Transcript Research & Evaluation

Open content for open development
Patrick McAndrew and Tony Hirst
The Open University
Coverage
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A little bit about OpenLearn
Reworking content
Examples of what is possible
Options for the future
Open Content Initiative: OpenLearn
• $9.9m two year programme
– supported by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
• Strands
– Academic
– Technical: Production
– Technical: Tools
– Research and Evaluation
Two spaces: LearningSpace
• LearningSpace
– Quality assures units of learning
– Strong link to original course
– Reliable environment
– Enough tools to support learning
– Main site for learners
LearningSpace
Two spaces: LabSpace
• LabSpace
– All content from LearningSpace
– Access to download and upload
– Extra material in a less refined form
– Extra tools for learner and educators
– Evolve experimentally
LabSpace
ResearchZone
Community links
Experimental space
Download/upload
Instructions
Metadata
Schema
OUXML file
+ Resources
Compendium: knowledge paths
Evolving LabSpace
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Improve LabSpace
– Distinction between spaces
– LabSpace tools across to LearningSpace
– Improve description of LabSpace match to facilities.
– Sandbox area for experimentation.
– Offer custom areas for group work.
– New formats: Moodle, zip, Daisy, IMS CP, SCORM,
Mobile, IMS LD.
• Reach out to the world
– RSS feeds for the content
– Expose appropriate web services.
– Explore external tools working with LabSpace
Experiments from outside
• Tony Hirst: http://ouseful.info
• Operating outside the OpenLearn team to:
– Improve navigation
– Syndicate content to blogs, feed readers, etc.
– Chunk the content
– Use OpenLearn to test emergent tools
– …
Reworking OpenLearn via RSS
http://ouseful.open.ac.uk/openlearnplayground/navigatedemo.php
Extra navigation
Extra navigation
http://ouseful.open.ac.uk/openlearndaily/
Daily feeds
Daily feeds
Feedback
"I finished the "keeping it safe" web feed you set up. It was
brilliant content, really clear and straightforward. Using
the web feed was fantastic, it allowed me to find time for
the course that I otherwise wouldn't. I like reading a feed
rather than email, as it keeps the material from getting
lost in my myriad of work emails. Psychologically it's
much more appealing to get a bit of content each day,
rather than receive a 40page pdf document."
Plans to support external reuse
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The use of stable URLs.
Separation of content from additional information
Adoption of syndication: access & format.
Extend to web services: REST or SOAP.
(http://kmi.open.ac.uk/projects/luisa/)
External reuse alongside onsite access
Dr Patrick McAndrew
Open Content Initiative
The Open University
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA
www.open.ac.uk/openlearn