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The Cisco Networking Academy programme (NetAcad) supports education and training in network engineering worldwide. NetAcad works with diverse educational institutions to offer an educational ‘vertical’ from beginner to advanced network engineer. However, as recognised by employment stakeholders, skills shortages in networking remain (Tech Partnership, 2016), particularly at the entry point (vocational levels two/three).\ud \ud NetAcad has been seen as a closed community based on the use of proprietary (Cisco) technology, but since 2013 it has moved towards openness through the release of APIs, free-to-use software/content, and the adoption of open standards. This has been, in part, enabled via scalable engagement projects with diverse stakeholders, including the UK Open University (OU). The OU is an Academy Support Centre (ASC) within NetAcad, supporting the growth and academic development of network engineering.\ud \ud In collaboration with Cisco and funded by the Ufi Charitable Trust, the OU is developing an online Badged Open Course (BOC), as part of the Open Networking Lab project (onl.kmi.open.ac.uk). Using the OU’s OpenLearn Create educational platform (www.open.edu/openlearncreate) under a CC-BY-SA-NC licence, material from the course can be taken and reused. The BOC will provide what is colloquially described as ‘zero to hero’ learning in network engineering and represents approximately 24 hours of study over 8 weeks. The course, which is free and open to all, is aimed at post-16 learners and is intended for use both by individuals engaged in independent study and classroom-based learners. Early versions of the course have been used by a number of UK further education colleges over the past 12 months. These institutions have been using the course with students who are studying towards a vocational qualification but currently have little previous experience of networking.\ud \ud Drawing on Sfard (1998), who argued that acquisition and participation are both necessary for learning, the course is primarily a combination of screencasts (acquisition) followed by experience/practice (participation) with a web-based computer network simulator. With the use of an Open API, integration between Cisco’s freely available and powerful ‘Packet Tracer’ network simulator and any compatible browser is enabled. The web-based network simulator, known as ‘PT Anywhere’ (Mikroyannidis et al., 2017) offers an authentic experience of networking, while developing learners’ confidence. Students can put into immediate practice technological skills learned via the screencasts. Each new practical activity delivers a network with configurable components. Students can follow the instructions, as well as freely exploring the network – adding, removing or modifying components.\ud \ud We will present findings from two large-scale evaluations of different stages of the course development. These evaluations took place with FE colleges using the course, and include student surveys, observations, learning analytics and interviews with staff. We will consider how these findings have shaped the development of the course as it moves towards becoming a BOC, hosted on the OU’s OpenLearn platform (www.open.edu/openlearn) and also accessible via the OU’s OpenSTEM Labs (stem.open.ac.uk/study/openstem-labs). We will discuss with participants the implications of being open to a range of learners with different learning preferences, learning needs and prior experience.\ud \ud References\ud Kolb, D.A. (1984) Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Prentice-Hall Inc., New Jersey.\ud \ud Mikroyannidis, A., Gomez-Goiri, A., Smith, A. & Domingue, J. (2017) Online Experimentation and Interactive Learning Resources for Teaching Network Engineering. IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON). Athens, Greece http://oro.open.ac.uk/49733/, IEEE Education Society Publications.\ud \ud Sfard, A. (1998). On Two Metaphors for Learning and the Dangers of Choosing just One.\ud Educational Researcher, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp.4-13\ud \ud Tech Partnership (2016). Factsheet: Demand for Digital specialists [online]. Available at:https://www.tpdegrees.com/globalassets/pdfs/research-2016/factsheet_demandfordigitalspecialists_july16.pdf. [Accessed 30 November 2018].

Learning to configure computer networks is a topic requiring a substantial practical component and suggesting a pedagogic approach that foregrounds experiential learning. However, providing appropriate computer networking hardware is expensive for classroom labs, and is not viable for individual distance learners. \ud \ud Simulation offers an alternative basis for practical learning and supports a range of modes, from individual distance learning to in-class blended learning. Sophisticated network simulation packages, such as Cisco’s Packet Tracer, have high fidelity to networking devices and can simulate complex network scenarios. Unfortunately their complex interfaces make it difficult for a novice student to engage productively.\ud \ud The Open Networking Lab (ONL) will provide online resources for students of introductory computer networking. It will take an activity-centred approach, supported with video and screencasts, in preference to lengthy text. Practical activity is based on PT Anywhere, a network simulator that provides students with an easy-to-use, browser-based interface over Cisco’s Packet Tracer. PT Anywhere thus provides fully authentic simulation but, by only revealing a subset of features, supports a carefully scaffolded approach to teaching and learning.\ud \ud We report at an early stage in the development of the ONL. Material is being piloted with students at UK Further Education colleges. Evaluation will include observation, surveys and interviews with students and staff; PT Anywhere also provides learning analytics. A further stage of development will culminate in a badged open course on the Open University’s OpenLearn platform.\ud \ud The ONL will provide vocational learning at scale in educational institutions, employment contexts and for individual learners.

Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) offer new opportunities for supporting personalized and self regulated learning both in formal and in informal education. The Open University in the UK is an early adopter of PLEs through a number of different initiatives, one of which is the European project ROLE (Responsive Open Learning Environments). This paper presents some of the lessons learned and best practices from the introduction of ROLE technologies within an informal learning test-bed at the Open University.

The overall aim of this document (an ICOPER Suitability Report for better practice: ISURE) is to present significant recommendations for extending the effective reuse of educational resources embodied in the ICOPER Community. It is drawn upon and extends the investigation that started from the previous two deliverables: • D4.1: Content Development Methodologies Survey outlined key topics related to best practice issues, associated standards and specifications to develop educational resources open for reuse, tailored to the European dimension. • D4.2: Quality Control and Web 2.0 technologies report, analysed best practices related to the use of Web 2.0 and quality control mechanisms within the ICOPER community. This ISURE document, therefore, promotes a set of key issues that summarise the established and recommended methods for the effective remixing and repurposing of educational resources tailored to a European dimension. It also includes a detailed description of an ICOPER application for authoring Reusable Learning Content (RLC) known as the “Authoring for Reuse” application. The thematic analysis of our investigation has revealed valuable best practice experience in our SIG (Special Interest Group) with respect to standards and specifications of reusable learning content, in addition to highlighting many significant barriers of content development for reuse. The benefits of adopting standards and specifications, embracing current challenges as well key trends for extending effective reuse have also been considered. The variety and shape of the collected best practice case studies gathered in our research work has demonstrated that there is much variety within and across institutions. Several popular scenarios were analysed: Open Educational Resources (OER) for Higher Education and those covering the areas of Teacher training, Educational Podcasting OERs, as well as examining a number of best practice networks in competency-driven Higher Education institutions and Schools. Thematic findings from this report indicated an interesting range of standards and specifications that may be used to extend effective reuse of learning content. These are described in detail in Appendix A and summarised in Section 5. The majority of best practices highlighted by the SIG demonstrated key factors for increasing reusability, for instance, adopting a variety of specifications, developing as many different download formats as possible, improving collaborations for the global standardization efforts and making the authoring content process very easy for end users. In addition, the SIG also indicated several key benefits of developing reusable learning content, such as time reduction, improved quality, wide coverage of key educational concepts and fostering expertise. Many of the interviewed experts remarked, however, upon significant barriers to be overcome, particularly the lack of a culture of reuse, which includes social, technical, pedagogical and legal aspects. Several examples were mentioned such as the lack of interest for developing open reusable content, efficient technologies for facilitating and simplifying reusability, communication among different stakeholders, social collaboration for discoverability and credibility around the content. In addition, several others barriers were indicated, such as understanding and meeting the changing learners’ needs, designing reusable resources taking into consideration several requirements, implementing appropriate legal aspects and disseminating clear issues with respect to copyright. Some of the important challenges described by the SIG focussed on the need to offer appropriate and efficient tools for searching, managing, adapting and developing reusable learning content. Some of the important trends indicated by the SIG were developing innovative strategies for extending effective reuse such as promoting different workflows for developing RLC, freeing different OER assets to be reused independently and content tracking facility. Group members also commented on deploying content by dynamic transformation, adopting open standards, developing new concepts related to reusability and offering training and support for users. This should improve their practice, as well as identifying perceived barriers and thus avoiding the direction in which the disruptions are headed. Additionally, the associated literature review and the collection of best practice case studies, including the ICOPER Application: Authoring for Reuse, have contributed to this research work. This ICOPER application has demonstrated how authoring tools might be used for reusing learning materials. Its implementation also analyses how the OAI-PMH standard might be significant in connecting repositories of learning objects. This interoperability protocol is particularly relevant for connecting the different steps of the authoring process for reuse. It was also recognised that the infrastructure, as realized by the ICOPER application, might be appropriate for a number of different learning delivery scenarios. A combination of the findings from the SIG survey and the implementation of ICOPER Application has led to a series of recommendations and key actions in this report, which were grouped into seven key categories for extending effective reuse, embodied in the ICOPER content development for reuse arena. The primary recommendation of this report highlights the endorsement of a broad initiative to promote a “culture of reuse” in tandem with the promotion of a philosophy of "openness" and the provision of meaningful and effective support and training. For industry, particularly for technology providers, the importance of encouraging the development of tools that meet the needs of users, easy-to-use and efficient for saving time as well as effort is noted. With respect to standards and specifications, it is recommended that technology providers keep standards and specifications implicit and thoroughly tested by different stakeholders. The recommendation for the Higher Education Management and Faculty stakeholder group is to encourage them to promote effective reuse through raising a range of OER-related skills and expertise amongst colleagues. Our report concludes that appropriate training and support, to help identify and develop the necessary processes involved in searching, authoring, adapting, delivering and sharing, are essential to increase our understanding and awareness of the key issues related to the area of Content Development for Reuse.

This session aims to provide an opportunity for conference participants to learn about and share their knowledge and expertise in the creation of Open Educational Resources (OERs). In the first part of the session, the convenors will share their experience from the OpenLearn project, describing some examples from different disciplines and topic areas, with a view to illustrating broad areas of concern as well as opportunities for re-use and repurposing. The main part of the session, however, will offer participants the opportunity to co-create an OER, share their views and experiences and discuss the benefits, limitations and issues they envisage.

A collection of folklore and local history stories from Achadh na Sealbhaighe (school) (Aghnashalvy, Co. Monaghan), collected as part of the Schools' Folklore Scheme, 1937-1938 under the supervision of teacher T. Maguidhir., Churning / Maguire, Mary -- Famine Times / Maguire, Thomas -- Michael (Mickey) Brady / Maguire, Thomas -- Herbs / Maguire, Mary -- Old Crafts and Trades / Maguire, Mary -- Local Cures / Connolly, Teresa -- David Hutchinson / Connolly, Teresa -- Weather-Lore / Flynn, Margaret -- Potato Crop / Flynn, Margaret -- Seasons and Days Lucky and Otherwise / Maguire, Mary -- Farm Animals / Flynn, Margaret -- List of Names of Fields in the District / Flynn, Margaret -- Local Marriage Customs / Connolly, Teresa -- Games Played Formerly / Rooney, Margaret, Supported by funding from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Ireland), University College Dublin, and the National Folklore Foundation (Fondúireacht Bhéaloideas Éireann), 2014-2016.

A collection of folklore and local history stories from Convent of Mercy, Buncrana (school) (Buncrana, Co. Donegal), collected as part of the Schools' Folklore Scheme, 1937-1938 under the supervision of teacher Sr Mary Josephine., Weather-Lore / Connolly, Teresa -- Folklore in Connection with St Columcille / Suibhne, Siubhan Nic -- Churning / Colgan, Eilís Níc -- Bishop Maggin / Connolly, Teresa -- Loss of the Laurentic / Cormick, Leonora Mc -- Pilgrimages / Porter, Mary -- St Bodeirn's Boat -- Old Cures / Deeney, Mona -- St Patrick on Aileach / Ghailineach, Róisín Ní -- Mountilly Barracks / Grant, Mary C. -- Saldana -- Our Holy Wells and Herbs / Aindreis, Eibhlin Nic -- Severe Weather / Connaghaoile, Tréasa Ní -- Fairy Fort / Ghráinne, Máire Ní -- Old Cures / Chonnaghaoile, Treasa Ní -- Herbs / Connaghaoile, Tréasa Ní -- St Brigid's Day / Colgan, Eilís Nic -- Local Marriage Customs / Gráinne, Máire Ní -- Weather-Lore / Aindreis, Eibhlin Nic -- Funny Story / Cormick, Leonora Mc -- Clagan Glenelly -- Hidden Treasure -- Old Crafts / Colgan, Eilís Nic -- Local Cures -- Folklore / Aindreis, Eibhlin Nich -- Old Schools / Riada, Eithne Nic -- Herbs -- All people around Buncrana will tell you the story about the Rushfield priest. -- Baile an Mhullaigh agus Cinn Arda -- Micheal O'Cranny ó Tuirc said that the islanders of Inistrahull got Evishabreadia as a 'Barr' i.e. maountainm ground for turf cutting etc., Supported by funding from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Ireland), University College Dublin, and the National Folklore Foundation (Fondúireacht Bhéaloideas Éireann), 2014-2016.

A collection of folklore and local history stories from Áth na gClaidheamh (school) (Annagleve, Co. Monaghan), collected as part of the Schools' Folklore Scheme, 1937-1938 under the supervision of teacher S. Mac Domhnaill., Hidden Treasure / Marray, Kathleen -- Hidden Treasure / Connolly, Teresa -- Hidden Treasure / Loughran, Marcella -- My District / Marray, Kathleen -- Hidden Treasure / Shevlin, Kathleen -- Marriage Customs / Loughran, Marcella -- Travelling People / Loughran, Marcella -- Story / Loughran, Marcella -- Churning / Loughran, Marcella -- My District / Loughran, Marcella -- Local Forges / Loughran, Marcella -- Local Roads / Loughran, Marcella -- Our Farm Animals / Loughran, Marcella -- Bread / Loughran, Marcella -- Local Heroes / Loughran, Marcella -- Local Songs - Lord Blayney's Demesne / Loughran, Marcella -- Local Songs / Loughran, Marcella -- Local Song - McNally's Tea / Connolly, Teresa -- Local Songs - Dog Racing / Marray, Kathleen -- Local Song - A Hallow Eve Night / Marray, Kathleen -- Local Song - Bridget Fitzpatrick's Dance / Shevlin, Kathleen -- Local Song / Conlon, Benny -- Local Song / Fitzpatrick, May -- Local Song - Oweny Haggan's Ball / Fitzpatrick, Benny -- Local Song - Sir John and His Runaway Bus / Shevlin, Annie -- Local Song - Horse Racing / Forde, Mickeal -- Local Heroes / Connolly, Teresa -- Local Roads / Connolly, Teresa -- Local Forges / Connolly, Teresa -- Our Farm Animals / Connolly, Teresa -- Bread / Connolly, Teresa -- Travelling Folk / Connolly, Teresa -- Churning / Connolly, Teresa -- My District / Connolly, Teresa -- Marriage Customs / Connolly, Teresa -- Marriage Customs / Marray, Kathleen -- Travelling People / Marray, Kathleen -- Old Story / Marray, Kathleen -- Churning / Marray, Kathleen -- Local Forges / Marray, Kathleen -- Local Roads / Marray, Kathleen -- Care of Farm Animals / Marray, Kathleen -- Bread / Marray, Kathleen -- Weather-Lore / Connolly, Teresa -- Old Schools / Connolly, Teresa -- Games I Play / Garvey, Patrick -- Landlord / Shevlin, Annie -- Local Happenings / Clarke, Lizzie -- Folklore - The Landlord / Conlon, Benny -- Folklore - Old Graveyards / Conlon, Benny -- Folklore - Local Schools / Conlon, Benny -- Folklore - Weather-Lore / Conlon, Benny -- Folklore - Weather-Lore / Marray, Kathleen -- Folklore - A Collection of Riddles / Loughran, Kathleen -- Collection of Riddles / Conlon, Benny -- Folklore - A Collection of Riddles / Conlon, Henry -- Folklore - A Collection of Riddles / Clarke, Lizzie -- Folklore - A Collection of Riddles / Fitzgerald, May -- Local Place Names / Conlon, Benny -- Local Place Names / Marray, Kathleen -- Folklore - Old Graveyards / Marray, Kathleen -- Games I Play / Shevlin, Alice -- Folklore - The Famine / Shevlin, Alice -- Folklore - A Collection of Riddles / Shevlin, Alice -- Folklore - A Collection of Riddles / Meegan, Lizzie -- Folklore - A Poem on the Landlord / Meegan, Lizzie -- Severe Weather / Meegan, Lizzie -- Folklore - A Collection of Riddles / Garvey, Patrick -- Song on the Landlords / Meegan, John James, Supported by funding from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Ireland), University College Dublin, and the National Folklore Foundation (Fondúireacht Bhéaloideas Éireann), 2014-2016.

The Open Networking Lab project (https://onl.kmi.open.ac.uk/) aims to provide open online resources to enable anyone to learn the basics of computer networking. The project is hosted at The UK Open University and is supported by funding from UfI (www.ufi.co.uk) as part of their ‘VocTech Impact 2017’ funding initiative for vocational learning using digital technologies. Central to the project is the PT Anywhere network simulation software (Mikroyannidis et al. 2017) based on Cisco’s powerful Packet Tracer simulator. Learners can use PT Anywhere to develop their skills in solving computer networking problems. The ultimate aim is to enable as many learners as possible, regardless of prior educational background, to access employment in computer networking - an area which is in high demand from industry.\ud \ud The Open Networking Lab project is developing a Badged Open Course, which will be hosted on the Open University’s OpenLearn platform, where it will be accessible without cost to any learner or educator worldwide. Initial development is being carried out using the ‘sister’ platform OpenLearn Create so that the learning resources can be iteratively developed, piloted and improved prior to launch on OpenLearn itself.\ud \ud The Open Networking Lab course and resources will be evaluated with learners and teachers from Further Education colleges within the Cisco Networking Academy (www.netacad.com). The evaluation will involve hundreds of learners at different colleges within the UK. Data will be gathered from learners using surveys and observation, and from teachers via interviews. PT Anywhere and OpenLearn also provide various kinds of learning analytics. This data, with appropriate ethical considerations, will form a key part of the evaluation. \ud \ud Using PT Anywhere enables an experiential and practical approach to learning (Kolb, 1984; Brown et al., 1989). Learners will be shown, primarily via videos, screencasts and animations, how computer networks are set up and configured. They will then try out these ideas for themselves using the PT Anywhere simulator. Quizzes and other forms of assessment will enable learners to demonstrate that they have gained specific skills; they will then be able to claim corresponding digital badges. This package of activity-based learning should help learners feel motivated and engaged, and enable them to gain a sense of achievement as they progress through the online course. \ud \ud References:\ud Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18 (1), 32-42.\ud Kolb, D.A. (1984). Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.\ud Mikroyannidis, A., Gomez-Goiri, A.; Smith, A. and Domingue, J. (2017). Online experimentation and interactive learning resources for teaching network engineering. In: 2017 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), 25-28 Apr 2017, Athens, Greece, IEEE, pp. 181–188.

Sharing knowledge between OER initiatives and the reality of what actually happens in practice can lead to the fostering of openness amongst yet further initiatives and consequently enable our communities of practice to grow (Lane and Darby, 2012). Such knowledge sharing and learning of valuable lessons involves OER projects both large and small; projects ranging from those involving a few individuals, to those based in departments, and covering discipline areas as well as those that have arisen as a result of large institutional OER investments. This paper sets out to offer insight into, and contrast, the practices and knowledge sharing of two very different UK based OER projects: the internationally recognised OpenLearn project (McAndrew et al, 2009), established by the Open University in 2006 and the smaller scale Open Resource Bank for Interactive Teaching (ORBIT) project established at the University of Cambridge in 2012 (Hassler at al, 2012). In turn it highlights the other initiatives that informed or were informed by these two projects.\ud \ud On the one hand we provide a direct comparison between OpenLearn, established at a University as a big institutional approach and aiming to reach a broad academic audience, with ORBIT, developed as a small specialised project within a Faculty of Education and focused on a more targeted audience: that of primary and secondary school teachers of mathematics and science, and teacher educators in those areas. On the other hand we set out the expectations of the principal stakeholders - learners and educators – as well as mapping out the wide range of other projects and initiatives that they shared knowledge with and vice versa. If we are to understand and facilitate the spread of open practice, it is important to examine the knowledge sharing practices and approaches of both smallscale and large-scale ventures as well as the role of knowledge brokers.

Collective Intelligence (CI ) is a phenomenon that emerges at the crossroads of three worlds: Open Educational Resources (OER), Web 2.0 technologies and Online Learning Communities. Building CI for the OER movement means capturing the richness of information, experiences, knowledge and resources, that the movement is constantly generating, in a way that they can be shared and reused for the benefit of the movement itself. The organisation of CI starts from collecting the knowledge and experiences of OER's practitioners and scholars in new creative forms, and then situating this knowledge in a collective 'pot' from where it can be leveraged with new 'intelligent' meanings and toward new 'intelligent' goals. This workshop is an attempt to do so by engaging participants in a CI experience, in which they will contribute to, and at the same time take something from, the existing CI around OER, Web 2.0 technologies and Online Learning Communities.