Open Education 2016

Over the course of 2016, the U.S. Department of Education, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the U.S. Department of State are working with federal program officers, policymakers, and civil society representatives to build an Open Licensing Playbook. The Playbook will provide information on how agencies can effectively use open licensing requirements and draw upon existing OER to advance their public missions and better serve citizens. The Playbook aims to answer common questions on the institutional use of OER and on open licensing requirements for grants, such as (a) how and where to best retain resources once produced, (b) how to encourage grantees to use existing openly-licensed materials, and (c) how to provide support to grantees who are developing openly-licensed materials for the first time, among other issues. In addition to providing recommended approaches, the playbook will also highlight case studies from across the federal government. The draft Playbook will be released in the third quarter of 2016. The final product will carry an open license and may be applicable for other governments and institutions.



This presentation will introduce the content of the Playbook and cover some of the lessons learned from its development.

Public policy is an important component of the environment around OER. Policy can be leveraged to help advance the use and creation of OER by providing resources, creating programs, or giving direction to institutions and schools. It can also be used to remove barriers, such as older systems or practices that favor traditional publishing models. Policymakers themselves can also play a role as effective advocates and validators.



This session will provide a up-to-the minute briefing on the current U.S. policy environment around OER: what is happening in Congress, which states are most active, how the Presidential election will affect the space, and where OER policy connects with other open movements, such as open data, open government and open access to research. It will also include behind-the-scenes analysis of policy opportunities coming up in the next year, and how members of the audience can become involved.

This session will introduce attendees to the establishment of an open policy by two state-government agencies in Washington: the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges System (SBCTC).

Presenters in this session will introduce SBCTC and OSPI as two examples of how open policies might be crafted and implemented. Even though the end goal of applying an open license to course or instructional materials is the same, the creation, rollout, and implementation need to address the unique needs of the organizations. This session will address both different stages in the process and differing needs of stakeholders in Higher Ed and K-12.

SBCTC has had an open policy in place since 2010 and will speak to the the benefits, challenges, and lessons learned over the course of implementation. OSPI just put an open policy into place earlier this year and will address the initial concerns, development process, and stakeholder needs that have shaped the early stages of instituting an open policy.

Specifically, in 2010, SBCTC instituted the statewide Open Licensing Policy as an explicit measure to support that planning principle and to begin to use SBCTC-sponsored or managed initiatives to create momentum and competency around OER throughout the system. This policy is focused strongly on educational access, specifying that "All digital software, educational resources and knowledge produced through competitive grants, offered through or managed by SBCTC, will carry a Creative Commons Attributions license."

OSPI's developing Open Policy focuses on defining the copyright owner for any materials created by employees, grantees, and contractors and clarifying the requirement for open licensing of those materials used in educational programs. This policy will allow school districts, Educational Service Districts, and members of the public, to realize the educational impact from the substantial investments the state, the federal government, and foundations have made (and will continue to make) towards open educational resources.

Together, both agencies consider these policies as starting points for a more expansive/far reaching Open Policy that will eventually support not only the internal works, but also all resources produced by fellow state government agencies. Presenters will discuss the longer term goals of additional state agency outreach and uptake.

http://tinyurl.com/OpenEd2016-Open-Policy 

In March 2016, Daniel DeMarte (Tidewater Community College) and Amanda Coolidge (BCcampus) attended the Institute for Open Leadership in Capetown, South Africa. The purpose of the Institute is to see more open licensing policies flourish, which feed the commons, promote cross-discipline collaboration, and even increase the transparency of government and philanthropic investments. During the Institute, Daniel and Amanda made a commitment to create an OER Policy Guide for High Education. The OER Policy Guide is intended to help post-secondary institutions develop their own OER policies and has suggested action items to ensure successful policy implementation and sustainability. This presentation will showcase the OER Policy Guide and walk participants through the creation, implementation, and sustainability of an effective OER policy.