Open informational ecosystems: The missing link for sharing resources for education

Authors

  • Michael Kerres University Duisburg-Essen
  • Richard Heinen University Duisburg-Essen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v16i1.2008

Keywords:

Informational Infrastructure, Ecosystems, OER

Abstract

Open educational resources are not available “as such”. Their provision relies on a technological infrastructure of related services that can be described as an informational ecosystem. A closed informational ecosystem keeps educational resources within its boundary. An open informational ecosystem relies on the concurrence of independent stakeholders that jointly provide (meta-) information also beyond its boundaries. Mechanisms of open informational ecosystems are described and how they contribute to the delivery of educational resources and to opening education. The paper describes the case of the German Bildungsserver that aims at establishing a federated network of providers of open and closed educational resources. It points out that the design of (inter-)national informational ecosystems has a major influence on the future of open educational resources in education.

Author Biographies

Michael Kerres, University Duisburg-Essen

Chair of Educaitonal Media and Knowledge Management, U Duisburg-Essen

Richard Heinen, University Duisburg-Essen

Learning Lab, U Duisburg-Essen

Downloads

Published

2015-01-30

How to Cite

Kerres, M., & Heinen, R. (2015). Open informational ecosystems: The missing link for sharing resources for education. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v16i1.2008

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 1 (2015)

Section

Research Articles

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The copyright for all content published in IRRODL remains with the authors.

This copyright agreement and usage license ensure that the article is distributed as widely as possible and can be included in any scientific or scholarly archive.

You are free to

  • Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
  • Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms below:

  • No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.