Digital Futures in Teacher Education: Briefing meeting for the core team 19 October 2011, SHU

Meeting agenda: issues Introductions - project team, roles and responsibilities Key terms/assumptions: OER, digital literacy etc. Background to the UKOER programme Scope of the project Planned project outputs Project methodology Project initiation: tasks, deadlines and outputs

Project team Project core team: Project Lead (Richard Pountney, SHU) Principal Investigator (Guy Merchant, SHU supported by Cathy Burnett, SHU) Academic Lead (Jackie Marsh, TUOS supported by Julia Davies, TUOS) Project manager (Anna Gruszczynska, SHU) Project assistant (TBC) Project partners: 4 PGCE tutors and their students (SHU/TUOS) 10 teachers (8 secondary, 2 primary schools) and their students Creative advisers (SmartAssess, YHGfL, Sheffield Children’s Festival) Technical developer (Learning Connections)

Working definitions of OERs Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials that are freely available online for everyone to use, whether you are an instructor, student or self-learner. (OER Commons) OER are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use or re- purposing by others. (William and Flora Hewlett Foundation)

Working definitions of digital literacy From the bid: a blend of ICT, media and information skills and knowledge situated within academic practice contexts while influenced by a wide range of techno- social practices involving communication, collaboration and participation in networks (JISC Design Studio, 2011) Very much work in progress and a key issue that the project will address

UKOER Programme HEFCE-funded collaboration between JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) and the Higher Education Academy – 90 institutions supported in the first two phases Pilot Phase (April 2009-April 2010) Phase Two (August August 2011) Phase Three (October 2011-October 2012) Based on the findings of the first two Phases of work, JISC now conceptualise open educational resources as a component of a wider field of “open academic practice”, encompassing the many ways in which higher education is engaging and sharing with wider online culture.

Previous involvement with UKOER Evaluating the Practice of Opening up Resources for Learning and Teaching in the Social Sciences (pilot phase) The project team explored processes around the release and sharing of modular teaching content by using insights gained from the process of peer review and social science knowledge production. Evaluating the Practice of Opening up Resources for Learning and Teaching in the Social Sciences Cascading Social Science Open Educational Resources (Phase Two) project sought to cascade support for embedding Open Educational Resources within the social sciences curriculum, focusing on the relationship between the use of OERs and student engagement. Cascading Social Science Open Educational Resources

Scope of the Digital Futures OER3project Builds on the involvement of team members in the UKOER programme and Leading Transformational Change Project (SHU/TUOS) Embraces a holistic view of digital literacy and engages with a number of different actors involved in/ influenced by issues related to teacher education and Open Educational Resources: PGCE tutors and students School teachers and students Digital creative industry Publishing industry (TBC) Relevant professional associations

Planned project outputs 1. An open textbook, accompanied by rich Web2.0 based documentation, which will explore challenges of involving learners with digital literacies, incorporating the following two core elements: Digital literacies in the context of professional development (a module focusing on issues related to teacher education; equivalent to 60 hours of study) Digital literacies for creative learners (a set of tools and resources for embedding OERs within the school sector; equivalent to 120 hours of study) 2. Showcase for Sheffield Children’s Festival 3. Dissemination events involving local broadband consortia, local authorities etc.

Project methodology: some propositions a critical social science perspective on the processes of sharing digital educational resources, as well as related challenges. a collaborative methodology embedded within the paradigm of communities of practice reflection as a core element of project methodology: through reflection, academic practice can be critically reviewed and tacit understandings can be made clear, enhancing the potential of OERs to be shared and re-used emphasis on the broader context in which OERs are created and (re)used rather than addressing solely the technical aspects of opening up teaching resources Insights gained from the ILF (It’s the Learning Future!) project

Project initiation Tasks to be completed within first month of project: Finalise project team Clarify scope of project Administrative issues Project web2.0 presence Important dates Start-up meeting 14 November 2011 Interim workshop 12 April 2012 OER2012 conference: April 2012 Interim report 20 April 2012 Final and completion report 19 October 2012