1 of 33

Open for Good

Transforming the Curriculum with OER at the University of Edinburgh

​

Stuart Nicol, Lorna M. Campbell, Ewan McAndrew, Kay Douglas, Andy Cross

​

2 of 33

What we'll cover

  • Why OER in the curriculum?
  • Why OER is important to curriculum transformation at Edinburgh.
  • How we got here (bottom up and top down).
  • Examples in more depth:
    • Wikipedia in the curriculum;
    • Geosciences outreach.

​

​

​

3 of 33

Contribute to our Padlet

https://edin.ac/3zoq4fs

4 of 33

https://edin.ac/3zoq4fs

5 of 33

Building core competencies and transferable attributes by embedding OER in the curriculum

​

  • Digital and information literacy skills
  • Writing as public outreach
  • Collaborative working
  • Information synthesis
  • Copyright literacy
  • Critical thinking 
  • Source evaluation
  • Data science.

Anima Celtica, The Evergreen Spring, 1895,

University of Edinburgh, CC BY, Europeana / images.is.ed.ac.uk

6 of 33

Curriculum transformation (ambition)

  • Students will find it easier to tailor and complete their degree as a foundation for future learning, ethical global citizenship, and enhanced employability
  • Reduce academic workloads, improve teaching and administrative efficiency, and use our physical and digital estate more effectively and creatively
  • Increase the attractiveness of our course and programme portfolio, ensuring that our resources are focused on areas of strategic importance.

​

Edinburgh Student Vision ...

  • Objectives: Ready to thrive in a changing world
  • Core design principles: Supports the development of self-directed, curious and confident learners

7 of 33

University of Edinburgh Vision

​

Our graduates, and the knowledge we discover with our partners, make the world a better place.

​

Our teaching and research is relevant to society and we are diverse, inclusive and accessible to all.

​

​

Commision from the Dodge of Venice, University of Edinburgh,

CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, https://flic.kr/p/snkn7o

8 of 33

UNESCO Recommendation on OER,

https://en.unesco.org/themes/building-knowledge-societies/oer/recommendation

9 of 33

“ In building inclusive Knowledge Societies, Open Educational Resources (OER) can support quality education that is equitable, inclusive, open and participatory as well as enhancing academic freedom and professional autonomy of teachers by widening the scope of materials available for teaching and learning. ”

UNESCO Recommendation on OER

http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=49556&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

10 of 33

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals https://sdgs.un.org/goals

11 of 33

Open Scotland aims to raise awareness of open education, encourage the sharing of open educational resources, and explore the potential of open policy and practice to benefit all sectors of Scottish education.

​

Open Policies can develop Scotland’s unique education offering, support social inclusion and inter-institutional collaboration and sharing and enhance quality and sustainability.

​

Open Scotland https://openscot.net/

12 of 33

Some examples (open.ed.ac.uk)

  • Fundamentals of Music Theory (co-creation)
  • Creating Edinburgh (UG)
  • Digital Futures for Learning (PG)

​

​

​

http://openaccreditation.weebly.com

13 of 33

University of Edinburgh OER Policy

  • http://open.ed.ac.uk/about/
  • Approved by Learning and Teaching Committee in January 2016, updated 2021.
  • Informative and permissive.
  • Encourages staff and students to use, create and publish OERs to enhance the quality of the student experience.
  • Helps colleagues make informed decisions about creating and using OER.

​

Prodromus Dissertationum Cosmographicarum, f.p.24, University of Edinburgh, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, https://flic.kr/p/fcwNdT

14 of 33

OER Service Activities

  • Digital skills workshops & events around OER and open education.
  • Provide support to Schools and Colleges.
  • Provide advice, guidance and training on copyright and open licensing.
  • Work closely with Online Course Production Service & Wikimedian in Residence

Papers of William Speirs Bruce, No.686, University of Edinburgh,

CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, https://flic.kr/p/fcwCzM

15 of 33

Open.Ed, https://open.ed.ac.uk/

​

16 of 33

https://media.ed.ac.uk/channel/Open+Media+Bank/

17 of 33

Wikimedia 

in the Curriculum

Wikipedia – Active vs Passive Learning by Visual Thinkery, CC-BY-ND.

18 of 33

Wikipedians at the Eurostemcell Wikithon, CC BY-SA 4.0, Endoderm, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EuroStemCell_Wikithon_2016.jpg

19 of 33

Wikimedia in the Curriculum

​

  • Reproductive Biology Honours
  • World Christianity MSc
  • Translation Studies MSc
  • Masters in Public Health
  • Digital Sociology MSc
  • Design Informatics MA/MFA
  • Intellectual Humility MOOC
  • Korean Studies MSc
  • PG Cert Global Health Challenges
  • Digital Education MSc
  • History of Art MA

​

​

​

​

Edinburgh Gothic Editathon, CC BY SA,

Stinglehammer on Wikimedia Commons.

20 of 33

Wikimedia in Education

https://open.ed.ac.uk/wikimedia-in-education/

​

21 of 33

22 of 33

GeoSciences Outreach

23 of 33

GeoSciences Outreach Course,

https://www.ed.ac.uk/geosciences/undergraduate/geoscience-outreach

24 of 33

25 of 33

26 of 33

Open.Ed on TES Resources

https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/OpenEd

27 of 33

28 of 33

​

Volcanic Eruptions, CC BY, Isla Simmons, on TES Resources.

​

29 of 33

Dr Isla Simmons, �PhD Volcanology�

Photo by kind permission of Isla Simmons

30 of 33

https://www.gtcs.org.uk/News/teaching-scotland/teaching-scotland-magazine.aspx

31 of 33

32 of 33

Contribute to our Padlet

https://edin.ac/3zoq4fs

33 of 33

Further Information

​

​

​

​

​

​

These slides are licensed CC BY 4.0, University of Edinburgh, unless otherwise indicated.

Stuart Nicol, stuart.nicol@ed.ac.uk 

Lorna M. Campbell, lorna.m.campbell@ed.ac.uk

Ewan McAndrew, Ewan.McAndrew@ed.ac.uk

Kay Douglas, Kay.Douglas@ed.ac.uk 

Andy Cross, Andrew.Cross@ed.ac.uk 

​

Open.Ed, http://open.ed.ac.uk/, @OpenEdEdinburgh 

​