Inside Out - the benefits of sharing our learning resources

Why would you want to share some of your learning resources with the world? Here are some reasons - can you think of any more?

Check out the UAL ALTO project to find out more about sharing http://alto.arts.ac., as you can see from the logo at the the top of the page Process.Arts is part of the ALTO family

• Becomes part of your portfolio of published work, as a teacher and as an art and design practitioner. Serves current students to support teaching and learning across the UAL[1]
• A showcase for individual students and staff at the UAL for promoting our work, networking and attracting new students[2]
• Helps students making well-informed application choices by providing windows into the world of the UAL = better retention and satisfaction rates
• Link with national and international communities of practice to create longer-term collaborations and partnerships[3]
• Support development of collaborative learning design skills by developing the staff skills base in course authoring and delivery[4]
• Freeing up time to concentrate on teaching rather than on the development and delivery of content. Reduce the repetitive parts of our work
• Sharing experiences - a positive professional development activity that helps in reflecting on our practice, which also facilitates accountability and aids in continuous improvement.[5]
• A growing and sustainable collection of learning resources and digital assets across both private and public spaces - constitutes a valuable form of institutional 'memory'
• Advances institutional recognition and reputation that builds a sense of shared identity and unity while enhancing the international public service reputation of the UAL
• Encourage cross college/disciplinary collaboration by engendering a culture of openness, transparency and integrity
• Passing on subject knowledge and teaching expertise
• A driver for cultural change that can also help develop policy (e.g. IPR, Employment, CPD)

[1] Experience elsewhere (such as MIT) has shown that existing students make extensive use of OERs

[2] MIT and the OU have traced many thousands of student recruits directly to their interactions with institutional OERs

[3] Research at the OU and elsewhere has shown that participation in the global OER community brings many opportunities and also reduces barriers to internal collaboration

[4] Learning Design skills are key to enabling flexible and blended learning solutions that can make better use of existing physical and human resources as well as reach new groups of learners

[5] Open sharing is a powerful motivator for quality improvement