Invitation to join OPAL Consultative Group meeting
published 06.05.11UNESCO and the European Foundation for Quality in E-Learning (EFQUEL) invite representatives of organizations working with quality, OER and educational policy to attend the first 2011 meeting of the Open Educational Quality Initiative (OPAL) Consultative Group. The meeting will be held online on Wednesday 25 May at 13.00 Central European Time, and repeated at 13.00 Pacific Time on Monday 30 May.
Launch of tools to enable Open Educational Practices
published 17.03.11The Open Educational Quality (OPAL) Initiative announces the launch of tools for organizations and individuals to self-assess their level of adoption and integration of Open Educational Practices (OEP). The OEP Guide includes a maturity model, detailed description of the concept, and description of the elements which constitute Open Educational Practices.
Open Education: Changing Educational Practices
published 16.03.11The latest edition of the online journal elearning papers is dedicated to open education. Edited by Ulf-Daniel Ehlers, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany and Director of the European Foundation for Quality in E-Learning, and Tapio Koskinen of Aalto University School of Science and Technology, Finland, it contains papers demonstrating trends towards greater cultures and practice of openness taking place throughout Europe and beyond.
Open Educational Practices support innovation in learning
published 14.02.11The newly published Open Educational Quality Initiative "Beyond OER" study report asked respondents from higher education and adult education to consider whether the use of open educational resources would lead to innovative educational practices. The results show that open educational practices are supported through cultures of innovation and in turn lead to innovation in organizations. Institutions clearly benefit from this two way relationship.
Supporting policies create increased impact for OER
published 14.02.11The Open Educational Quality Initiative "Beyond OER" study report is now published. Among its conclusions it finds that OER are more widely used where programmes or inititatives for open resources exist at the institutional level. The lesser the fear, insecurity or discomfort towards Open Educational Resources (OER), the higher the frequency of OER use. The report thus advocates building trust in OER in order to increase their actual usage, and building open learning architectures to transform learning.
The next wave for OER: future learning with open practices
published 04.02.11A new report entitled "Beyond OER" will shortly be published by the Open Educational Quality Initiative. It concludes that Open Educational Resources (OER) in higher education institutions are available in principle but are not frequently used. In this first of a series of articles we preview some of the key findings.
eLearning Papers - call for contributions
published 20.12.10The European journal, eLearning Papers, invites contributions for a forthcoming issue on Open Education: Changing Educational Practices. This issue aims to further understanding of the way in which open access and open educational resources impact educational practices.
Barriers and Motivators for Using OER in Schools
published 25.11.10Paper by Thomas Richter and Ulf-Daniel Ehlers delivered at the Open ED 2010 conference, Barcelona, Spain, November 2010.
Open Educational Practices at Online Educa
published 24.11.10A pre-conference workshop - Moving Ahead to Learning for All: From Open Educational Resources to Open Educational Practices - was held at Online Educa Berlin on Wednesday, 1 December 2010. The workshop was a practical introduction to innovation guidelines for teachers, learners, institutional managers, and policy makers with a focus on raising the quality of learning experiences. A paper introducing the Open Educational Practices landscape is published here.
Research Workshop at UNESCO, Paris, 8-9 November 2010
published 23.11.10A full report - including video clips and PowerPoint presentations - on this key activity in the OPAL project. The aim of the Workshop was to provide input to the creation of guidelines for open educational practices.
The Open Educational Quality Initiative - an update
published 11.11.10The Open Educational Quality (OPAL) Initiative is a partnership between organizations including ICDE and UNESCO which is working to promote quality and innovation in higher and adult education. This presentation given at the Open Ed 2010 conference in Barcelona, Spain highlights progress to date in the project.
Video interviews on Open Educational Practices
published 01.10.10Gráinne Conole of the Open University UK has conducted a series of interviews with colleagues from the academic community to collect their thoughts on the opportunities and challenges presented by Open Educational Resources (OER) and moves to define and promote Open Educational Practices (OEP). The videos are available to view and comment on.
Open Educational Practices: Unleashing the power of OER
published 05.08.10Paper by Ulf-Daniel Ehlers and Grainne C. Conole presented at UNESCO Worshop on OER in Windhoek, Namibia in May 2010.
Survey on Open Educational Resources
published 26.07.10The Open Educational Quality Initiative is producing a quantitative study on the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP) in Higher Education and Adult Learning institutions. You are invited to take part in the survey.
Open Educational Practices on Facebook
published 06.07.10
OPAL flyer
published 05.07.10The flyer gives a brief introduction to the intended benefits of the OPAL Initiative.
The potential of Open Educational Practices
published 14.06.10Can increased use of ICT and new media, self regulated learning and the intelligent use of open educational resources drive the creative learning experience? Roberto Carneiro of the Catholic University of Portugal continues the discussion.
OPAL fact sheet
published 21.06.10This fact sheet gives a brief synopsis of the open educational quality initiative and which stages the project will move through during 2010.
The Big Shift - Open Resources to Open Practices
published 08.06.10What are the key factors for the opening of educational practices for teachers, students, managers and policy makers? Ulf-Daniel Ehlers invites you to join the second week of debate in this Open Educational Quality Initiative consultation.
Spotlight on Open Educational Practices
published 27.05.10The Open Educational Quality Initiative consultation on open educational resources is underway. But what are open educational practices, and how can we move to focus on these? Gráinne Conole of the Open University UK invites you to join the debate.
Consultation on Open Educational Resources
published 12.05.10ICDE is a project partner in the Open Educational Quality Initiative, and the first study of the project is ready to be shared. Together with the Open University UK we invite you to join the online consultation on this work.
Open educational practice - approaching a definition for a new concept
published 19.03.10Discussion paper by Ulf-Daniel Ehlers
Open Educational Quality Initiative news
published 19.03.10Together with UNESCO and ICDE member the Open University UK, ICDE is a partner organization in the two-year OPAL Initiative. The project extends the concept of open educational resources to open educational practices.