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Search Results
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An Introduction to Open Educational Resources and Their Implementation in Higher Education Worldwide
The digitization of (higher) education has exposed copyright infringement issues, as the unauthorized use of copyrighted materials has become more visible. This article explores the importance of open educational resources (OER) in higher education, focusing on their development, how they are understood, and the opportunities they offer. OER are defined as learning materials released under open licenses, allowing no-cost access, reuse, adaptation, and redistribution. The article discusses the OER movement, its milestones, and its integration into educational practice. It also presents arguments for OER: they enable free access to education, improve teaching practice, diminish legal issues, and foster open science. In addition, it highlights criticisms, including resistance from traditional publishers and concerns about marketing influence. The article concludes by examining current OER implementation in higher education and its promise of innovation. While OER are increasingly adopted, proprietary resources still dominate. The article emphasizes the need for educators to use open licenses meaningfully and innovatively and presents research on OER acceptance and usage. The monitoring of OER development in higher education is essential, but approaches may vary across countries.
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Beyond Open Access: Open Educational Resources for Legal Clarity, Sustainability, and Digital Sovereignty in European University Alliances
Open educational resources (OER) are widely recognized for improving access to education and enabling the sharing of knowledge. However, in the context of European university alliances such as Unite!, OER offer additional, often underappreciated benefits that are crucial for cross-border collaboration and sustainable development in higher education. This paper explores three key aspects of OER that are particularly relevant to European alliances. First, OER enable the legally secure use of educational resources across national borders, addressing uncertainties about copyright laws, particularly for translations and adaptations. This ensures compliance with different legal frameworks while fostering collaboration. Second, OER support sustainability by ensuring that investments in educational materials are not limited by restrictive usage rights. This is especially critical in alliances where shared resources are central to fostering long-term cooperation and aligning with sustainability goals, a priority for Unite!. Finally, OER contribute to digital sovereignty by empowering institutions and educators to create, adapt, and share resources without relying on proprietary platforms or licenses. This coincides with European alliances’ broader strategic objective of promoting autonomy and resilience in their digital ecosystems. By highlighting these often-overlooked benefits of OER, the present research aims to broaden the perspective on their strategic importance in fostering collaboration, sustainability, and sovereignty within European university alliances.
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Digital Education Ecosystems: Visions and Decision Needs
With the funding line for the so-called Nationale Bildungsplattform (National Education Platform), the German federal government attracted a great deal of attention within the national education landscape in 2021. Alongside praise for the ambitious initiative, there was also criticism of individual aspects. Until the release of the closed beta under the new name Mein Bildungsraum (My Education Space) in the fall of 2023, public discussion was quieter. Recently, with the handover of essential middleware components to the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, the initiative is now visibly picking up speed again in the summer of 2024. However, the vision still remains vague, and some doubts persist about the feasibility of the goals set. Against this backdrop, the article explores the question of which target images of a digital ecosystem for education are recognizable and which decisions are required to define a tangible – and therefore also implementable – vision.
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Education in the Digital World: Challenges and Pitfalls in the 2020s
This editorial places the topic of the special issue “Education in the Digital World” in a wider national and international context: At a national level, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (‘Kultusministerkonferenz’) initiated a national strategy in 2016 that aims to enable learners to lead a self-determined life in the digital condition (Stalder 2016). In this context, new technologies but also didactic scenarios for the various teaching contexts are to be developed and tested. This is where this Special Issue comes in with its interdisciplinary and multi-perspective contributions. Educational processes in the digital world that are based on innovative technologies, adequate didactic scenarios, and well-trained teachers, as called for by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs, not only serve to implement a nationwide strategy but can also to solve problems worldwide: It seems plausible that cutting-edge solutions in the field of Education in the Digital World can be a key part of the human response to technological innovation in juxtaposition with international crises and conflicts. Finally, future challenges and opportunities for Education in the Digital World are identified and the contributions in this special issue are presented.
