Hi Ken, you are right! Well seen. I have been critical of the likes of MIT Open Courseware as in fact not being open. Restrictions like Non Commercial, and even development processes not being open say to me that they are not open courseware but simply free courseware. I even think that sooner than later they will simply be courseware, when all this copyright fog finally lifts from education and the idea of common good . . .
Yes, Otago is focused on open educational resources AND practices which covers the three areas you site, and the same three areas of freedom defined in OER and software. So, here there is a big emphasis on staff development and building informal but professional support networks and communities of practice. Anyone that looks at our work on Wikieducator will see that it is very much a work in progress and always will be. It is not the most important aspect to us. It is developing the capacity and culture in our staff that is arguably the most important.
Randy, to answer your question regarding how we keep the feedback loop alive with the bosses. It seems that the attention from outside is what keeps that happening. Every time the Commonwealth of Learning publish a report about our work, or Penn State, or the local paper, or the Student's Association.. that reaches the bosses here. At the same time we keep them informed via the traditional communication channels that are in place.. but increasingly we are using the newer communication channels and there is the potential for a communication disconnect that I mention in the article. Again, it comes down to developing better communication skills with staff, so it may mean our bosses have to join in on the staff development activities or risk the disconnection, or pull it back.. its a potentially large problem. At the moment, the outside interest is helping. It also helps to have outsiders interview and then report on our work. It offers a fresh perspective and critical feedback that we need. Especially for us being so regional, even in our own country.
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