Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ We Support the UNESCO Recommendation on OER

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

While I would agree overall that the UNESCO resolution on OER should be supported, as it is better than nothing, I would also caution that there are some significant weaknesses to the draft as submitted. Overall, the document still envisions OER as something that is produced by publishers for consumption by (usually) teachers. This leads to concerns about sustainability models, and specifically, we see calls for Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) and specifically "catalyzing sustainability models through revenues and sustainability aspects of OER," which sournds a lot like fee-based OERs which i what was done to MOOCs). Similarly, clauses like "develop national and institutional standards, benchmarks and related quality assurance criteria for the quality assurance of OER" seem tailor made for keeping non-professionals out of the business o creating OERs. Finally, why is a document prepared in April only now seeing the light of day just a few weeks before its submission in November?

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Apr 18, 2024 02:31 a.m.

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