Overview: Assessment
Everything you need to know about Open Knowledge in Higher Education (OKHE) assessment
The assessment element for Open Knowledge in HE requires you to write two pieces: OKHE1 and OKHE2. Both pieces must be posted publicly to Medium, with the tags OKHE1 and OKHE2 respectively. Both pieces must be submitted to the Open Knowledge in HE publication. You may optionally write anonymously by creating a Medium account in an alias.
The aim of the assessment is for you to consider the relationship between open knowledge and higher education and to analyse the emerging themes from the module. OKHE1 will allow you to explore and reflect upon the themes that connect to your professional local practice before taking a broader view across higher education in OKHE2.
You will be expected to treat the content of your work as you would a piece of academic work. The pieces should contain the author’s opinion; there should be references to relevant literature and models, and there should be an analysis of the selected themes within the context of a digital publication. The desired tone is that of a blog post: a conventional blog post for OKHE1 and a long-form opinion piece for OKHE2.
You may be interested to read posts submitted to OKHE1 and OKHE2 — this includes posts from previous cohorts. You are free to reference and build upon ideas from these posts in your work; indeed, we encourage you to. Please note that OKHE2 in 2015/6 was not framed as a piece for The Conversation, but the brief was otherwise similar.
OKHE1 — all submissions (NB: anyone can post to this tag)
OKHE2 — all submissions (NB: anyone can post to this tag)
Important for students being assessed: Associate your account
So that we can assess your work, you must create a Medium account and associate it with your username. To create an account: click ‘Get started’, top-right. For support, see our post Overview: Online materials. To associate your account: in EDUC63252 in Blackboard, follow the instructions under Assessment. Problems? Contact the course leader (handbook/Blackboard).
How to complete OKHE1
Please note that OKHE1 is formative-only; you will receive feedback to help you develop over the module, but it will not count towards your final mark.
Requirements
- Topic: Your understanding of Open Knowledge as it relates to one aspect of your local, professional practice
- Feedback on: how it makes connections between related themes and the extent to which it adds to the conversation on the culture and impact of open knowledge in HE. View the criteria in full.
- Length: 1000 words (or equivalent)
- Style: Blog post (a less formal tone than an academic paper)
- Deadline: 16:00, Tuesday 28th May 2024
- Submission format: Public Medium post with the tag OKHE1, submitted to Open Knowledge in Higher Education
- Formative only; contributes 0% to final mark
As above, please remember that your work should be referenced. We recommend using direct web links from the text — see our example post.
There are issues with Medium and Internet Explorer. We recommend using a recent version of Microsoft Edge, Chrome or Firefox, on a laptop or desktop.
Please back up your work — e.g. by copying from Medium to Word — regularly.
The animation below shows how to add a tag to your post (you should add OKHE1 to the first assessment), and submit to Open Knowledge in Higher Education. If you have any problems, please contact us.
The use of alternative formats, or a combination of formats is welcomed and encouraged. If you are considering using alternative formats, please discuss with the module leader before starting, to ensure the format will be suitable.
Example post
Your submission should be written as a blog post, in an appropriate tone. This example post serves to demonstrate this.
Suggested timeline
- Before each session — access and consider the relevant Topic page on Medium, and (PGCert only:) the Prepare and Reflect tool via Blackboard
- PGCert only: Feb — Attend session 1. Start thinking about what you might like to write about. Consider publishing an introductory post and commenting on Topic 1 after the session, to help develop your ideas.
- PGCert only: Mar — Attend session 2. Comment on Topic 2. Consider which ideas covered so far may be suitable for OKHE1.
- PGCert only: Mar — Attend session 3. Comment on Topic 3. Continue to consider/refine your ideas, discussing with participants and course staff.
- PGCert only: Attend drop-in session (details by email) and ask any final questions you may have.
- Late Feb-May — Choose a final topic for OKHE1 and write a Medium post. Contact the course leader with any questions. Publish your post to Open Knowledge in HE (PGCert only) with the tag OKHE1 by the deadline.
How to complete OKHE2
Requirements
- Brief: You have been asked to write an opinion piece for The Conversation on openness in higher education. Your post should demonstrate a critical understanding of openness as it relates to current practices, policies or cultures in higher education. Your opinion should be informed by what you have heard and what you have read. References and links should be present and these should include at least one link to a post from OKHE1 (from any year; see all OKHE1 submissions here)
- Assessed on: how it makes connections between related themes and the extent to which it adds to the conversation on the culture and impact of open knowledge in HE. View the marking criteria in full.
- Length: 2500 words (or equivalent)
- Style: Long-form blog post (a less formal tone than an academic paper)
- Deadline: 16:00, Tuesday 27th August 2024
- Submission format: Public Medium post with the tag OKHE2, including links to pieces that have provoked the writer to explore — one of which being an OKHE1 post, submitted to Open Knowledge in Higher Education.
- Weighting within unit: 100%
As above, please remember that your work should be referenced. We recommend using direct web links from the text — see our example post.
There are issues with Medium and Internet Explorer. We recommend using a recent version of Microsoft Edge, Chrome or Firefox.
Please back up your work — e.g. by copying from Medium to Word — regularly.
The animation below shows how to add the OKHE2 tag, and submit to Open Knowledge in Higher Education. If you have any problems, please contact us.
The use of alternative formats, or a combination of formats is welcomed and encouraged. If you are considering using alternative formats, please discuss with the module leader before starting, to ensure the format will be suitable.
Suggested timeline
- Late May — Start reading submissions to OKHE1 and think about what you might like to write about.
- Read and respond to others’ posts and start to develop your ideas. This will help you to continue to explore ideas and practice your writing.
- May-Aug — Choose a final topic for OKHE2 and write a Medium post, linking to one OKHE1 post (from any year). Contact the course leader with any questions. Publish your post to Open Knowledge in HE (PGCert only) with the tag OKHE2 by the deadline.
How to access support
Please see the Contacts section in EDUC63252 in Blackboard to contact the course tutors, or ask in one of the face-to-face sessions or drop-ins.
You can find further support and guidance on academic writing here: Library support for writing
