A recording and slides from the webinar are now available from the ALT Repository.

This webinar will describe some recent developments in Open Educational Resources (OER) in Wales and beyond. Last year, a working group was set up by the Welsh Government to consider possible approaches to OER and MOOCs. Its report highlights some key initiatives and agendas, and these will be discussed in more detail.  At the same time, Higher Education Wales published a Declaration of Intent, committing Welsh universities the promotion and use of OER to further several key aims, including quality of learner experience, widening access, and the promotion of the Welsh language in Higher Education. Paul will consider some of the implications of these strategic developments, and discuss how some current initiatives are addressing these. Debbie will tell us in more detail about her own work with OER Wales Cymru, which is the first in a series of projects underpinning the Declaration of Intent. You can read more about the project at www.oerwales.ac.uk.

About the presenters

Paul Richardson has been involved in online education since 1998, serving in both teaching and advisory capacities. He is currently an e-learning adviser at the Jisc Regional Support Centre Wales, and an Associate Lecturer at the Open University.  In 2013, he was temporarily contracted to the Welsh Government to act as Professional Adviser to the Online Digital Learning Working Group. He is a member of the ALT ‘OpenEd’ SIG committee.

Debbie Baff has 17 years’ experience of working in the Higher Education Sector and joined the University of Wales Newport in 2002, working first as Deputy Head of Admissions and then as School Registrar and Head of Student Registry with a focus on improving the student experience.  Debbie has previously worked for the Open University within Student Support and as an Associate Lecturer. Prior to that she spent the early part of her career within the construction industry and is a fully qualified Chartered Surveyor (but that is another story !) Debbie was appointed in January 2014 as Project Manager for the Higher Education Wales (HEW) Open Educational Resources initiative and is based within CELT at the University of South Wales. Debbie’s main role is to support the HEW initiative with a lead role in embedding Open Educational Resources and Practice across all universities in Wales. Debbie is also a lead member of the organising committee for the OER15 Conference in Wales, which will take place in Cardiff in April 2015.