OpenCred study: assessment and recognition in open learning

The OpenCred study

The OpenCred study was carried out by the Institute of Learning Innovation at the University of Leicester in collaboration with the European Commission’s Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS), from May to November 2014. Its purpose is to inform IPTS’s OpenEdu project, which is investigating the challenges and opportunities in the recognition of learning achievements via open learning with the aim of supporting policy development at a European level.

The OpenCred research team (Gabi Witthaus, Mark Childs, Bernard Nkuyubwatsi, Grainne Conole, Andreia Inamorato dos Santos and Yves Punie ) investigated practices, attitudes and rationales for the types of recognition awarded for open learning, the factors that influenced decisions in this regard, and the contexts in which non-formal, open learning was recognised.

This paper published in the eLearning Papers issue 40 shares some of the early findings of the OpenCred study. It describes a range of institutional initiatives by higher education institutions in Europe in recognising non-formal learning achievements in open education. Recognition of learning is almost always conferred in consideration of the type of assessment used, and so a matrix has been developed to show the relationship between these two features. The vertical axis of the matrix comprises a five-level hierarchy of formality of recognition (from no recognition to full recognition in line with the European Credit Transfer System), while the horizontal axis represents a five-level hierarchy for robustness of assessment (from no assessment to formal examinations).

Examples of European open education initiatives are discussed and plotted on the assessment-recognition matrix. The paper concludes with a summary of the tensions between assessment procedures used and the nature of recognition awarded, and offers recommendations for institutions wishing to evaluate the nature of recognition awarded to students in open education. It also identifies further areas in which the framework could develop.

An Assessment-Recognition Matrix for Analysing Instituional Practices in the Recognition of Open Learning

Revista Digital da Sociedade Brasileira de Computação – Educação e Ciência Aberta

Foi lançado no Congresso da Sociedade Brasileira de Computação (SBC – DesafIE!) em Maceió na semana passada o número 22 da Revista Computação Brasil, da SBC.  Essa edição foca em recursos educacionais abertos (REA) e MOOCs. Pode ser acessada online ou em PDF no site da SBC. Também disponível para dispositivos móveis por meio do aplicativo Computação Brasil.

Acesse aqui o arquivo em PDF: revista_computacao_brasil_22_jul_2013

UNESCO publication: Open Educational Resources in Brazil

UNESCO IITE - Institute for Information Technologies in Education - has released a publication on open educational resources in Brazil:

(Portuguese version to come) - UNESCO URL: http://iite.unesco.org/publications/3214695/

 

Open Educational Resources in Brazil: State-of-the-art, Challenges and Prospects for Development and Innovation

View more documents from Andreia Inamorato dos Santos

Recursos Educacionais Abertos: Novas Perspectivas Para a Inclusão Educacional via EAD

Recursos Educacionais Abertos: Novas Perspectivas para a Inclusão Educacional Superior via EAD

View more documents from Andreia Inamorato dos Santos

OpenLearn Research Report 2006-2008

This is the OpenLearn Research Report of the OpenLearn initiative of the Open University UK. Here we discuss both the user and the provider experience with open educational resources (OER), and we bring to the fore the importance of collaborative activities to foster the use of such resources. A number of case studies are presented.

Open Educational Resources: New Directions for Technology-Enhanced Distance Education in the Third Millennium

Andreia Inamorato dos Santos

Paper presented at ICDE Toluca, Mexico 2007

Open Educational Resources: new directions for technology-enhanced distance education in the third millennium

Power Point slides

The Discourses of OERs: how flat is this world?

 This paper was presented at the Open Education Conference, Utah State University, September 2007

 The Discourses of OERs: how flat is this world?

Power point slides

Abstract:  This paper discusses the provision of open educational resources, drawing on the concept of a ‘flat world’ (Friedman, 2005). A discourse analytical perspective (Fairclough, 2000) is used to discuss data from example OER initiatives. We enquire how flattening such initiatives are in terms of widening participation and empowering individuals through the access to knowledge.