Tag Archives: policy

Reflections on 25 Years of the SCQF #scqf25years⤴

from @ Experimental Blog

In 2001, I was leading a range of sector-wide projects across Scottish Further Education for the Scottish Further Education Unit (SFEU). Across colleges, there was a  buzz surrounding the arrival of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). For those of us working on the ground, news of a unified national framework was warmly welcomed.

Before joining SFEU, I had spent 15 years as a Course Team Leader in the college sector. My colleagues and I hit the same wall: a system of fragmented, siloed qualifications that created friction for learners trying to progress. We watched capable students pass college units linked to occupational standards with distinction, only to be told by universities or by professional bodies that their learning "didn't count" or that they had to start from scratch. The lack of proper, systemic recognition was frustrating and unfair. It wasn't just administrative red tape; it was actively hampering human potential. 

One year we lost an established articulation route simply as the academic course team leader who was the gatekeeper at a local university changed and their successor decided to block the articulation pathway. It could be a real lottery. 

So, when the SCQF Arrived in 2001 promising a single, common language for all learning built on the sensible view  that a unit of effort in a college held equal weight to one in a university it felt like a long-overdue revolution.

By 2003, my perspective shifted from curriculum support to national delivery when I moved to the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), looking after half of all vocational awards in Scotland. The nascent SCQF team were along the corridor from me. 

Sitting at the SQA during those formative years was exhilarating we were doing the heavy lifting to make the SCQF work. We undertook the massive task of updating, reviewing, leveling, and credit-rating thousands of vocational awards, Higher National Certificates (HNCs), Higher National Diplomas (HNDs), and SVQs. We were creating the architecture for true "parity of esteem."

Since then, I have worked closely with the SCQF team members over the years (always a pleasure), spent time on the board of SCQF partnership and worked as an auditor for credit and levellng organisations.  

Looking back now, over two decades later, I ask myself: Did the SCQF live up to the promise we felt in 2001?

The answer is a nuanced yes, but.

Where it succeeded:

The SCQF created a transparent, world-leading infrastructure. It allowed colleges to build direct articulation routes into modern universities, saving thousands of students time and money. It gave non-traditional learners a way to see their worth, and it allows workplace learning to be formally valued alongside traditional academic degrees. It's been great to see professional bodies, community learning and other public bodies coming on board. 

 Where the battle continues:

The friction I fought as a Course Team Leader in the 1990s hasn't  disappeared. While the framework provided the language for seamless progression, it couldn't forcibly dismantle institutional culture. We still see universities guarding their gates, forcing HND graduates to repeat learning levels, and public perception clinging to traditional school-exam "gold standards."  

The funding system I think is the only lever left and that should be used very bluntly, to change some behaviours here. Public money should mean national standards. 

It's been a bumpy ride, during College restructuring a lot of experienced credit and levellers left the sector, though capacity is building up again. Universities tend to only credit and level their own provision, and there can still be some confusion in the system around the value of credit and levelling an award and or an awarding body seeking accreditation from the SQA. 

In 2001, we really hoped the SCQF would be a silver bullet. Today, I see it as an essential foundation. It didn't instantly solve every barrier to progression, but it gave us the blueprint to keep fighting for a fairer, more open education system in Scotland. #OpenScot  

In the School sector many of the benefits have still to be cultivated where -  academic subjects, vocational learning, and personal achievements could form an SCQF-levelled profile. We could  eliminate the high-stakes exam treadmill in favor of a balanced, credit-based portrait of a young person’s capabilitities - but that still seems out of reach. 

It is a key part of the Scottish educational landscape that needs to be better understood by everyone across the system. It is still the envy of many global education systems.  

Collectively we can all do more to make the SCQF Framework work for all. 

Happy Birthday SCQF and team members past and present. 

Once for Scotland Catch Up⤴

from @ Experimental Blog

 

I enjoy catching sessions from Once for Scotland on the first Thursday of each month.  It is great to hear about all of the joined-up digital initiatives in the national pipeline.  I do think many of these initiatives need more public awareness. There are a lot of potentially really good things happening. If you work across the public sector in Scotland you really should sign up for Once for Scotland. 

The initiative does not have a brand or logo, so I got AI to make one up. 

This month we got updates on 

Scottish Government Digital Mailbox 

The Scottish Government Digital Mailbox is a national digital communication platform designed to provide the people of Scotland with a single, secure location for receiving correspondence from public sector organisations. Following a successful CivTech challenge, and based on the Danish Digital Post system used population wide, the Scottish Government invested in the core infrastructure through Netcompany's AMI platform, integrating it with ScotAccount for trusted identity verification and the Scottish Government Cloud Platform to establish a scalable national service. The platform is now operational and forms part of key strategic programmes including the Digital Front Door (MyCare), providing a foundation for secure digital communications across health and wider public services in Scotland. The focus has now shifted from building the platform to driving adoption, onboarding public bodies, and realising the benefits of a shared national service. This supports the ambitions of the Sustainable Digital Public Services Delivery Plan, which aims to move 25% of public sector correspondence to digital channels by 2030 and deliver potential savings of more than £100 million per year through reduced printing, postage and administration costs.

I can see this as a great tool if adopted by organisations like Qualifications Scotland. 

ScotPayments – 

ScotPayments the payment service designed by and built for government, including background information, progress to date, what the programme is working towards and opportunities to become involved.

 Local Government Architecture Model 

The Local Government Architecture Model (LGAM) is an evolving shared framework for describing the technology councils need to deliver local public services. Creating a common language across local government to support collaboration, technology planning and the adoption of reusable solutions across the sector. 

ScotAccount v MyGovscot Accounts

Many citizens will be trying to understand the difference between their ScotAccount and their Mygovscot account, if they have set one or both up.  Here is a quick table guide. 


FeatureScotAccountmygovscot myaccount
Who runs itScottish GovernmentLocal councils / Improvement Service
PurposeNational digital identityLocal council service login
Identity verificationYes (photo ID or security questions)No
Typical usePVG, disclosures, MyCare.scot, Redress, DASCouncil tax, bins, schools, benefits
2FAYesSometimes
Reuse across servicesYes (national)Yes (local authority only)
InteroperabilitySeparate from myaccountSeparate from ScotAccount

The Silent Crisis: Why Your Vote in May 2026 Matters for Scotland’s Colleges⤴

from @ ...........Experimental Blog



Scotland’s funding system prioritises where you study over what you learn. This has left college students chronically underfunded compared to their university peers, even when they are studying for the exact same level of qualification.

As we approach the Scottish Parliament election on May 7th, the survival of the college sector is no longer a "future" problem; it is a present-day emergency. I have looked beyond the campaign slogans to ask: which policies will finally align our education system with the occupational competencies the modern world actually demands?

The "Data Gap": Why Universities Resist the SCN

A major hurdle to fairness is the lack of transparency. Most people don't realise that while work-based learning, schools and colleges use the Scottish Candidate Number (SCN) to track a learner’s journey from age five, the university system has largely resisted adopting it.

By using their own internal IDs instead of the SCN, universities make it nearly impossible to track a student’s progress through the entire system. This "data silo" hides a multitude of sins, including potential double-funding and an inability to prove if "widening access" programs are actually working. Without a single ID, we are essentially trying to run a national education system where the biggest players speak different languages.

The "Missing Link" Between Degrees and Competencies

The core of the problem is a fundamental divide in how courses are built. Universities enjoy "Academic Autonomy," meaning they create their own curriculum based on theoretical research. In contrast, colleges deliver a curriculum mapped to National Occupational Standards (NOS).

If a degree claims to be vocational but isn't tied to these competencies, should it be funded at the same rate as a course that is?

Qualification TypePrimary DriverLinked to Occupational Competency?
College HNC/DIndustry Standards (NOS)Directly. Required for professional registration.
Modern ApprenticeshipEmployer Demand and (NOS)Directly. Based on "doing" the job.
Traditional BA/BScAcademic ResearchRarely. Designed for "critical thinking," not a specific job.
Graduate ApprenticeshipCo-designed (Uni + Employer)Directly. The "Gold Standard"—should embed HN and SVQ levels based on (NOS)

Where the Parties Stand (May 2026)

I believe all the current manifestos fall short of delivering a truly equitable settlement for vocational education, but here is how the "Big Three" are pitching their solutions:

1. The Scottish National Party (SNP)

The SNP is betting on the Tertiary Education and Training (TET) Act 2026. Their plan is to merge college and university funding into a "single bucket" to ensure money follows the learner.

  • The Catch: While they talk about "parity," college funding has dropped by 20% in real terms, leaving campuses in an "emergency" state.

2. Scottish Labour

Labour is positioning itself as the party of the workforce, promising multi-year funding settlements. This would allow colleges to stop living hand-to-mouth and actually plan for the long term.

  • The Catch: They have been vague on whether the current "no-fee" model is sustainable without a massive injection of cash they haven't yet found.

3. Scottish Conservatives

The Tories are focusing on the physical decay of the sector, proposing a Capital Investment Fund for "wind and watertight" repairs. They also want more "college autonomy" to let institutions keep the money they earn from business partnerships.

  • The Catch: Their wider plans to cut government spending could leave little room for the revenue increases the sector desperately needs.

The Verdict

If we want a fair system, we must "cut our cloth" accordingly. A truly learner-friendly policy wouldn't just promise more cash; it would mandate that any vocational degree must be mapped to National Occupational Competencies and funded at the same rate as a college HND.

Until we close the "Missing Link" and adopt a single tracking number (SCN) for every student, the "parity of esteem" between colleges and universities will remain a myth.

Many of these issues are very long-standing, and no administration has really been prepared to tackle them. The system should be about learners, not institutions. I reflected on a similar theme in 2024.

 

Transparency Note: To help navigate the dense landscape of 2026 election manifestos, budget reports, and legislation like the Tertiary Education and Training (TET) Act, I used AI as a research collaborator to pull this data together. All policy comparisons and insights were cross-referenced against official party platforms and sector reports from Colleges Scotland and Audit Scotland to ensure accuracy.

Shaking Up the System: Reflections on the #Edufuturists Roadshow February 2026⤴

from @ ...........Experimental Blog


It was fantastic to finally meet the Edufuturists team in person during their UK Roadshow stop in Glasgow on February 2, 2026. The event was held in the pleasant, local surroundings of the Everyman Cinema , it's an excellent, intimate venue for conferences and discussions.

I've followed Edufuturists' rise from afar, and it's genuinely refreshing to see a fresh team challenging the status quo in UK education. Co-hosted by Ben Whitaker (former teacher, IDEAS Guy, podcast host) and Steve Hope (former PE teacher and EdTech CEO), the group is pushing for real revolution in how we support learners and society. Always nice to see some bottom up change makers - we seem to be in a period when we have run out of these in Scotland.
The Highlight: "The Real" David CameronThe standout moment was hearing from "The Real" David Cameron, In my view, still the most realistic and inspirational voice on the state of school education in Scotland. His provocation drew striking parallels between schools and colleges: an ongoing obsession with data measurement at the expense of genuine human relationships and connections at all levels.
I am sure he has done a few, but would be a great speaker for a College Learning and Teaching conference.


The Reality CheckWhile David's analysis of the system's struggles is compelling, it's also deeply depressing. The core message is one of bureaucracy over people, metrics trumping relationships and it's just got worse over my 39 years in education. We know the problems well, yet we're still circling the same discussions.


Networking & TakeawaysThe audience was a fascinating mix of change-makers from public and private sectors, including at least one former HMIE inspector. This created excellent networking opportunities and rich conversations. Great to catch up with some old friends like David and make many new ones.
My key takeaways: Even though Scotland's school system is far less fractured than England's, the deep-rooted challenges remain depressingly similar; the profound impact of poverty and persistently stalling learner satisfaction/engagement while teaching staff increasingly feel under siege.
Rehashed statistics everyone should know - lots of teachers being trained in Scotland but few full time jobs - at same time lots of current teachers and schools leaders want to leave the profession.
Overall, events like this Roadshow (themed "Funding & Efficiency," with free tickets thanks to sponsors like ParentPay Group) are a welcome spark for disruption.
But the persistence of these systemic issues after so many years leaves a sobering reminder that meaningful change is still elusive. Perhaps new agencies etc in Scotland will swiftly solve all of our challenges ? It would be great to see some clearer agendas for actual change.
Cross political parties politicians still really don't get learning and or are unwilling to really change up the offer available in schools and colleges and or in David's thesis empower schools to make more local decisions.
I did a bit to promote CMALT and ALT generally. Teachers need to know that there are structured ways to develop their professional recognition in the learning technology space.
Would be good too to welcome more of these folks in to the ALT community.
For more on the series: Get along to one of their next stops !




2024 In Review⤴

from @ ...........Experimental Blog



Graphic from Co Author Studio

Strange year, 2024. While Scottish education wrestled with AI's implications, I shifted back to consultancy after 7 years leading digital transformation at City of Glasgow College. The timing proved interesting - just as assessment anxiety peaked and international interest in Scottish vocational education grew and with the funding model for Colleges pretty much in crisis.

Some key developments from 2024:

In College -

• Supported Turkish Vocational Authority's education reform programme with workshops in Ankara.
• Led AI policy development at City of Glasgow College and continued to share this work internationally.
• Presented at QAA Conference on assessment in an AI world and delivered series of workshops on Active, Blended, Collaborative Learning for Tertiary Sector in Scotland and garnered welcome support too from SQA.
• Pushed on continued development of Canvas platform and staff digital skills against some interesting internal headwinds.
•Hosted ALT Scottish SIG - this time on-line from COGC.

Post College -

• Participated in UNESCO's Future of Education bootcamp in Bilbao and now authoring bid with international partnership around adoption of open badge framework to support micro-credentials.
• Continued pushing for open educational resources despite system inertia
• Supported hashtag#Canvascon in Barcelona and facilitated a tertiary sector workshop back in Scotland.
• Ran series of workshops for HE and Colleges on blended learning for QAA including online workshops - deploying model developed @cityofglasgowcollege. Active, Blended and Connected.
• Supported an enjoyable workshop on Future of Learning with Prof Martin Bean.

These posts from LinkedIn capture pivotal moments:

"It's not the end of learning design and blended learning - it is just the beginning." Moving back to consultancy while reflecting on 7 years of institutional change.
https://lnkd.in/eb4anc2y

"It was an amazing privilege to be invited to make presentations and chair workshops in Ankara." Supporting vocational education reform internationally while Scottish reforms continue.
https://lnkd.in/em6K23C8

"Scotland is still not even partly on the bus despite best efforts of hashtag#openscot. Yet we are a country proud of education as a public good." The perpetual challenge of advancing open education.
https://lnkd.in/evGZVnrJ

" It was great to have opportunity to be part of cross sectoral expert team to develop this resource for QAA and associated workshops"
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/joerwilson_planning-and-delivery-of-active-blended-learning-activity-7252070604621631488-6Uyb

Grateful to colleagues at City of Glasgow College and the team at Instructure Canvas who helped deliver real change, and to the broader Scottish education community still working to embrace open educational practices despite the obstacles.

Looking ahead to 2025: ready to help more institutions navigate AI integration thoughtfully while continuing to advocate for open education. The challenges around transferable skills and digital capabilities remain much the same as 20 years ago - but the positive relationships between learners and teachers still drive meaningful change.

Broadly I anticipate working with;
  • UNESCO - Continue shaping bid for project around better understanding of the open source code available for creation and management of Open Badges in support of Micro credentials.
  • Continue work with UK Digital Badging Commission
  • Champion - Teachermatic and other AI platforms , Adaptive Comparative Judgement and Canvas by Instructure as means of changing the learning paradigm.
  • Hopefully continue to support work of QAA around Scottish Tertiary Quality framework.
  • Continue supporting sensible policy and practice around adoption of AI in vocational system.
  • Following recent Dubai Summit working with Open Scotland to encourage more open educational practice in Scotland.
  • Supporting institutions and staff who want to digitally transform their practice and their learners’ experience
  • Continue as chair of ALT Scotland SIG and have a bit more time for community building - perhaps exploring new community platform.
  • Where I can, offer informed input on shape of tertiary sector and future of vocational landscape including qualifications. 
  • Continue having more me time - great trips since great escape to London, Berlin, Bologna, Viareggio, Lucca and France - along with business trips been a busy end of year.
To everyone working to make education more open and accessible: it is always the people who make the difference. Be as optimistic and cheerful as your learners.  

Here's to more progress in 2025.

Off the Fence: How Should Colleges in Scotland be Funded.⤴

from @ ...........Experimental Blog

Happy New Year 2025 motif

Perhaps fittingly, I'm authoring this as my ham cooks for New Year.

I count myself fortunate to have been one of the 700 staff who left the Scottish Further Education (FE) sector in recent years, following a fantastic 38-year career and better still, my skills are still in demand.

As I reflect on my time in this vital sector, it seems fitting to publish these thoughts at a time of hope and renewal. Ever the optimist, I believe in the potential for change.

Over the years, I’ve worked with national agencies responsible for awarding, funding, and staff development. I’ve collaborated with or worked for all the Glasgow colleges, including serving for 15 years on three college boards. Yet, I’ve never seen the sector in a more precarious position than it is today.

Scottish FE colleges are a cornerstone of the nation’s educational landscape. They provide vocational training, open pathways to higher education, and offer opportunities for lifelong learning. These institutions reflect Scotland’s historical commitment to accessible, practical education for all, evolving to meet the changing needs of society and the economy.

You won't find these stats in many places in terms of life long learning but most of the Scottish population are touched by a College at some point in their life. More so than say a university. 

They are a critical community resource. Vocational or leisure all of my family and friends have benefitted from a College course. It is the same across the country.

Having stepped away from the system, I feel compelled to highlight its challenges. These issues run deep, and it’s disheartening to see no sensible solutions on the near horizon. Agencies that once offered support and guidance are now in disarray.

Despite this, college boards, principals, teaching, and support staff continue to innovate and deliver exceptional results for their learners. However, the system they operate within is inherently unfair, inequitable, and in dire need of reform.

Staff are overwhelmed by the dual expectations placed on colleges: to close the attainment gap and drive social mobility, while also addressing skills shortages. These ambitious goals are undermined by ever-diminishing resources. Colleges, which could be a powerful engine for economic renewal both locally and nationally, are starved of the sustained support they need. In some cases, poor workplace relationships—driven largely by a lack of resources or a clearly articulated and funded national strategy, exacerbate these struggles.

It is rare to see college principals or even Colleges Scotland publicly addressing these issues. Given that college chairs are government appointed and principals are employed by college boards, it’s a testament to the severity of the crisis when these leaders dare to speak out. It is tough speaking truth to power and we need much more of this.

It's perhaps simply better that the public are aware of the manifest imbalance in the system.

The challenges, are undeniable. Audit Scotland has been flagging the sector’s fiscal issues for years. We are now past the critical point.

If there is less money in the system, a fresh approach is essential. The tertiary sector needs rebalancing, and there must be an acknowledgment that “free” higher education comes at a cost to the system as a whole.

Colleges operate differently from universities. I began my career as a local authority employee, transitioned to working for incorporated colleges, and ultimately worked for a regional college. Throughout this journey, colleges have always been directly reliant on public funding. Today, they are controlled and funded by the Scottish Government via the Scottish Funding Council (SFC). Unlike universities, which enjoy greater fiscal freedom, colleges are almost entirely instruments of government policy.

When a College gets into really deep challenges, the leadership team and even the College Board can be replaced, this is not how a University senate operates.

Recent history—particularly regionalisation—demonstrates that the system can be radically reshaped through direct intervention. Yet, what is lacking today is a clear vision, a direct steer, and mostly, appropriate funding.

Addressing these issues requires fundamental changes to how the education budget is allocated across the tertiary sector. There may not be more money but the resource needs to be distributed in a more equitable and focused way across life long learning.

While universities are also facing financial pressures, they have much more autonomy in managing their resources and have been more effective in lobbying.

Their stronger connections to senior politicians across the political divide, many of whom find posts in the university sector after public service, may partly explain the lack of collective political will to address these imbalances.

It is not simply that old chestnut that the policy makers and journalists move from school to university and they don't understand what Colleges do. It is much more pernicious. I think it may be some time before for instance the esteemed educational departments within our University sector speak out and or offer any solutions to the current College crisis. Their output on vocational learning is still scant. 

The disparity is stark. Glasgow residents cannot fail to notice the large-scale campus developments across the university sector, as well as the booming private student accommodation market. While academics often face precarious short-term contracts, for some universities, this is a golden age of campus expansion. Others, however, face much bleaker prospects.

What Needs to Change

Within the current college policy framework, certain elements appear for the present to be immutable: regionalisation, national pay and conditions bargaining, lecturer membership of the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), and “free” higher education.

Yet, there are areas ripe for reform. Here are some questions and suggestions—some more radical than others:

1. Regionalisation: What is the point of college regions if they aren’t connected to more regional funding?

2. Funding Integration: Break down siloed funding within the SFC for further and higher education. Include funding for work-based learning and ensure activities are funded at the same rate. This would mean reallocating some university funding to colleges and work-based learning. Yes, there are proposals here but things are simply moving far too slowly.

3. Differentiated University Funding: Recognize that universities are not all the same. Adjust funding formulas to reflect these differences and use public funding to shape what is available. Any course at a University should surely be based upon national occupational standards. This would support proper articulation links and save whole sector and learners a lot of money.

Some institutions may value global status over local delivery but let them make that strategic decision.

4. University Mergers: Encourage mergers within the university sector. 

Perhaps make the old guard of research led universities have much closer partnerships with teaching led institutions and/or make newer institutions merge. 

Any changes here are tough with current governance arrangements. For example, a merger between Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of the West of Scotland could create efficiencies and similarly in Edinburgh and Dundee regions. 

UHI is a gordian knot - arguably Perth, Moray , Inverness and other partners need strong local College provision.


5. Inclusive Development: Ensure that any nationally funded development projects include colleges and work-based learning. How does the National Manufacting Institute for Scotland and Data Lab and other initiatives link deeply with Colleges, Training Providers and schools.

6. Open Education: Foster the adoption of UNESCO’s policies on open education across all sectors, including schools and local authorities. Let's make learning much more accessible to all.

Perhaps it’s even time to consider the unthinkable: university-college mergers. While this may seem radical, it could pave the way for a more integrated and equitable tertiary education system.

My caution against this would be that the very sector that that can be fleet of foot. That has short flexible courses and a vocational focus could easily be absolutely stifled by our slow ponderous and expensive higher education system. 

The simplest solution is an equalised funding formula for every candidate for public contribution to tertiary education in Scotland.

In College, in University in work based learning the disparity in funding needs to stop and focus needs to be on learning and skills.

I better go a check my ham - Happy New Year to one and all.

Draft Dubai Declaration on OER⤴

from

(This post previously appeared on the Open Scotland blog and on Open.Ed.)

3rd UNESCO World OER Congress: Open Solutions and AI for Inclusive Access to Knowledge

The 3rd UNESCO World OER Congress took place in Dubai last week.  The previous two congresses, held in Paris in 2012, and Ljubljana in 2017, resulted in the Paris OER Declaration and the Ljubljana OER Action Plan, which was the forerunner of the 2019 UNESCO Recommendation on OER.  The output of the 3rd OER Congress is the Draft Dubai Declaration on OER.

The theme of the Dubai congress was “Digital Public Goods: Open Solutions and AI for Inclusive Access to Knowledge”.  Digital public goods (DPG) are defined by the UN’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, as

“open-source software, open data, open AI models, open standards and open content that adhere to privacy and other applicable laws and best practices, do no harm, and help attain the sustainable digital goals (SDGs)”. 

In this context open education resources are regarded as digital public goods that “support the enrichment of the global knowledge commons”.

In addition to the Sustainable Development Goals, the UNESCO Recommendation on OER, and the Road Map for Digital Cooperation, the Dubai Declaration also references Commitment 7 of Our Common Agenda: to “Improve digital cooperation”.

Key themes of the Declaration are harnessing the opportunities afforded by emerging technologies such as AI and blockchain to create new OER, curate and index existing OER, translate OER, and “ensure the provenance, integrity, and lawful use of OER”. 

The Declaration outlines Recommendations in five areas (paraphrased from the draft):

Capacity Building

  • Support professional development for educators, content creators and those working on Gen AI projects, on copyright (inc. exceptions and limitations) and open licensing, to understand challenges posed by emerging technologies and ensure sharing and collaboration that respect copyright laws.
  • Promote digital literacy for users and developers to engage in the responsible creation and use of emerging technologies for OER.
  • Develop technologies such as cryptographic signing, semantic interoperability, and machine learning to improve attribution and discoverability of OER. E.g. Embedding metadata into OER, identifier generation standards, author-identity credentials, time-stamping mechanisms and signing OER packages. 
  • Prioritise digitally signed works for OER repositories, and their use in the training open AI models. 
  • Implement strategies grounded in human rights that are open, accessible, multistakeholder and gender inclusive to ensure respect for user generated data, metadata, privacy and attend to ethical practices and respect copyright rules.

Policy

  • Policy environments should focus on the protection and verifiability of authorship of OER and other Digital Public Goods.
  • Open licensing should be incorporated into the Terms of Use of AI applications specifying that it is only to be used by humans to generate openly licensed content.
  • Support embedding licensing information of training content in the output generated by AI tools. When open licensed materials are used to train AI models, the resulting generated content should be made available under compatible open licenses, and attribution to the copyright owner(s) of the training materials should be reflected in the generated content.
  • Encourage and support research into next generation attribution systems to enable tracing the use and re-use of OER. 

Ensuring inclusive and equitable access to quality OER

  • Support the development of AI-enabled OER that is accessible in low-bandwidth scenarios and designed to enhance the accessibility of vulnerable groups.
  • Include cryptographic signing into quality criteria for the production of OER. Emphasise the connection of signatures to real-world identity of authors – to create incentives for publication and counter misinformation.
  • Support the translation and contextualisation of OER with the participation of different user communities.
  • Encourage the engagement of diverse participants in communities of open practice.

Sustainability Models for OER

  • Support approaches IPR protection & OER development driven by the ROAM-X principles of human rights, openness, accessibility, and multi-stakeholder participation.
  • Promote sustainable environmental approaches for digital public goods to minimise energy consumption and reduce the carbon footprint, recognising when the use of AI-tools is not necessary or appropriate. 
  • Practice participatory governance, active transparency, public reporting and regular audits for the complete OER ecosystem (including technological, legal, and pedagogical aspects) to build trust among stakeholders.
  • Prioritise public infrastructure and public-private partnerships, while also supporting private initiatives for OER using emerging technologies, that adhere to the principles of digital public goods and openness.

International cooperation

  • Promote human centered use of emerging technologies, including AI, for the implementation of the UNESCO Recommendation on OER
  • Engage with the open community and legal experts on open licensing and IP law to ensure that emerging technologies adhere to legal terms and address the demands of diverse stakeholders.
  • Develop ethical frameworks and new technologies to promote OER, including more effective identification of provenance and tracking using AI-based techniques.
  • Encourage OER repositories and content source to implement policies that prioritize digitally signed works, and define how they may be processed and used, including criteria for the training of AI models. 
  • Develop AI platforms to create and OER adhering to the UNESCO Recommendation on OER.

A few thoughts

As with previous congresses, there were no representatives present from UK government ministries, education authorities, or institutions. While this is disappointing, we do hope that the new Declaration will prompt the education sector in Scotland to reconsider the benefits and affordances of open educational resources. It was the Paris OER Declaration that originally inspired the development of the Scottish Open Education Declaration, and Joe Wilson and I were fortunate to attend the 2nd World Congress in Ljubljana to represent Open Scotland. Though we had limited success persuading the Scottish Government of the benefits of supporting OER, the Scottish Open Education Declaration did prove to have some influence further from home, particularly in Morocco, where it informed the development of a similar initiative.  I was pleased to see that Morocco were active participants in the Dubai Congress where they highlighted their “national OER and Open Science strategy that aims to modernise education and expand research accessibility, driven by strong engagement from educators.” (Latifa bint Mohammed inaugurates 3rd UNESCO World OER Congress in Dubai.)

I’m very encouraged that the Declaration highlights the importance of developing digital skills and copyright literacy to ensure everyone is able to understand the impact of AI and emerging technologies.  Supporting digital skills development has always been one of the cornerstones of the University of Edinburgh’s OER Policy and OER Service.  Our approach is to empower staff and students to develop the skills and confidence to make informed decisions about creating and using open educational resources and open licensed content. 

I’m also pleased that the Declaration recognises the importance of supporting diverse communities of open practice, though I do feel that supporting open practice should underpin all the recommendations of the Declaration. 

I’m a bit surprised by the prioritisaton of digital signatures and cryptographic technologies and I’m alarmed by the recommendation that signatures should connect to authors’ real-world identities.  While this approach does have the potential to address issues relating to attribution and verification, and to combat misinformation, it’s also potentially ripe for abuse.  

It’s interesting that embedding metadata in open content and tracking OER have reappeared.  Both are great ideas, but neither are straightforward to implement.  I know, I worked with educational metadata standards for many years, and also managed a programme of small OER tracking projects way back on 2010. Part of the problem is that open educational resources are such a diverse class of things and, by their very nature, they are scattered all over the internet.  I can’t help feeling that many of these recommendations pre-suppose that OERs exist in curated repositories. While some do, the vast majority don’t, and never will. Semantic search services have long been seen as the key to enable cross searching and discovery of heterogenous resources distributed across the web, but I’m not sure how much progress has been made towards making this a reality. 

While I’m not surprised that the Declaration focuses on the affordances and challenges of generative AI and emerging technologies, I am concerned that it rather glosses over the many problematic ethical issues, including algorithmic bias, exploitative and extractive labour practices, and environmental impact. The Declaration does reference the ROAM-X principles, sustainable environmental approaches and highlights the importance of recognising when the use of AI-tools is not necessary or appropriate, but I feel it could have gone a lot further.  I would like to have seen some acknowledgement of the risks of rapidly embracing these new technologies, risks that is not evenly distributed across the globe, and to focus instead on human centred approaches to achieve the aims of the UNESCO Recommendation on OER and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Resources 

Co-creating open solutions through interdisciplinary collaboration for the future of education⤴

from @ ...........Experimental Blog




It was a pleasure to attend the Open Solutions Workshop in Bilbao as a guest of #UNESCO and the University of Monterrey.

The eProjects Bootcamp is an initiative that focused on equipping participants with the skills and knowledge needed to develop and implement innovative projects using technology. 

I am now working on a global education project around applications of the open badges framework. A number of the other projects have a focus on AI and teachers and learner skills and around Open Educational Resources. 

It was great to work with focused colleagues from around the world and have a little time to see around Bilbao and enjoy Spanish hospitality. 




In due course I will be in touch with relevant institutions and agencies in UK who will benefit from working with this collaborative. 

It was well run, very focused, and a challenging couple of days.  It was good to work with teams who were technically able and prepared to hit the ground running. We made full use of the tools that were available to us including https://grantedai.com/  









Turkish Vocational Qualifications Authority Exchange Ankara⤴

from @ ...........Experimental Blog



It was an amazing privilege to be invited to make two presentations, chair and  participate in a series of workshops in Ankara following catching up with the Turkish delegation in Scotland some seven months ago.

I was on familiar ground around talking occupational standards, national awarding , accreditation, credit and levelling and quality control at national and centre level, but my talk was about how centres can use technology to support innovative delivery  and personalised assessments which is my current day job, reflecting the work of our team. 

I know we as a centre can support centres and training staff in Turkey to innovate their practice. I hope a partnership can grow around that. 

Interesting opportunities too with a large centre in France for learner and staff exchange and with a centre in Italy keen to figure out portfolios, microcredentials and digital badging with us. I'll take these back to our international team. 

It was great to hear the progress that has been made in Turkey where they have broadly adopted the Scottish Vocational system. Like many other countries. Unit based awards with clear approval criteria for centres and a sensible sampling quality assurance process is a sensible option. Well done SQA who were along to support event and great to catch up with Roderic Gillespie and Donald Paterson two former SQA colleagues supporting the developments in Turkey. Well done too to the SCQF partnership who were truly european trail blazers around setting up a national qualifications framework. 

We visited a really well equipped training centre and sampled their processes. These would be familiar to any training centre or College in Scotland. One thing stood out, when assessing candidates on solar panel installation or working at height on powerlines, all of the practical assessments are videoed as evidence and kept for later sampling. At moment evidence is required to be kept for 100 years. In Scotland we just need to hold evidence for around 12 months, though we do keep records of resulting for 3 - 5 years.

It was good to hear too the progress that has been made in France, Italy and Germany who made presentations on their own systems. 

All have clear employer levies that support employers and trainees. France and Italy have perhaps the most flexible system to support employers and employees upgrade their skills.  Germany is looking to modernise their established system - the delegates knew that many countries look at their system as leading.  It was interesting to hear them describe their own system as like Sputnik - a world first but now in need of upgrading. Their system is creaking a bit in terms of it ability to innovate and on the ground they are having challenges around recruiting and retaining assessors. 

My own reflections - 

  • I think we need clearer line of sight in Scotland between the employer levy and where money is then committed to the vocational system. It is clear that is an essential element of a successful vocational system. 
  • Ankara is a modern metropolis of 6 million people, it's very cold in winter - but with warm friendly people and amazing food. Turkey has a population of 84 million. 
  • I've encountered the massive success of Scottish vocational system all around the world. It is easy to forget for a tiny country, we have always hit well above our weight on educational exporting, developing global thinking not at institutional but at national level, this around our vocational system - not school assessments nor the Scottish University system. I am still concerned this will be seriously disrupted or even lost when reforms come to SQA. 
  • Other countries are making strong progress around digital certification. In Turkey you can request your certificate in any major language. 
  • It was great to meet again colleagues from the European Training Foundation and from GOPA  and great to hear that expat Glaswegians in their ranks  follow my wee brother's Lost Glasgow Facebook and Twitter pages. 

Here in full flow speaking and chairing and  presentation linked to this blog post.  The work here is a reflection of work across the Learning and Teaching Academy at City of Glasgow College. I'm taking some Turkish delight back to my team. 

 



Talking about digital learning with QAA Scotland⤴

from @ ...........Experimental Blog

Here is video and  summary transcript of video I was asked to share with QAA Scotland for recent conference. 

What is your role at City of Glasgow College?

I am head of digital skills - but what it means is that I look after College learning technology and push out models for blended learning. 

Biggest task in the last 2 years has been taking College from self hosted Moodle on to Canvas by Instructure. 

We do everything in the open - so most of this is reflected in learning and teaching academy website - along with staff and student support materials. 

What is some recent work that you have been working on regarding blended?

Simply encouraging staff to use full range of tools available to them appropriately. 

Using Jisc survey feedback from staff and students to shape our offer.

Learners want a more standard blended learning experience. 

Staff want more training and support - and time. We can offer the first two.

How does City of Glasgow College approach blended?

We work from a model based on UCL ABC model at City of Glasgow College we call this Active, Blended and Connected. 

Boring but necessary things like consulting on , creating and promoting a standard Canvas template. Students want basic elements in any online course. 

What course is about , a sensible order of course materials , a introduction to teaching staff and  information on how to contact them.

On course materials been encouraging more use of quizzes and different forms of assessment and more use of pre-recorded video ( short 8 minutes) 

Post pandemic courses are delivered in mixed mode some on site and some online.

We have some rooms set up for hybrid teaching - but most staff simply cannot cope with this - it is very difficult to give face to face and online learners a positive experience synchronously. 

What are you hoping for in the future?

My hopes haven't really changed since late 1990's when as a lecturer all my materials were on the internet and available for all my students and for any colleagues that wanted to augment these or adopt them. I think we still have a long way to go before staff and students are confident open practitioners and collaborators around learning and assessment. 

We can see AI arriving and we have a policy in place - but the next thing is really training AI on our own data sets. 

I can see role too for more intermediate tools like Teachermatic .

VR/AR still had enormous potential but challenge is using these tools in a cost effective and sustainable way - tools like ThingLink will open door here.

The CDN/GTCS digital standard for lecturers will become a great driver in terms of professional review. I don't think staff are really aware that they now have a benchmark to meet. 

We are working to a set of College attributes for all learners - remember core skills and meta skills are a thing in College landscape - these attributes will help us move on digital skills. 

We work within a lifelong learning - national system - Colleges can play their part - it would be good to see more examples of resource sharing both across the College landscape and between University system and College system. Colleges should be doing a lot more for schools too. 

We will do more with Canvas commons, Canvas credentials, Canvas Folio  - Commons to share whole courses with other Colleges and internationally. Credentials to support initially our College attributes and then to offer certification for some open less formal provision - open to all.  Canvas Folio to give learners a folio of their own work to take with them when they leave college. 

I'd still like to see more lecturers and managers across Colleges in Scotland maintain reflective blogs or journals. Social media and networking is driven by activities like this - too much practice is siloed across the school , college and university system.