Drawing on experiences in creating instructional videos for multiple projects, this reflective article discusses a ten-factor framework for the practical benefit of educators wishing to develop educational videos for audiences both within and outside of academic contexts. Informed by literature on best practices in video design from both cognitive scientists and other instructional video creators, the article emphasizes that there is no universal approach to making design decisions. The article explores key questions and tensions in the development process through a consideration of the elements of audience, purpose, resources, scripting, visuals, accessibility, interactivity, distribution, sustainability, and execution.Résumé Cet article de réflexion s’appuie sur des expériences acquises lors de la création de vidéos pédagogiques pour de multiples projets. L’objectif de l’article est de présenter un guide en dix points en vue d’aider les éducateurs désirant créer des vidéos pédagogiques destinées à des publics tant académiques que non-académiques. Pour atteindre son but, l’article se rapporte à la littérature sur les meilleures pratiques en matière de conception vidéo provenant à la fois de spécialistes des sciences cognitives et d’autres créateurs de vidéos éducatives. En même temps, il souligne qu’il n’y a pas une seule approche universelle pour prendre des décisions sur la réalisation de vidéos pédagogiques. L’article explore les questions et les tensions clés de cette réalisation en examinant les éléments suivants : public, objectif, ressources, scénario, éléments visuels, accessibilité, interactivité, distribution, durabilité et exécution.

This paper reflects on the experiences of a collaborative open educational resources (OER) project on the topic of copyright literacy, with content development led by librarians and aimed at multiple primary audiences. With these audiences in mind, the project team aimed to create engaging instructional material that communicates complex concepts clearly and concisely, models the effective and flexible use of copyright-protected materials in OER, and maximizes the potential for future re-use and re-mixing by other people or institutions. The authors propose that these generalizable OER goals form an “iron triangle” of precision, engagement, and reusability, and share lessons and recommendations for future OER development through project reflections and examples. Key reflections involve challenges arising from an intentional reliance on openly-licensed content, creating concise material that adheres to best practices for online video creation, crafting inclusive and accessible narratives, and working as much as possible with open source software to reduce barriers for content re-use. Maximizing all five of David Wiley’s “Rs of OER” (retain, revise, re-mix, re-use, and re-distribute) requires an ongoing and reflexive approach. While limited generalizations can be drawn from a single case, it is clear that librarians have a substantive role to play as co-creators of OER.

The proposed paper explores challenges associated with the creation of open educational resources (OER) for Canadian copyright education. Tensions include modeling best practices for open content licensing in copyright-related material, balancing narrative engagement with precise information on a complex subject, creating content for multiple audiences, and the use of open tools for the creation of accessible, adaptable materials. This case study outlines tactics for addressing these tensions, such as balancing a commitment to openness with a focus on engagement, discovery of easy-to-use multimedia tools for adding interactivity, and embracing perspectives outside legal and academic experts during content creation.

This paper examines the role of proprietary software in the production of open educational resources (OER). Using a single case study, the paper explores the implications of removing proprietary software from an OER project, with the aim of examining how complicated such a process is and whether removing such software meaningfully advances a critical approach to OER. The analysis reveals that software from the Big Five technology companies (Apple, Alphabet/Google, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft) are deeply embedded in OER production and distribution, and that complete elimination of software or services from these companies is not feasible. The paper concludes by positing that simply rejecting Big Five technology introduces too many challenges to be justified on a pragmatic basis; however, it encourages OER creators to remain critical in their use of technology and continue to try to advance a critical approach to OER.