetadataandtechnicalinfrastructureinitiativesoftheCenterforAppliedSpecialTechnologies,SPARC’sOERDiscoveryWorkingGroup,andtheNextGenerationRepositoriesProject.
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BuildingOERCurriculum-AlignmentNetworksAcrossStatesandHigherEducationLibrariesInstitutefortheStudyofKnowledgeManagementinEducation
ScheduleofCompletionActivity 1: Convene Project Co-Design Partners Activity 2: DesignandDevelopTechnicalInfrastructureActivity3:ConductUserResearchandDevelopUserInteractionDesignsActivity4:CreateExternalDeveloperDocumentationandSupportsActivity5:CollateandDisseminateResearchResultsActivity6:MonitorProjectandEvaluateSuccessNote:Activity5notationsbelowdonotincludetheongoingdisseminationactivities(emaillistservs,Slackchannelsharing,etc.)listedinTable3oftheProjectNarrative.Conferencepresentationslistedbelowarepreliminary.YearOne:Aug.1,2020-July31,2021
Aug/Sept Oct/Nov Dec/Jan Feb/Mar Apr/May June/July
Activity1
Kick-offmeeting
Co-designworkshop
Activity2
IterativemachinelearningR&DIterativedatabaseandoperationinfrastructureR&D
Activity3
Designresearchrecruitmentinstruments
Participantrecruitmentviausersurvey
Userinterviews
Wireframeandprototypetesting
Activity4
Activity5
OpenEdpresentation
Shareblogpostaboutuserresearchfindings+report
Activity6 Analysisofworkshopartifacts
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BuildingOERCurriculum-AlignmentNetworksAcrossStatesandHigherEducationLibrariesInstitutefortheStudyofKnowledgeManagementinEducation
YearTwo:Aug.1,2021-July31,2022
Aug/Sept Oct/Nov Dec/Jan Feb/Mar Apr/May June/July
Activity1
Bimonthlyweb-basedmeetingsandwrittenfeedbackprovidedonprojectoutputsanddeliverables
Activity2
IterativeAPIdevelopment;IterativeuserInteraction(UI)development
Activity3
Betatestingonstaging
Activity4
DraftAPIdocuments
PALNI/PALCIAPIfeedback
Activity5
Code4Libpresentation;OpenEdWeekpresentation
AssociationofCollegeandResearchLibrariespresentation
Shareblogpost
Activity6 Awarenessandengagementanalysis
Analysisofbetatestingfeedback
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BuildingOERCurriculum-AlignmentNetworksAcrossStatesandHigherEducationLibrariesInstitutefortheStudyofKnowledgeManagementinEducation
YearThree:Aug.1,2022-July31,2023
Aug/Sept Oct/Nov Dec/Jan Feb/Mar Apr/May June/July
Activity1
Bimonthlyweb-basedmeetingsandwrittenfeedbackprovidedonprojectoutputsanddeliverables
Activity2
Completethetechnicalinfrastructureneededforpilotprojects
Activity3
PilotprojectswithOhioLINK,LOUIS,andVIVA
Activity4
UpdatedAPIdocsavailable
Supportingsoftwarelibrariesavailable
PALNI/PALCIevaluationofsoftwarelibraries
FinalAPIdocs,softwarelibraries,androadmap
Activity5 1-2conferencepresentations
Sharesummaryreport,technicaldocuments,GitHubrepository,recordedwebinar,andblogpost;1-2conferencepresentations
Activity6 Analysisofpilotfeedbackandoutputs;Closingsurveyswithconsortialeads;Awarenessandengagementanalysis
OMB Control #: 3137-0092, Expiration Date: 8/31/2021 IMLS-CLR-F-0032
DIGITAL PRODUCT FORM
INTRODUCTION
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is committed to expanding public access to digital products that are created using federal funds. This includes (1) digitized and born-digital content, resources, or assets; (2) software; and (3) research data (see below for more specific examples). Excluded are preliminary analyses, drafts of papers, plans for future research, peer-review assessments, and communications with colleagues.
The digital products you create with IMLS funding require effective stewardship to protect and enhance their value, and they should be freely and readily available for use and reuse by libraries, archives, museums, and the public. Because technology is dynamic and because we do not want to inhibit innovation, we do not want to prescribe set standards and practices that could become quickly outdated. Instead, we ask that you answer questions that address specific aspects of creating and managing digital products. Like all components of your IMLS application, your answers will be used by IMLS staff and by expert peer reviewers to evaluate your application, and they will be important in determining whether your project will be funded.
INSTRUCTIONS
If you propose to create digital products in the course of your IMLS-funded project, you must first provide answers to the questions in SECTION I: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS. Then consider which of the following types of digital products you will create in your project, and complete each section of the form that is applicable.
SECTION II: DIGITAL CONTENT, RESOURCES, OR ASSETS Complete this section if your project will create digital content, resources, or assets. These include both digitized and born-digital products created by individuals, project teams, or through community gatherings during your project. Examples include, but are not limited to, still images, audio files, moving images, microfilm, object inventories, object catalogs, artworks, books, posters, curricula, field books, maps, notebooks, scientific labels, metadata schema, charts, tables, drawings, workflows, and teacher toolkits. Your project may involve making these materials available through public or access-controlled websites, kiosks, or live or recorded programs.
SECTION III: SOFTWARE Complete this section if your project will create software, including any source code, algorithms, applications, and digital tools plus the accompanying documentation created by you during your project.
SECTION IV: RESEARCH DATA Complete this section if your project will create research data, including recorded factual information and supporting documentation, commonly accepted as relevant to validating research findings and to supporting scholarly publications.
OMB Control #: 3137-0092, Expiration Date: 8/31/2021 IMLS-CLR-F-0032
SECTION I: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS A.1 We expect applicants seeking federal funds for developing or creating digital products to release these files under open-source licenses to maximize access and promote reuse. What will be the intellectual property status of the digital products (i.e., digital content, resources, or assets; software; research data) you intend to create? What ownership rights will your organization assert over the files you intend to create, and what conditions will you impose on their access and use? Who will hold the copyright(s)? Explain and justify your licensing selections. Identify and explain the license under which you will release the files (e.g., a non-restrictive license such as BSD, GNU, MIT, Creative Commons licenses; RightsStatements.org statements). Explain and justify any prohibitive terms or conditions of use or access, and detail how you will notify potential users about relevant terms and conditions. A.2 What ownership rights will your organization assert over the new digital products and what conditions will you impose on access and use? Explain and justify any terms of access and conditions of use and detail how you will notify potential users about relevant terms or conditions. A.3 If you will create any products that may involve privacy concerns, require obtaining permissions or rights, or raise any cultural sensitivities, describe the issues and how you plan to address them.
OMB Control #: 3137-0092, Expiration Date: 8/31/2021 IMLS-CLR-F-0032
SECTION II: DIGITAL CONTENT, RESOURCES, OR ASSETS A.1 Describe the digital content, resources, or assets you will create or collect, the quantities of each type, and the format(s) you will use. A.2 List the equipment, software, and supplies that you will use to create the digital content, resources, or assets, or the name of the service provider that will perform the work. A.3 List all the digital file formats (e.g., XML, TIFF, MPEG, OBJ, DOC, PDF) you plan to use. If digitizing content, describe the quality standards (e.g., resolution, sampling rate, pixel dimensions) you will use for the files you will create. Workflow and Asset Maintenance/Preservation B.1 Describe your quality control plan. How will you monitor and evaluate your workflow and products?
OMB Control #: 3137-0092, Expiration Date: 8/31/2021 IMLS-CLR-F-0032
B.2 Describe your plan for preserving and maintaining digital assets during and after the award period. Your plan should address storage systems, shared repositories, technical documentation, migration planning, and commitment of organizational funding for these purposes. Please note: You may charge the federal award before closeout for the costs of publication or sharing of research results if the costs are not incurred during the period of performance of the federal award (see 2 C.F.R. § 200.461). Metadata C.1 Describe how you will produce any and all technical, descriptive, administrative, or preservation metadata or linked data. Specify which standards or data models you will use for the metadata structure (e.g., RDF, BIBFRAME, Dublin Core, Encoded Archival Description, PBCore, PREMIS) and metadata content (e.g., thesauri). C.2 Explain your strategy for preserving and maintaining metadata created or collected during and after the award period of performance.
OMB Control #: 3137-0092, Expiration Date: 8/31/2021 IMLS-CLR-F-0032
C.3 Explain what metadata sharing and/or other strategies you will use to facilitate widespread discovery and use of the digital content, resources, or assets created during your project (e.g., an API [Application Programming Interface], contributions to a digital platform, or other ways you might enable batch queries and retrieval of metadata). Access and Use D.1 Describe how you will make the digital content, resources, or assets available to the public. Include details such as the delivery strategy (e.g., openly available online, available to specified audiences) and underlying hardware/software platforms and infrastructure (e.g., specific digital repository software or leased services, accessibility via standard web browsers, requirements for special software tools in order to use the content, delivery enabled by IIIF specifications). D.2. Provide the name(s) and URL(s) (Universal Resource Locator), DOI (Digital Object Identifier), or other persistent identifier for any examples of previous digital content, resources, or assets your organization has created.
OMB Control #: 3137-0092, Expiration Date: 8/31/2021 IMLS-CLR-F-0032
SECTION III: SOFTWARE General Information
A.1 Describe the software you intend to create, including a summary of the major functions it will perform and the intended primary audience(s) it will serve. A.2 List other existing software that wholly or partially performs the same or similar functions, and explain how the software you intend to create is different, and justify why those differences are significant and necessary. Technical Information B.1 List the programming languages, platforms, frameworks, software, or other applications you will use to create your software and explain why you chose them.
OMB Control #: 3137-0092, Expiration Date: 8/31/2021 IMLS-CLR-F-0032
B.2 Describe how the software you intend to create will extend or interoperate with relevant existing software. B.3 Describe any underlying additional software or system dependencies necessary to run the software you intend to create. B.4 Describe the processes you will use for development, documentation, and for maintaining and updating documentation for users of the software. B.5 Provide the name(s), URL(s), and/or code repository locations for examples of any previous software your organization has created.
OMB Control #: 3137-0092, Expiration Date: 8/31/2021 IMLS-CLR-F-0032
Access and Use C.1 Describe how you will make the software and source code available to the public and/or its intended users. C.2 Identify where you will deposit the source code for the software you intend to develop: Name of publicly accessible source code repository: URL: SECTION IV: RESEARCH DATA As part of the federal government’s commitment to increase access to federally funded research data, Section IV represents the Data Management Plan (DMP) for research proposals and should reflect data management, dissemination, and preservation best practices in the applicant’s area of research appropriate to the data that the project will generate. A.1 Identify the type(s) of data you plan to collect or generate, and the purpose or intended use(s) to which you expect them to be put. Describe the method(s) you will use, the proposed scope and scale, and the approximate dates or intervals at which you will collect or generate data.
OMB Control #: 3137-0092, Expiration Date: 8/31/2021 IMLS-CLR-F-0032
A.2 Does the proposed data collection or research activity require approval by any internal review panel or institutional review board (IRB)? If so, has the proposed research activity been approved? If not, what is your plan for securing approval? A.3 Will you collect any sensitive information? This may include personally identifiable information (PII), confidential information (e.g., trade secrets), or proprietary information. If so, detail the specific steps you will take to protect the information while you prepare it for public release (e.g., anonymizing individual identifiers, data aggregation). If the data will not be released publicly, explain why the data cannot be shared due to the protection of privacy, confidentiality, security, intellectual property, and other rights or requirements. A.4 What technical (hardware and/or software) requirements or dependencies would be necessary for understanding retrieving, displaying, processing, or otherwise reusing the data? A.5 What documentation (e.g., consent agreements, data documentation, codebooks, metadata, and analytical and procedural information) will you capture or create along with the data? Where will the documentation be stored and in what format(s)? How will you permanently associate and manage the documentation with the data it describes to enable future reuse?
OMB Control #: 3137-0092, Expiration Date: 8/31/2021 IMLS-CLR-F-0032
A.6 What is your plan for managing, disseminating, and preserving data after the completion of theaward-funded project?
A.7 Identify where you will deposit the data:
Name of repository:
URL:
A.8 When and how frequently will you review this data management plan? How will theimplementation be monitored?
