To help you plan your participation the conference program schedule can be filtered by date, venue, session type, and session format using the Filter functions.
Filter by Date lets you look at a specific day of the program. Filter by Venue lets you look at the program by venue rooms where sessions are taking place. Filter by Type lets you look at the program by track. In addition to keynotes and breaks the program is made up of three main tracks or types of sessions Pedagogy, Roles, and Strategies. Clicking on a type in Filter by Type lets you see only sessions of that type in the program schedule. In addition, Pedagogy, Roles, and Strategies each have a set of associated topics. Topics appear when you hover over a type name in the Filter by Type area of Sched. Topics are clickable allowing you to further filter the program by topic. Session Format lets you view the program by types of sessions - Action Labs, Lightning Talks, Posters, Presentations, and World Cafes.
The conference program is rich and diverse representing the current state of open education around the world.
An overview of the Canadian experiences in implementing OER initiatives at the higher education level will include evidence of impacts and of the main issues and challenges identified by institutions and organizations in the different provinces. The main issue for OER supporters in Canada is that of raising awareness among students and faculty. Today, even after more than 20 years of activity, OER are still not commonly known in our institutions and governments. There is an obvious need for more campaigns to raise awareness that could include local, provincial and national conferences focusing on OER issues.
Another issue concerns the restrictions on the use of commercial content, that can drive faculty and students to OER. Technological Protection Measures (TPM) restrict the user's device, while tracking their activities. It is used by publishers to control, limit and restrict how learners and others can use their materials. TPM are further supported by End User License Agreements, prohibiting users from accessing content or changing parameters in the content even if they have a fair dealing right to do so.
A side issue having some effect on OER acceptance in Canada is the “large and liberal” interpretation of fair dealing by the Supreme Court of Canada, combined with the addition of “education” as one of the uses for which fair dealing applies in the Copyright Modernization Act 2012. Because of these changes, faculty and institutions can now make reasonable use of substantial portions of copyright-restricted content. Sharing of content among institutions is encouraged by governments, but it becomes problematic with restrictive licences. OER are usually cost-effective because they are free of charge and free of costs associated with negotiating licences and clearing copyright. The ability to change OER is important for educators who wish to frequently adapt or update the content.
I am the UNESCO/Commonwealth of Learning/International Council for Open and Distance Education Chair in Open Educational Resources and the director of TEKRI at Athabasca University
