Examining the reuse of open textbooks

Abstract

<p>An important element of open educational resources (OER) is the permission to use the materials in new ways, including revising and remixing them. Prior research has shown that the revision and remix rates for OER are relatively low. In this study we examined the extent to which the openly licensed Flat World Knowledge textbooks were being revised and remixed. We found that the levels of revision and remix were similar to those of other OER collections. We discuss the possible significance and implication of these findings.</p><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="if(typeof(jsCall)=='function'){jsCall();}else{setTimeout('jsCall()',500);}" type="hidden" />

OER Usage by Instructional Designers and Training Managers in Corporations

“…However, a preference to Revise and Remix learning materials rather than Reuse them was identified. This finding is significantly different than the findings of former studies (Hilton et al, 2012), although it is important to emphasize that the majority of literature deals with general OER usage and did not focus on internal repositories. Still, this finding indicates the preferences of corporate instructional designers; and although internal repositories might contain items that can be useful just as they are, corporate instructional designers often choose to alter them.…”

“…While the literature suggests high rates of Reuse and low rates of Revise and Remix usage (Hilton et al, 2012), the current study found high rates of Revise and Remix use of pictures, videos, and Wikipedia. This finding supports the second hypothesis that Revise and Remix use is more frequent among instructional designers than the literature reports.…”

“…In his 4-Rs model, Wiley (Hilton, Wiley, Stein, & Johnson, 2010) differentiates four levels of reuse: using the content without changes (Reuse); sharing copies of the content with others (Redistribute); adapting, modifying, translating, or changing the form of the content (Revise); and combining different OERs to create a new source (Remix). The literature suggests that the last two levels represent a minor part of the possible utilization of OERs (Hilton, Wiley, & Lutz, 2012;Rolfe et al, 2012). Through the reuse of OERs, teaching and learning processes can be enhanced (Friesen, 2009;Hylén, 2006).…”

“…Hilton, Wiley, and Lutz (2012) examined OER repositories of digital books in order to map the usage types of the repository's users. They concluded that Reuse is the most popular usage type, and that the Revise and Remix usage types, although they seem to be appealing for use, represent only 7.5% of overall usage.…”

“…For example, the Rolfe et al (2012) research, in which the usage types of medical OERs in a specific repository were examined, found that 99% of users didn't implement any changes to the content, but simply reused it. Hilton et al (2012) found that the easier it is to make changes to an OER, the more changes people will make. Nevertheless it is important to mention that this research was conducted on a repository that enabled the option to track changes made on its objects.…”