Policy forum on open educational practice

The partnerships of the OPAL project and CONCEDE  organised a Policy Forum on Mainstreaming Open Educational Practices at UNESCO Headquarters on Monday 14 November, 2011 from 10:30 to 18:00.

The forum addressed the topic of mainstreaming of open educational practices into higher education and adult education. It was part of the UNESCO supported Open Educational Quality Initiative OPAL.

The main motivational factors which emerged were of both individual and institutional nature, and dealt with the perceived quality of the learning experience with UGC and with the need to break down the barriers that hinder the use of content produced by the user. Another important motivational barrier identified is the lack of information on the benefits of using UGC: raising awareness on practices that work could be a key to foster adoption and further support for UGC among policy-makers’ circles.

Find out more about the key messages that were formulated during the event.

Purpose

The Policy Forum aimed at establishing guidelines for mainstreaming Open Educational Practice. CONCEDE aligned with the OPAL initiative which promotes open educational practices – practices which support the production, use and reuse of open educational resources (OER). Open educational practices help learners, educational professionals, organizational leaders, and policy makers improve quality in higher education and adult education and training. The OPAL Initiative has been implemented through a consortium including the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE), the European Foundation for Quality in E-Learning (EFQUEL), and a number of European universities, and has been supported through the European Commission. The November Policy Forum examined the results of both initiatives (OPAL and CONCEDE) and their activities, and seeked to strategize steps for the future.

Who attended?

The Forum aimed to bring together decision makers active in establishing a strategy to move forward with the results of these Initiatives, and will concentrate on how to best capitalize on the use of OEPs for the benefit of quality educational provision supported through ICT.

Agenda

You can download the agenda from here.