Thank you for your interest in Your Instituion's OpenCourseWare (OCW) Pilot Project. By way of introduction, please allow me to describe OpenCourseWare’s aims and scope. I will then go on to explain some of the logistical issues that would be involved for you personally so that you can make more concrete plans for the preparation of your course in particular.
An “opencourseware” is a free and open digital publication of course materials. In creating an opencourseware, Notre Dame joins the OCW Consortium (http://ocwconsortium.org), a collaboration of more than more than 200 higher education institutions and associated organizations from around the world, creating a broad and deep body of open educational content using a shared model. The Consortium’s stated mission is “to advance education and empower people worldwide through opencourseware.” For more information about other Consortium members and their work, see the OCW Consortium handout I have included in this packet.
What might an opencourseware entry mean for you? First of all, let me assure you that it will not mean a large expenditure of time in addition to that you already would have spent on your course. If you decide to create an opencourseware entry, we will. . .[outline steps your project is taking to safeguard faculty time] Your responsibilities would be conceptual and editorial, the typical course requiring about [X hours] of faculty time.
In submitting a course to OCW you are, legally speaking, merely licensing our use of your material, not relinquishing your copyright. The university covers opencourseware entries under an [Open License Name] license. I have included a copy of our release form in the packet and would encourage you to explore the [Open License Name] website at [Open License Website URL] In brief, [Institution Name] OCW would permit others to copy, distribute, display, and perform your work as long as they follow the principles of [list and explain any license restrictions here] See the handout entitled “[InstitutionName] Opencourseware Copyright and IP Summary” for more details.
Minimum contributions for a course fall into five categories, each of which I discuss in greater detail in the included Course Content Guide. Each course has a Home Page with an image, some course highlights, a course description and technical requirements, if any. Planning Content includes a syllabus and a calendar. Under the rubric of Subject Material Content we look for some subset of readings, lecture notes and discussion materials, with the understanding that the more richly provided a course is in this regard, the more valuable it will be to the independent learner. Learning Activities Content includes some subset of assignments; exams, projects and images, while Related Content and Resources may include tools, study materials, links or course pedagogy. No doubt many of these materials you have created already for past versions of your class. The [Name of your Center for Teaching and Learning] extends you its resources in developing those you have not.
The possibilities of OCW, while not endless, are sufficiently extensive to defy my attempts to encapsulate them here. I would be delighted to meet with you in person to address any concerns you might have and to discuss which aspects of OCW are most appropriate to the needs of your subject matter, your teaching style and your schedule.
Thank you for your interest in [Your Institution's] OpenCourseWare Project. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
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