LORO (Languages Open Resources Online):A Repository for the Department of Languages

Anna Comas-Quinn & Hélène Pulker

Department of Languages, FELS

The Open University

eLC Work in Progress event, 5th November 2009

The LORO project• April 2009 to June 2010 (key deadlines: October

2009 and January 2010)• Collaborating with Southampton for the technical

development • JISC grant of £29,069, with a substantial part set

aside for AL involvement

Aims of the project• To create an online repository, based on the Language

Box, that will allow course developers, tutors and staff tutors easy access to tutorial materials for all languages and levels.

• To link LORO (internal to the OU) to the Language Box so that materials deposited in LORO can be automatically shared more widely through the Language Box.

Project outcomes• Users are able to access all materials for all levels and

languages, and share their own materials with the user community.

• A cultural change in tutors’ practices and course-production systems.

• Dissemination to the language learning and education community

How is LORO shaping up?• Collections for beginners’ courses (starting in

November) already uploaded (see http://loro.eprints.org)

• LORO OU ready for content to be migrated (see http://loro.open.ac.uk). SAMS integrated so that users automatically have their own OU LORO account.

Engaging academic stakeholdersCourse developers & staff tutors• Ensure key decisions relating to LORO are backed

(and enforced) by Faculty and Department. • Involve in project, demos, presentations & testing

(several members in the steering committee and all members of the project team).

• Keep them informed (announcements, updates, presentations, Newsletter, put LORO in the agenda of all key meetings).

Engaging academic stakeholdersTutors• Keep informed (announcements, presentations at Staff

Development events, Newsletter) • Recruit project staff from pool of tutors (researcher,

uploader/testers, peer supporters, trainers, etc.)• At a later stage, involve tutors in dissemination

activities at their other institutions. • Environmental assessment

Environmental assessment• Survey of current practices (course teams & staff

tutors)• Online survey to all tutors• Focus groups• Report of findings

What we wanted to find out• Tutor profile: ICT expertise and experience• How they work with tutorial resources (finding,

managing, storing, sharing)• What they knew about repositories, attitudes, barriers

and enablers to use.

Online survey - questionnaire• Invitation via email (purpose of language repository

project)• Online questionnaire • 330 tutors • 7 languages, including English

Responses to tutor survey• 129 responses (anonymous)• Across all languages• 3 years or more experience at the OU• Interest in taking part in focus groups

Focus groups• 3 groups x 11 participants• on Elluminate• Minor payment

Using Elluminate for focus groups• Effective tool (time and geography)• Self-selection • Brief training• Occasional sound problems and delay• Rich discussion captured (oral and chat)• Challenges (recordings, ethics)

Main findings• ICT expertise generally high (but low awareness of

repositories)• Tutors reuse resources (from course teams and the

internet mainly)• Resources are often modified• Low level of sharing amongst tutors• The idea of an online languages repository is very

well received

Perceived benefits • Professional development (feedback from colleagues)• Time saving • Authorship & showcasing your work• Student support

Perceived challenges• Quality and usefulness of resources• System must work (search, browse, structure, file

formats)• Time consuming• Lack of remuneration• Reciprocity• Recognition and authorship

Any questions? Contact FELS-Repository@open.ac.uk

or

Anna Comas-Quinn

LORO Project Manager

A.Comas-Quinn@open.ac.uk