NSCC OER Toolkit -- Adopt & Adapt OER

The concept of a sprint is increasingly used as a strategy or approach for developing open education resources (OER). An OER Sprint brings together a group of people with different skills and strengths, to collaborate on a common goal and create an end product in a condensed period of time.

The sprint methodology involves the following features:

• short timelines and achievable goals
• time-boxed working sessions (usually 1-3 days but can vary according to context and needs)
• a defined outcome (ie. textbook, supplementary resource, etc)
• a planning process to develop the sprint process.
• multiple perspectives and skill sets
• identified/agreed roles for participants.
• Collaborative rather than competitive development processes

Credit: Adapted from OER Sprint Toolkit by Rie Nambia published on Open UBC with a CC BY-SA license.

5 values or principles to use as a guide in planning your sprint:

• Focus (staying focused on the goals of the sprint)
• Commitment (committing to the sprint process, timeline and goals)
• Openness (highlighting where help is needed and identifying blocks to progress during the sprint work)
• Respect (All contributors have a purpose and all contributions are valued.)
• Courage (Courage to change direction if called for; courage to open up to new ways of thinking – surfaced by the group)

Credit: Adapted from OER Sprint Toolkit by Rie Nambia published on Open UBC with a CC BY-SA license.

A book sprint:

• Brings together a group of experts to produce a finished book in 3 to 5 days.
• No advance preparation by participants is required.
• Requires a designated facilitator.
• Example: Read how British Columbia in a Global Context, a first year geography open textbook, was created in just four days.

Credit: Adapted from OER Sprint Toolkit by Rie Nambia published on Open UBC with a CC BY-SA license.

A resource sprint:

• Brings together a group of experts to produce ancillary resources.
• No advance preparation by participants is required.
• Requires a designated facilitator.
• Example: sprint used to create a set of open case studies on sustainability topics.

Credit: Adapted from OER Sprint Toolkit by Rie Nambia published on Open UBC with a CC BY-SA license.