# OERlabs Openbook/Getting in - Getting on (Fieldbook)

The OERlabs were founded as a joint project of two universities: the University of Cologne (UoC) and the Technical University of Kaiserslautern (TUK).
In order to gain an insight into the practical and sensitisation part part of the OERlabs project, it is first necessary to define the framework in which the work was carried out.
On the first level you will find the universities' locations and general information about the respective partners. The second level describes the structure of the universities more precisely (stakeholders), since the project was aligned along the entire teacher*internal education chain. Accordingly, for a better understanding, all the contributors of the project should be presented here. Finally, the core of the practical and sensitisation work, namely teacher training (Lehramtinfo), as well as the OER work (OER status) of the respective universities will be examined.

## Contextualization - Getting to know the UoC

In order to be able to guarantee a successful project start, the framework within which the project is to be carried out must first be explored. As can be seen from the figures below, the University of Cologne can certainly be described as a mass university. This means that the top priority in any (university development) project must be a fundamental and university-wide internal pervasion of the project. In order for internal communication, networking and cooperation to be possible at all, appropriate structures must be in place or designed. In the specific case of the UoC, the organisation chart of the university on the relationship level strictly speaking does not provide for a regular exchange of content and events between university actors, which limits the possibility of exchange and networking in a certain way. Although events, committees and working groups are indeed organised, these follow certain procedures. In committees, for example, the heads of institutes meet, but in many cases these meetings are treated as processing the status reports of the respective institutes.
This is not only reflected at the level of thematic discussions between university employees, but is also visible in teaching and study practice. This is due to the fact that there is usually a lack of university exchange on thematic developments at the management levels, which seldom overlap in the strategies of the respective institutes. In the case of teacher*internal training, as well as the occupation with media-didactic questions, this results in a mostly decentralised distribution of tasks. As a result, it can happen that despite studies in educational science, no seminars or lectures with media relevance are attended by students of teaching professions.
However, the UoC has various media facilities which can offer both services and support in such subject areas. The sheer size of the university poses a challenge, but on the other hand it also means that there is already a structural basis with regard to the use of media technology and support possibilities in all directions.
* Profile of the University of Cologne
* The University of Cologne, founded in 1388, is one of the oldest universities in Germany and has been part of the eleven German Excellence Universities since 2012. The UoC is one of Germany's leading research universities and particularly promotes young researchers with regard to their professional and academic careers.
| Figures, data, facts (as of 2016/17) |
| Study and Teaching |
| 339 | Study programmes |
| 7177 | Beginning students |
| 6179 | Graduates |
| 49804 | Students |
| Teacher Education at the UoC |
| 29% of all students | teacher education programme |
| 37% of all graduates | (incl. Bachelor, Master, ending programmes) |
| Staff |
| 631 | Professors / Juniorprofessors |
| 3902 | Research Assistants |
| 330 | Teaching Assistents / Lecturers |
| 3248 | Technical and administrative staff |
* Fakultäten
* Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät
* Rechtswissenschaftliche Fakultät
* Medizinische Fakultät
* Philosophische Fakultät
* Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät
* Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät

### Success in pervasion - Stakeholder

Open Educational Resources live through openness, collaboration and communication. However, these core topics cannot simply be implemented in a large organization on a project-based basis. These topics require the involvement of all relevant actors who, with their perspectives and experience as contributors, can add to the further development of the internal structures. In this respect, various stakeholders were included in the project at the University of Cologne, who through their role, work and experience were able to play a key role in the development of the machinery:
University project partners
* Prorectorate for studies and teaching as patron of the university management
* Management from the Centre for Teacher Training
* "Future strategy for teacher education" initiative for university development
Bridges to school practice
* Supervision of practical phase seminars by lecturers of the ZfL
* Quality and Support Agency of the Landesinstitut für Schule (State Institute for Schools) (QUA-LiS NRW)
University practice
* Students of educational science subjects (teacher training students)
* Students of media and social science subjects (B.A./M.A. Intermedia)
* Lecturers from all faculties and external lecturers
* Central media-related facilities (CCE)
* Dezentrale Einrichtungen mit Inhalts- oder Medienbezug (ZfL, Zentrum für Hochschuldidaktik, Netzwerk Medien)

### Core topic - teacher training NRW

* Landkarte Lehramtsausbildung UzK +
* interactive ZfL map of teacher training
In order to be able to enter the teaching profession, a teacher training course (with a Master of Education degree) and an 18-month preparatory period are required in NRW. Teacher training is legally regulated by the Teacher Training Act and the Teacher Access Ordinance. Teachers and prospective teachers can be employed by schools and district governments.
Overview Teacher Training Studies
| First Year | Start of studies - aptitude and orientation internship |
| Second Year | Work placement/Internship |
| Third Year | Bachelor-Thesis |
| Fourth Year | Start of Masters - Internship semester |
| Fifth Year | Master-Thesis - Master certification |
| | Traineeship |
* Overview of the practical phases of teacher training at the UoC (external graphic).

### Core topic - Open Educational Resources at the UoC

The topic of Open Educational Resources has also found its way into the University of Cologne in recent years through national funding. The educational policy demands for OER and the penetration of teaching practice with open educational materials are gradually manifested at the University of Cologne in a wide variety of formats: on the one hand in media didactics seminars, on the other in art education, as well as at the level of media production and in the development of an Open Access platform.

#### OER-Situation at the UoC

* OERlabs Project – Seminar Design and production of digital learning materials
* The added value of OER for schools and educational establishments (german-language)
* OERinForm develops an information and consulting concept for media and e-learning centres at universities for the establishment of OER
Within the framework of the same OER funding line, the OERinForm project also developed consulting and training concepts for the creation of OER in a network of six German universities. The focus here is on media centres that are to be enabled to support their teachers in the creation and use of OER material.
* edu.pub
Kölner Open Access Portal for Teacher Training § This portal is intended to give researchers, lecturers and student teachers the opportunity to openly make available and publish research reports, theses and teaching and learning material.
* #OERcamp 2017 West in Cologne
The OERcamp is the meeting of practitioners on digital and open teaching and learning materials in German-speaking countries.

## Contextualization - Getting to know the TUK

In Kaiserslautern, the OERlabs project is located at a campus university with a MINT focus. The Technical University of Kaiserslautern (TUK), founded in 1970 and the only natural science university in Rhineland-Palatinate, consists of twelve departments: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Biology, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Computer Science, Mechanical and Process Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Spatial and Environmental Planning, Social Sciences and Economics. Distance students can also choose from various courses of study in the three areas of Human Resources, Management & Law and Science & Engineering at the Distance and Independent Studies Center (DISC). A total of approximately 100 courses are offered, many of which have an interdisciplinary profile. In the summer semester 2018, i.e. at the time when the OERlabs project was implemented at the TUK, a total of 13733 students are studying at the TUK, of which 10108 are enrolled students and 3625 are enrolled students in distance learning. Of the students in attendance, 761 students are studying to become teachers. Teacher training students are the main target group of the project, but care is taken to ensure that our courses are open to all students, as the Integrative Social Sciences programme includes media-related courses in addition to the educational sciences.

### Focus teacher training

Since this project started with a focus on students in the teaching profession, the study of teaching professions in Rhineland-Palatinate in general and the TUK in particular should be dealt with in more detail. In principle, a teacher training course for grammar schools (GYM), secondary schools plus (RS+) and vocational schools (BBS) is possible at the TUK, whereby students generally study two subjects and the educational sciences. They can choose between biology, chemistry, geography, computer science, mathematics, physics, social studies, sports, civil engineering (only BBS), electrical engineering (only BBS), health (only BBS), wood technology (only BBS), metal technology (only BBS) and information technology/computer science (only BBS). In the curricular standards that apply in Rhineland-Palatinate, an examination of digital media is an obligatory part. Module 2 of university teacher education focuses on the following topics: "Reflective, self-determined and creative handling of media under technical, practical, aesthetic, educational and emancipatory aspects: education and media competence, media concept, media development and concepts of media pedagogy, communication and media also in connection with individual impairments [...]" (BMRLP 2016). Students should "reflect on their own use of media and be able to select and design media according to teaching goals and taking into account individual learning requirements" (BMRLP 2016). From the perspective of integration into the teaching profession, topics such as OER can thus be integrated, especially in Module 2 of the educational science programme. By networking with the subsequent phases of teacher education (study seminars and schools), actors outside the university are integrated and made it possible for them to share their practical experience with us. At the same time, we bring a new perspective to the schools.

### Close-quarters university

With a few exceptions, all TUK facilities and buildings are either located directly on campus or can be reached within a few minutes on foot or by public transport. This still manageable size of the TUK and its students means short distances for the project. This means, for example, that the choice of the location on campus for our events only has a small influence on the participants, students are not prevented from attending the events due to long travel times. In addition, some stakeholders are already known from previous cooperations, the daily workflow or teaching, for example the Virtual Campus Rhineland-Palatinate (VCRP) and the DISC already worked together in the project OKWest. This also makes it possible to address stakeholders, the administration and the service facilities directly and personally, people know each other.

### Role of central facilities and cooperation

There are no institutions at the TUK that create media content or teaching and learning material for others. Although faculties and teaching staff provide suitable material, this is done by the students themselves. The facilities of the TUK are limited to providing infrastructure for the campus or other organisational units. The Regional University Computer Centre Kaiserslautern (RHRK), for example, provides WLAN, printers, e-mail or IT systems. As a provider of postgraduate distance learning courses, the DISC cooperates with the TUK in the field of study and teaching. The DISC's organisational units offer events such as the Diemersteiner Selbstlerntage for all TUK students. The eTeaching Service Center (eTSC), as an organizational unit of the DISC, supports lecturers throughout the university in integrating teaching and learning offerings in the field of e-teaching. The service character of the organisational units or their offers serve as further multiplication possibilities within the TUK and its stakeholders. For the OERlabs project, cooperation and networking within and outside the TUK is of crucial importance. In the project application, the Centre for Teacher Education (ZfL), the University Library, the DISC, the study seminar for the teaching profession at vocational schools in Mainz and the network schools of the TUK. These are schools in the region around Kaiserslautern which cooperate with the TUK in the area of teaching, research and further education. In order to promote the cooperation and networking of the stakeholders between the planned events, the regular OER Stammtisch was established. The OERlabs, the VCRP, the DISC and the UB could be won as participants. From this perspective, the strong interest in OER is limited to those institutions that are themselves associated with an OER project. In addition, all regular participants of the OER regulars' table have a service component for the university. The VCRP administers the learning platform Online Learning and Training (OLAT), the DISC is home to the already mentioned eTSC, the UB provides publication possibilities for Open Access and the OERlabs would like to support all those interested in the field of OER. An important step for this project and the approach of interested groups and institutions was the recruitment of the new Vice President for Studies and Teaching, Dr. Stefan Löhrke, as patron of the Kaiserslautern Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues (MSD), which involve stakeholders of the TUK, teachers' education and the region with three focal points.

### Experiences with OER at the TUK

Until the start of the joint project OERlabs, the subject area of Open Educational Resources hardly appears prominently at the TUK. Although individual institutions deal with their challenges and opportunities, such as Lermen et al. (2016) shows. A few months before this project, but within the same funding line of the BMBF, the joint project OER@RLP was launched, which cooperates with the VCRP and the DISC as joint partners as well with institutions of the TUK. At the University Library (UB), too, there are initial measures addressing Openess. Since 2016, the university library has been taking its first steps in the field of Open Access and has been funded by the DFG since May 2017 with third-party funds. As a result, there were already links to the OER topic and thus to the project at the TUK, which could also be used. Nevertheless, project-related offerings must enter the topic of open educational resources at a low threshold in order to create a common starting point and give those present the opportunity to discover points of contact. Our events such as the multi-stakeholder dialogues had participants* with different levels of knowledge in the field of OER, therefore and because we always wanted to address beginners as well, low-threshold and further information messages were always helpful. Due to the low awareness of the OER term at the TUK, basic explanations of the project object and project objective were often necessary in communication. With the Teaching plus workshop, the TUK is organising an event that is intended to promote the exchange of experience among teachers and is therefore always on the lookout for discussable teaching/learning methods. Such a platform offers itself to the presentation and discussion of our project contents, since with this meeting also broadly interested lecturers from other specialist areas participate. A participation on our part in a workshop was possible. Altogether it was very helpful to look for already existing platforms and similar projects at the TUK, although OER as a complex of topics was hardly represented in the run-up. University-wide events and contact with lecturers from other departments also support the project in reviewing its own perspective, as the vast majority of courses have a MINT background. Therefore, it is necessary to find out in the discussion which learning material is used there and whether there are other needs associated with it than in the social science courses. It has already been mentioned in the previous sections that we have several events in Kaiserslautern in our program, which, together with our participation in other events within and outside the university, can be roughly assigned to two concepts. Firstly, the multi-stakeholder dialogues with a focus on cooperation and networking, and secondly, the Open Labs, which enable and strengthen the practice-oriented production of free educational material. Detailed descriptions and discussions of both concepts can be found below.
* Our takeaways
* Use networking possibilities on site
* Plan events for beginners and advanced learners
* Openness for questions and discussions / approaching people

## References

* ↑ Universität zu Köln – Zahlen, Daten, Fakten 2016 https://strategy.uni-koeln.de/strategisches_controlling_amp_informationsmanagement/zahlen_i_daten_i_fakten/index_ger.html
* ↑ https://verwaltung.uni-koeln.de/strategy/content/e143393/e143429/e157964/ZahlenIDatenIFakten2016_WEB-Version_ger.pdf
* ↑ https://www.uni-kl.de/fileadmin/prum/Info-Material/Zahlen_und_Fakten/Zahlen_und_Fakten_2017__Web_klein__final_01.pdf
* ↑ Student statistics summer semester 2018 (https://www.uni-kl.de/fileadmin/ha-4/Statistiken/Studierendenstatistik_SS_2018.pdf)
* ↑ Details of the possible combinations can be found here: https://www.uni-kl.de/zfl/zfl-studium/bama-struktur/faecherkombinationen/
* ↑ Ministry of Education Rhineland-Palatinate. 2016 (BMRLP 2016). Curricular Standards of the Subjects in Teacher-Related Bachelor and Master Courses - Annex: Curricular Standards, Educational Sciences. http://landesrecht.rlp.de/jportal/portal/t/1tc/page/bsrlpprod.psml?doc.hl=1&doc.id=VVRP-VVRP00000003736&documentnumber=14&numberofresults=14&doctyp=vvrp&showdoccase=1&doc.part=F&paramfromHL=true#ivz11
* ↑ https://www.disc.uni-kl.de/projekte/offene-kompetenzregion/okwest-ii/
* ↑ However, general channels are also used to address them, for example, students are made aware of OER Labs via posters or project-related stands are set up at university-wide events such as Night that Creates Knowledge.
* ↑ Further information can be found here: https://www.uni-kl.de/zfl/fdz/netzwerkschulen/
* ↑ Lermen, M., Steiner, F. & Wolf, N. (2016). Free educational materials in continuing academic education. Challenges and opportunities of OER. In Hochschule und Weiterbildung 2/16. https://www.pedocs.de/volltexte/2018/15205/pdf/HuW_2016_2_Lermen_Steinert_Wolf_Freie_Bildungsmaterialien.pdf
* ↑ https://www.vcrp.de/projekte/oer-at-rlp
* ↑ https://www.ub.uni-kl.de/schreiben-publizieren/open-access/wege-des-open-access/
* ↑ https://www.uni-kl.de/universitaet/verwaltung/refls/foerderung/workshop-lehre-plus/
* ↑ https://www.uni-kl.de/universitaet/verwaltung/refls/foerderung/workshop-lehre-plus/archiv/23-wlp-13122017-dem-ingenieur-ist-nichts-zu-schwoer-open-educational-resources-und-offene-bildungspraxis-an-der-tu-kaiserslautern/