Enabling openness at USQ

Enabling openness at USQ

USQ first became active with the open resource movement when it joined the OpenCourseWare Consortium in 2007. Subsequently, it became an anchor partner in the establishment of the OER University (OERu) and has an on-going commitment to the OERu global initiative to provide free educational opportunities. Driven by a growing number of interested academics and strong senior management support, this early participation and commitment to openness has subsequently spawned a plethora of projects at USQ. These projects, amongst a wide range of activities, encompass the development of open courses, open textbooks, technical enhancements to improve delivery techniques and research to assist academics to overcome the challenges associated with the widespread adoption of open practices. Today we report on current work to address some challenges which academics may encounter when integrating open resources into courses.
Arguably, the challenges of using OERs within courses have received less attention and been less effectively addressed than those of OER production. This current research reviews the experience of 19 diverse case studies of university programs where open licensed resources and OERs have either been employed, or where their potential use has been explored. From the case studies five significant areas of challenge to implementation are identified. The range of responses employed by the various case studies in responding to these challenges are presented and their relative effectiveness discussed. This review can assist both academics wishing to utilise open resources and also institutions wishing to make their open licensed resources more readily usable.