Barriers and Motivators for Using Open Educational Resources in Schools

Abstract

In an explorative study, we investigated on German schoolteachers how they use, reuse, produce and manage Open Educational Resources. The main questions in this research have been, what their motivators and barriers are in their use of Open Educational Resources, what others can learn from their Open Educational Practices, and what we can do to raise the dissemination level of OER in schools.

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From the eld
open educational practices,
barriers, motivators, teacher
survey
Tags
Authors
Thomas Richter,
Researcher, Managing
Director of the KDU e. V.,
Project-Coordinator
Information Systems for
Production and Operations
Management, Faculty of
Economics and Business
Administration, University of
Duisburg Essen
thomas.richter@icb.uni-due.
de
Ulf-Daniel Ehlers,
University of Duisburg-
Essen, Director of the
European Foundation for
Quality in E-Learning
ulf.ehlers@icb.uni-essen.de
Barriers and Motivators for Using OER in Schools
For this study we invesgated German teachers to see how they use, reuse, produce
and manage OER. The research explored what movators and barriers eect their use
of OER, what others can learn from their Open Educaonal Pracces, and what we can
do to raise the disseminaon level of OER in schools. The survey revealed some unex-
pected results, notably the fact that parcipang German teachers do not to feel they
need special OER-licenses, since they consider everything available in the Internet as
being public – even their own products. Regarding barriers, insecurity on the correct-
ness of informaon was one of the biggest issues and also, a concern regarding the lack
of experse and guidance during the adapon processes.
1. Introduction
Open Educaonal Resources, as it is used here are educaonal resources, publicly accessible
through the Internet, that freely can be used within non-prot but also within prot oriented
educaonal scenarios (Hewle, 2005). Great amounts of Open Educaonal Resources (OER)
are available for download in the Internet. The UNESCO recognizes OER as having the po-
tenal to help level out the educaonal challenges of ‘developing countries’ but also bear a
risk of “educaonal neo-colonialism”, because most of them originate in western countries
and bear western style educaon values (Daniel 2010). Large repositories of OER have been
built, such as those from Merlot, MIT or Connexions. Sll, new resources oen are produced
instead of reusing and adapng exisng OER. A basic condi-on for a successful dissemina-
on of OER is building trust into those learning resources being fully capable to support high-
quality educaon. Research, parcularly in the European framework shows, that OER sll are
not used in the level, as they could be. (OLCOS, 2006)
The EU project OPAL, emphasizing the shi from focusing on resources to focusing on prac-
ces focus, advances the view that the key to a higher disseminaon-level of OER is not the
accessi-bility itself, but much more understanding and overcoming the gaps prevenng the
use of OER. Trust in OER as rst-rate choice and not second-rate quality has been idened
as one key factor for beer acceptance of OER in educaonal organizaons. Therefore, the
project focuses on the various stake-holders in educaonal scenarios, supporng potenal
users by making available a porolio of good Open Educaonal Pracces, which are dened
as the use, reuse, management and producon of OER with the intenon to improve quality
and innovaon in educaonal scenarios (Conole et al, 2010).
For this paper, we have conducted an explorave study covering schoolteachers in Germany,
with the aim, to also understand their specic situaon. We wanted to reveal their mova-
tors for their exposure to OER but also and parcularly their barriers, which are to be over-
come. First of all, we briey will explain the German school system. We invited teachers from
dierent school forms to par-cipate in group-discussions, focusing issues on their usage,

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From the eld
management and producon of OER. The results of the group
discussions will be presented aer a discussion of the seng
and limitaons of the study. Aerwards we will deduce conclu-
sions on how teachers can be supported in their Open Educa-
onal Pracces.
2. The German Educational System
The German educaon system foresees 10 years of compulsory
educaon, with a primary level of 4 years and a secondary level
of 6. For secondary educaon a selecve three-type school sys-
tem exists: ‘Hauptschule’, ‘Realschule’ and Gymnasium.
With the ‘Berufsschule’, an addional school type is available.
In the tradional German professional educaon, teenagers can
undergo an apprenceship in a self-chosen profession, which
usually take three years. The specialized educaon is organized
in the so-called dual system: The apprences rst of all learn on
the job, by working in a company. There, they learn the specic
praccal knowledge the company can teach. Complementary,
the apprences visit a professional school where the theorecal
background to the profession is taught.
3. The Explorative Study – Setting and
Limitations
In our explorave study, we have determined the views and ex-
periences of teachers from four school types to get a deeper
understanding of their successes and failures (problems) re-
garding their use of OER. For each invesgated school form, we
asked related teachers to parcipate in informally orga-nized
group discussions as experts. We invesgated the school forms
‘Grundschule’ (3 teachers), ‘Hauptschule’ (5 teachers), ‘Gymna-
sium’ (4 teachers) and ’Berufsschule’ (4 teachers).

Figure 1: The German Educational System

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At least one teacher of each group taught an IT related sub-
ject and / or was responsible for the IT infrastructure of his /
her school. The other teachers taught various combinaons of
subjects (In Germany, one teacher usually at least teaches two
dierent subjects), such as, history, religion, lan-guages, nature
sciences, and economics.
The discussions took place within a private atmosphere in res-
taurants / cafes. The me frame for the group discussions was
not predened. Actually, the discussions lasted between 1,5
and 3,5 hours (depending on the available me and the interest
of the parcipants).
The results of the explorave study are neither representa-
ve for the invesgated school forms, the schools themselves,
the region, or for the country. However, some interesng hints
parcu-larly on exisng problems in the exposure to OER have
been revealed.
4. Discussion Topics and Outcomes
Beside general issues regarding OER and in analogy to the
upper denion of Open Educaonal Pracces (Conole et al,
2010), the discussion covered the topics ‘administraon’, ‘pro-
ducon’, and ‘usage’ of OER. The topic ‘administraon’ nally
played an inferior role, because least of the teachers had been
responsible for such a queson. Instead, the specic support /
encouragement through each school’s administraon became
a topic of discussion.
4.1 General Questions / Denitions
What in your Mind are Open Educaonal Resources (OER)?
The term OER itself broadly was unknown to the teachers. Just
the IT responsible teachers in each of the groups ‘Professional
School’ and ‘high school’ knew about the term. However, the
German term ‘freie Bildungsressourcen’ (free educaonal re-
sources) was known. As the teachers explained, it de-scribes a
similar concept, but the focus related to ‘open’ applied more to
accessibility than to the more legal concept in OER. Free edu-
caonal resources, in the view of the teachers, are learning re-
sources that can be found in the Internet and (from a praccal
perspecve of ng) used for educaonal proc-esses. Most of
the teachers already performed Internet-research for inspiring
or reusable educaonal material. There in fact was awareness
that proper citaon might be needed for lawful acng. Never-
the-less, before the Internet, teachers were used to distribute
copied books (mostly single pages) in their educaonal pracce,
and so, most considered sparing the citaon being a peccadillo.
The High school group was of a dierent opinion, parcularly
because learning the correct way of citaon explicitly is a maer
of their educaonal content.
Aer all teachers briey had been informed about the correct
legal situaon of intellectual property rights in Germany, for
this discussions, we commonly decided to ‘enhance’ the deni-
on of OER from those resources that are explicitly (by license)
declared as ‘open’ to all available and usable Internet-based,
learning resources.
Open Educaonal Pracces – OEP (denion)
According to the denion of Conole et al (2010), for the discus-
sions, as Open Educaonal Pracces, we dened ‘all the ‘prac-
ces’ around the creaon, use and management of OER’.
What is your educaonal scenario like? Which technology do
you use within your classes?
Class sizes of 25 to 30 learners are common and therefore, the
common teaching form is a frontal teaching scenario. Interacve
educaon, in which learners directly parcipate in a dialogue
with the teachers oen is related to printed / copied materials,
which as a discussion base previously have been distributed to
the learners. Parcularly in the high school, addionally group
work and presenta-on of the results also are used as learning
methods.
In the frontal teaching situaons, teachers mainly use the black-
board or if available, an over-head projector: Classes rarely are
equipped with a local beamer, so that the direct use of digital
learn-ing material comes along with having to reserve the need-
ed technology and must be understood as excepon. Therefore,
teachers usually have to transform the found digital material
into analogous overhead-projector-slides or distribute printed
papers to the learners.
Within computer classes, digital learning materials are broad-
casted to the learners’ desktops. Besides one interacve high
school project, where computer classes of two high schools also
syn-chronously cooperate with each other by using messenger
and forum discussions, the communicaon between teachers
and learners is performed purely analogously. An Internet-
based Learning plaorm (Moodle-based) only is available in the
invesgated ‘Gymnasium’. The ‘Berufsschule’ and also the ‘Gr-
undschule’ have not yet implemented a Moodle-based learning

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plaorm, but it is in progress. The teachers from the Gymnasium
reported that even though it is available, most teachers in their
school yet do not use the LMS or e-Learning for their classes.
Some teachers use the Moodle-plaorm for af-ter preparaon
and group (home-)works, but rarely for communicaon issues.
4.2 Usage and Adaptation of OER
Have you already used publicly available learning materials
from the Internet within your own courses? In which way is ma-
terial from the Internet useful for your preparaon of classes?
What kind of materials do you preferably use?
In the discussion groups, all but one teacher said already having
used educaonal materials from the Internet to enrich (explicit-
ly stated) their classes. Parcularly, when recent incidents (such
as 9/11, Iraq war, or the nancial crisis) are to be explained or
discussed in the school, Internet materials are considered be-
ing much more useful as e.g., print media: In unity, all teach-
ers considered not only the variety of informaon to a certain
topic as being much wider, but they also stated that research
and access of related material became much easier. As a main
benet of Internet-based learning re-sources all teachers con-
sidered the topicality of informaon. Parcularly because of the
Internet-users’ parcipaon in quickly producing and spreading
individual informaon via YouTube (User Generated Content), it
today is possible to provide the learners with a broad variety of
perspecves (or a tailor made one) considering a single topic.
All teachers stated to mainly research for pictures and movies as
examples to present to the learners. Just in case that a new top-
ic (such as a recent polical inci-dent) is to be included into the
almost ‘tradional’ lessons, also text-based documents (e.g., to
re-search for polical backgrounds) from the Internet are used.
How (concretely) do you search for, decide the use of, and adapt
OER? What have been your suc-cesses? Where did you experi-
ence problems?
A minority of the teachers quoted exclusively focusing their
research well known and recommended German repositories.
Parcularly the older teachers never visited computer classes,
themselves and sll feel uncondent using computers and the
Internet. The majority of the teachers reported, rst of all, look-
ing in such German and recommended repositories for suitable
contents by using keywords in German language. The adaptable
results in German language were considered oen being very
poor. If the search in those repositories is not successful, the
younger teachers who seemed being more procient in using
computers and the Internet, use search engines such as Google
for an advanced research (in both languages, German and Eng-
lish). For those teachers being procient enough to use the In-
ternet, the accessibility of learning resources was not consid-
ered being a larger challenge.
The decision, if a resource is trustable in the meaning of cor-
rectness, parcularly regarding to the contents and the poli-
cal background, has been considered being much more chal-
lenging. All groups stated that there oen are doubts on the
sincerity / validity of the researched documents. Par-cularly
in cases of recent incidents, the user-generated content always
could be fake informaon. The teachers quoted, oen not us-
ing the found material because they are afraid giving wrong
informa-on or hidden polical incorrect statements further to
the learners. The teachers missed a seal of qual-ity that shows
them, that they do not need to worry. They clearly described
a dilemma situaon: On the one hand, there is a need for re-
cent informaon, but on the other hand, it cannot be conrmed
within such short me frames. Anyways, not seeing a suitable
compromise themselves, they explicitly wish someone might
nd a soluon.
From a more technological perspecve, it oen is unclear, if the
found educaonal material is secure to download because of
‘digital vermin’ that could harm the school’s infrastructure.
Also as extremely tough the teachers assessed the adaptaon
process itself: Not only lacks of opportunies to technically real-
ize an adaptaon process (because of the documents’ formats)
oen lead to a rewring process, but also a lack of experience,
what exactly should be changed in which scenario. Parcularly,
when learning resources originally have been produced for an-
other cultural con-text, they oen include, e.g., polically dif-
cult statements or do not t to the own didaccal approach.
Revealing such adaptaon needs is a far too complicated task
and so, the teachers always feel like sailing close to the wind.
This is a main reason why they oen reduce their use of OER to
simple pic-tures and smallest learning objects.
In all schools but the high school, the teachers complained that
contents oen are just avail-able in English language. Parcular-
ly for the younger classes, contents must be translated to Ger-
man. In some single cases, the language gap also led the (older)
teachers to their limits of capability.
As more annoying than the language gap itself, the teachers
considered pictures with informa-onal contents, such as dia-

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grams when oered in non-changeable formats (bitmap, PDF,
JPEG). Such pictures can only be used one-on-one or as paerns
(templates). Therefore, the me saving ad-vantage of the Inter-
net-resources is lost, parcularly since such pictures anyways
rarely completely cover the exact needs and therefore have to
be adapted. Such experiences oen lead to frustraon, and the
reacon in a lot of single cases is rather copying ‘boring’ print-
media from books than looking for and using OER.
4.3 Management of OER, Policies
Do your school administraons or the federal government sup-
port the use of OER? Are there related policies within your ins-
tuons?
All teachers of all schools agreed that any kind of support or
encouraging sides the school administra-ons or federal gov-
ernments are very weak. In fact, they complained, that more
and more acons ex-plicitly or indirectly are required sides the
teachers, but they have to take the full responsibility and no
help or incenves are provided in return.
Related to the contents, be it open or restricted educaonal re-
sources, broader assistance has neither been provided by the
schools’ administraons, nor by the government. A major argu-
ment sides the government not to make recommendaons was
the autonomy of the schools and teachers that had to be pre-
served. As long as content decisions just extended (and didn’t
change) the curricula, teachers have been encouraged to be
creave. In the curricula, in a lot of cases, certain schoolbooks
and novels are ‘recommended’ for the classes, so that anyways,
concrete contents oen are pre-selected (in printed form). As
help, the government later on oered an Internet-portal called
‘Lehrer-Online’ (Teachers-Online). ‘Lehrer Online’ provided rec-
ommendaons and arcles for teachers, a fo-rum and later on,
also small repositories for suitable educaonal resources that
freely could be used. Teachers, themselves, produced most of
the resources in this repository (User Generated Content). Af-
ter having used (and acknowledged) those in their own classes,
they (can) share their contents with other teachers. The quality,
therefore, is considered being suitable but the disseminaon
of the re-sources are limited to registered users. The variety of
available resources sll is low, even when fol-lowing the hints
to further, external but recommended German repositories. As
addional service, the portal ‘Lehrer Online’ oers online and
oine (physical) seminars and workshops where the teacher’s
needs and possible soluons to problems are discussed.
Dierent to the others, the teachers of the ’Berufsschule’ expe-
rience serious problems to nd adequate learning resources in
the Internet. The provided support is considered being poor or
even not available at all as well through the chambers of cras
as also through the chambers of industry and commerce. Ad-
dionally, in some professions, the chambers of cras have re-
gionally typical re-quirements on certain processes and designs.
Besides in the IT-related professions, the teachers of the group
‘Berufsschule’ rarely use open educaonal resources, e-Learn-
ing or even computers. Since the chambers started providing
e-Learning material for Master students (The German Master
Cras-man) parcularly the situaon of lacking contents is
slightly changing now. However, the necessary equipment also
is missing.
4.4 Production of OER, User Generated
Content
As already stated in secon 4.3, some teachers produce con-
tents by themselves and, as far as they are able doing so, share
it with others. Such self-produced contents are e.g., published
in the reposito-ries of ‘Lehrer Online’. Oen, in a lack of knowl-
edge, the Creave Common License (or others) is not aached
because the teachers purpose to upload their resources any-
ways is sharing contents and supporng their colleagues. Learn-
er generated content rarely is made available for the public. If
such contents are being uploaded to a server, it mostly happens
just inside the school infrastructures, e.g., for further use within
internal school projects. Also, some teachers and older learners
have own web-sites where they upload their learning resources
and / or essays, but this is the minority.
5 Summary of the Results and
Recommendations
Almost all invited teachers from used the Internet as a source
to gather available educaonal re-sources. Although there is no
explicit demand or quota for using OER at schools, the lack of
funds drives teachers to use free learning resources.
The available Learning Management Systems in the invesgated
schools are based on the open plaorm ‘Moodle’. Benets of
digital learning resources, related to print media, parcularly
are seen in the fast availability of informaon on recent inci-
dences.

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The teachers mainly used pictures and movies from the Internet
illustrang or spicing up their lectures. Pictures with informave
character (containing text elements) should not be stored in an
un-changeable format: From the perspecve of the teachers, as
soon as they are to be adapted such are almost worthless.
Regarding the adaptaon processes, support is needed: Adapt-
ing learning resources from foreign contexts to the own one
simply is too complicated for the teachers. This includes as well
the decision process on adaptaon needs as also the following
changing and validaon processes.
Regarding licensing, a clear lack of informaon and / or sensibil-
ity has been revealed: The teachers were not fully aware of the
dierence between open and available resources. They rarely
use the CCL (or any other license) themselves, but consider
their own provided resources already are open by publishing
them in the Internet. Therefore, they do not take the legal situ-
aon too serious.
A broader support by the German government and school ad-
ministraons urgently is needed not only for using OER, but
also for using digital media in general. Parcularly the neces-
sary equip-ment is missing. The teachers basically are willed to
contribute their self-produced learning resources to the com-
munity, but need a suitable supporve plaorm, which is simple
to use even for beginners and automacally aaches the neces-
sary license type.
It oen is unclear if material, found in the Internet is trustable
and if it maybe includes hidden threads that could bring the
teachers into troubles. Also the suitability of certain resources
for learners of dierent ages oen is unclear. The teachers see
problems in the use of OER without an ensured re-liability /
quality of open contents. This issue would have to be solved as
soon as possible.
Although e-Learning and IT now is used since more than a
decade within German classes, the teachers in the discussion
groups sll feel like pioneers when using ICT for classes that
are not di-rectly related to informaon technology. Parcularly
when situaons are tough, they oen feel aban-doned. A cer-
tain (commonly accepted) culture of pracce could enormously
help the teachers to reach the necessary level of condence.
Such a culture of pracce is considered being needed in order to
be successful in the use of ICT and parcularly OER.
Fazit
Using expert group discussions as a method for an explorave
study provided fruiul results. Parcu-larly, because the experts
themselves proted from the discussion outcomes in form of
learning about the other expert’s experiences, they showed
themselves very involved.
For the study, it can be concluded that the OER movement is
welcome and needed by school-teachers in Germany. Teachers
already use and produce OER and would like to raise their level
of contribuon, but feel a strong need for assistance regarding
the technological realizaon and for a cer-tain culture of prac-
ce in order to legimate their eorts.
As reported by the teachers, the usage of OER oen collapses
because of missing change-ability of available documents, a lack
of trust regarding the correctness of included informaon and
missing support regarding adaptaon processes. In contrast,
the pure availability of learning re-sources, for most teachers
has not been considered being a problem: Besides the profes-
sional school, all other groups considered the amount of avail-
able learning resources being rather over-whelming (because
oen unstructured or undened) than too small.
The teachers showed a lack of understanding regarding the legal
background of OER.
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ISSN: 1887-1542
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