Adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER) Policy in the Philippines

Attached herewith is a finalized draft from the DepEd Central Office on the Adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER) Policy in the Philippines.

JOINT CIRCULAR ON THE ADOPTION OF OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) POLICY IN THE PHILIPPINES

Pursuant to Article XIV, Sec 1 of the Philippine Constitution and Sections 10 and 12 of Republic Act 10650, otherwise known as the Open Distance Learning Act, and in response to the 2012 Paris OER Declaration, the Department Of Education (DepEd), the Technical Education And Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) jointly issue this Open Educational Resources (OER) policy in the Philippines.

Declaration of Policy

It is the policy of the State to promote and support the development and use of high- quality OER to ensure inclusiveness and access to equitable learning opportunities, in both formal and non-formal education, from a perspective of lifelong learning, towards an appropriate and efficient system of delivering quality education and the attainment of sustainable development in the country.

Likewise, the State adopts recommendations from the 2012 Paris OER Declaration, such as the greater use of OER to improve both cost-efficiency and quality of teaching and learning in the Philippines through DepEd, TESDA, and CHED, with support from UPOU.

DepEd aims to holistically develop Filipino learners with 21st century skills whose values and competencies enable them to realize their full potential and contribute meaningfully to building the nation.

TESDA aims to provide relevant, accessible, high-quality technical education and skills development in support of the development of 21st century Filipino workforce.

CHED recognizes that globalization, changing foreign policies, and liberalization of trade in goods and services worldwide have created a climate of borderless teaching and learning as well as expanded opportunities for higher education.

UPOU, as a leading institution of open distance e-learning, commits to being at the forefront of knowledge society by providing leadership in the enrichment of the OER landscape in the country.

The four agencies are committed to working collaboratively to promote use of OER in educational institutions under their jurisdiction as well as advocate for OER in the wider community.

Definition of Terms

Open Educational Resources (OER) refers to “teaching, learning and research materials in any medium, digital or otherwise, that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions. Open licensing is built within the existing framework of intellectual property rights as defined by relevant international conventions and respects the authorship of the work.” (2012 Paris OER Declaration)

Open license means any of the types of licenses under established licensing mechanisms which grant permission to access, re-use, and redistribute a work with few or no legal restrictions, with the exact permissions granted dependent on the full text of the open license applied to the work. (www.opendefinition.org)

Objectives

This policy aims to promote the effective use of quality OER through the combined efforts of DepEd, CHED, and TESDA, supported by UPOU.

Specifically, it seeks to:

a. Cultivate awareness and understanding of the potentials of OER among education stakeholders.

b. Ensure that OER produced and used are of high quality.

c. Institutionalize the development of educational and training materials for teachers/trainers using public funds and learning materials produced by teachers/trainers and learners as coordinated by CHED, DepEd, and TESDA be made available under open licenses, in open formats, and via web portals and other platforms in order to maximize government investment in these resources;

d. Promote the use of open licenses that recognize authorship and the sharing of OER for non-commercial purposes as well as the periodical review of the open licenses adopted.

e. Build capacity of users to access, develop, share and utilize OER for teaching, learning, and knowledge creation.

f. Foster knowledge creation through innovative and continuous use of OER.

g. Encourage the involvement of other government agencies, the private sector, and non-government organizations in the development and use of OER.

Guiding Principles

It shall be the shared responsibility of CHED, DepEd, TESDA and UPOU to be guided by the following principles in support of OER in the Philippines:

a. OER for technology-enhanced teaching, learning, training, and research;

b. Access to OER attuned to legal and ethical standards;

c. Institutionalized quality assurance frameworks and mechanisms;

d. Capacity building to maximize the potentials of OER;

e. Incentive systems for innovative and creative development and production of OER; and

f. Advocacy to foster culture of knowledge openness and sharing through OER.

Implementing Mechanism

An OER National Coordinating Committee composed of representatives from DepEd, TESDA, and CHED shall be convened to oversee, monitor, and evaluate the implementation of the policy, with CHED as the lead agency. The committee shall craft implementing rules and regulations to govern the operationalization, implementation, and evaluation of the policy within the agencies.

UPOU shall assist and provide technical assistance to DepEd, TESDA, CHED, and other government and private agencies in matters relating to OER, as per RA 10650 and its implementing rules and regulations (IRR),

Effectivity

This joint circular shall take effect immediately.

Open Educational Resources (OER) Policy in the Philippines