OER is a great resource from the students’ perspective. However, it often requires extra working hours (sometimes unpaid) and can be challenging to manage from the teachers’ point of view. From the university’s perspective, OER developed by their educators may serve as part of a marketing strategy or help expand awareness of in-house practices. They could also function as examples of in-house courses for a university that cannot rely on public funds and needs a business model to support their students as paying customers. During my time in academia, I encountered a few inspired educators who went above and beyond the standard practices of the university to develop various solutions for engaging with learners beyond the typical classroom environment. When discussing free education in countries like Finland and Sweden, it’s important to understand that it’s not entirely free. Education in Nordic countries is primarily publicly funded, so we all fund education and many other things by paying taxes. Additionally, students from Asia or non-EU countries are required to pay a yearly fee to study at our universities, receiving the same courses no more and no less. Therefore, OER may not be the given constant we often consider, but rather an additional resource, especially in the context of “free” education in EU countries. The opportunity for educators to have extra time and resources to develop OER is rare but does exist.

In fact, in 2016-2021 the Aalto Online Learning initiated bi-yearly rounds for in-house university educators where educators participate in creating online courses or online course components for very different reasons, not always focused on degree learners. A!OLE was helping educators and aiming to develop as many OER as possible, but educators could work also on their degree courses as well. A few MOOCs could be mentioned as a result of collaborative effort and A!OLE practices developed in these years:

Photography Online Course for Scientists developed initially for materials scientists is a MOOC that is used internally at Aalto University. Anyone who wants to become a better photographer and understand better a product photography in relations to material science can access the course materials and improve their skills. At the moment we considering opening the course for a wider audience, or even making it publicly available on our https://openlearning.aalto.fi/ platform:

Another good example of a MOOC can be a ‘WoodSense’ pilot that was developed in the Aalto School of Chemistry. The full course is available for Aalto degree students who study in School of Chemistry. However, the videos from this course can be openly found on the Aalto-Wood YouTube channel. Educators enthusiastically share their perspectives on wood is as a material, and their videos contain a lot of interesting information for those who study wood-related disciplines. I especially like the videos that were done in Aalto’s small filming studio with the light glass board:

Also, some very interesting projects were developed during A!OLE pilot times: Playable concepts, where you can find a few very interactive mini-games for teaching and sense-making. Aalto virtual laboratories and laboratory safety courses were also initiated during A!OLE times and was developed further. Online course about law in Entrepreneurship is accessible for Aalto Degree Students, Aalto Open University learners and are partially available as a podcast series in Spotify, Apple Podcast, or YouTube under the ‘Adventures in Entrepreneurship Law‘ name:

In some of these courses, I either supported and helped educators navigate the complexities of “going out there,” or managed the course production myself (such as a photography course).

I believe that sharing with a wider audience beyond your degree students offers various benefits for educators. By developing OER and incorporating OEP into your work practices, you can enhance your own digital identity and digital literacy, topics we discussed in topic 1 of this course. Educators also expand their networks, explore potential global and local markets for their work, services, or products, connect with like-minded educators on a global scale, and discover a wider range of tools, methods, and online opportunities. I find that developing OER can enrich personal educational practices, making it an interesting and engaging journey. However, I also recognize that from an outsider’s perspective, there are challenges and concerns that some educators may have about these practices and resources.

I notice that some educators at our institution are enthusiastic about sharing their work if they recognize its value for individuals beyond standard degree courses. In such cases, receiving feedback is essential. Without feedback, teachers may feel adrift, inattentive, or view their efforts in creating OER as unsuccessful. It is common for me to assist in strategizing on how to obtain meaningful feedback from open learners.
Another challenge is that the majority of educators do not initially consider how to create digital materials that are easily adaptable for social media and open platforms before commencing production. While the learning management system (LMS) encourages a “block” approach to course construction, it is not sufficient. Educators need to go the extra mile to ensure additional materials are seamlessly integrated and easily adaptable, especially when building upon other educators’ materials. The lack of understanding on how to achieve this effectively and efficiently is a prevalent issue. I believe that this topic is intricate and burdensome for many, often resulting in numerous attempts to share openly fading away at the initial stages.
Without support, funding, and acknowledgment from the university, I do not see educators embracing the development of OER as an addition to their current workload. In my humble opinion, from an outsider’s perspective, the pursuit of excellence in teaching practices and the advancement of open educational practices (OEP) appears to be less gratifying than striving for research excellence. I believe that addressing this imbalance and equalizing the acknowledgment and reward for excellence in both teaching and research could, in part, solve this issue.

During my participation in the ONL course, I’ve discovered numerous aspects that I am eager to delve deeper into and bring with me to my future discussions with our educators and my team, especially if our project on supporting Aalto educators in their exploration of online tools and methods will continue. I have yet to explore the AI perspective in the depth that I would like to be capable of discussing, as well as the utilization of open-licensed resources and a different perspective on open technologies. Additionally, I continue to contemplate MOOCs and the rationale behind their production, focusing on methods to ensure their timeliness, accountability, and support for both educators and students in their efforts to teach, learn, and co-create this unique experience, despite being physically apart yet interconnected. I am grateful for the introduction of this theme, as I consider it to be a crucial topic for discussion.