Climbing the stairway to OER nirvana: Climbing the stairway to OER nirvana

Abstract

Exploration of seven stage framework generated through extended groupwork involving experienced OER practitioners at the 2011 SCORE Symposium. This framework suggests how to approach ‘OER nirvana’ as teachers, managers, staff developers and systems developers, through Subject Centre, JISC/HEA funded UK OER and institutional OER initiatives, community engagement building for JorumOpen and staff development through HEA initiatives. The model's overlap with Joanna Wild's OER ladder (a SCORE fellowship development) to also explored. A particular strength of the ladder and stairway models is recognition that practitioners are not equally OER-ready and that individuals and institutions may intentionally become ‘out of step’. The workshop drew on contexts and examples identified by ALT-C participants who lovcated themselves and other stakeholders within their institutions on the OER stairway continuum. The workshop format provided opportunities to critique the model and suggest new metaphors or alternative institutional-, role- or discipline-specific steps.