"We are thrilled to announce that the National Teaching Repository has won a prestigious Global Award for Excellence. Awarded by Open Education Global this accolade recognizes the National Teaching Repository's outstanding contribution to the promotion of Open Collaboration."
Professor Dawne Irving-Bell, BPP University, speaking on behalf of her co-authors and The National Teaching Repository Board members: Dr Scott Turner, Canterbury Christ Church University; Dr Nathalie Tasler, University of Glasgow; Dr Kate Cuthbert, Staffordshire University; Laura Stinson, Nottingham Trent University; Sue Beckingham, Sheffield Hallam University; Professor Peter Hartley, Edge Hill University; Neil Withnell, University of Salford; David Wooff, (National Teaching Repository Chair), BPP University; Liam Bullingham, University of Essex.
Described by the judges as a ‘truly exemplary initiative,’ we are delighted to announce that the National Teaching Repository has secured Open Education Global’s (OEGlobal) International Award for Excellence in Open Collaboration.
Awarded by OEGlobal, this accolade recognizes the National Teaching Repository's outstanding commitment to Open Collaboration, and work to foster an environment that encourages the collective production and sharing of open resources and practices with the common goal of enhancing learning and teaching worldwide.
Funded by an Advance HE Good Practice Grant in 2020, originating as a UK-based initiative, the National Teaching Repository was designed to foster the collective production and sharing of open educational resources, to continually improve learning and teaching. Collaboration is a cornerstone of innovation in education, and the repository hasn’t ever just been about sharing materials; it is about promoting behaviours and practices that open access to educational opportunities for all, regardless of background or culture.
Building on last year’s invitation from the Secretariat to present a report at the prestigious UNESCO World Higher Education conference (Wooff et al., 2022), we are delighted that the repository has secured further international recognition. The OEGlobal Award recognises The National Teaching Repository work to encourage the interchange of ideas, creating new opportunities for people to form ties with others, create things together, and expand a diversity of goals, backgrounds, and cultures.
With more than 300 items, work contained within the National Teaching Repository has amassed 400,000+ views/downloads being used by colleagues working in education around the world. Data shows that visitors accessing the repository and its resources, come from 149 countries and territories around the globe. These include 29% of the Countries listed as the “Least Developed” by the United Nations (November 2021), and 62% of the 193 Countries listed as Member States of the United Nations.
A Community of Innovation
Facilitating an interchange of ideas, the National Teaching Repository has opened new avenues for people globally to connect, share, and create together and is much more than a repository; it has become a thriving community of educators and scholars. Where individuals can share teaching and learning materials, high-quality scholarly outputs, research findings, and evidence-based strategies in a collaborative environment that nurtures open pedagogy, research, and the exchange of innovative ideas. Providing a global platform for educators share their everyday scholarship.
Generating a DOI and citation contributions can be appropriately acknowledged. Sharing and accessing educational resources and research is easy. No registration is needed, and the process takes just a few minutes. Built within the Figshare platform open access is supported in multiple countries. Contributors can choose the level of Creative Commons licensing that suits their preferences, authors retain ownership of their work, and through the collection of Altmetric Data, colleagues can measure the impact of their practice.
In addition to supporting others to develop their practice uploading scholarly teaching, learning and assessment resources has tangible personal and professional benefits. In addition to using the repository to access innovative ideas to improve their teaching, a growing number of colleagues are active in using the data as evidence of the impact of their work to support their professional development; to help secure promotion, for performance review, or to support a Fellowship or National Teaching Fellowship application.
A Global Community making a Real Difference
With the support of dedicated colleagues, curators, and critical friends across the globe, working together The National Teaching Repository is a community working for educational change. Currently supported by 143 teaching colleagues from 88 institutions worldwide, who ensure the quality and ethical soundness of shared materials, the repository is building bridges across geographical boundaries, making high-quality educational resources accessible, and driving innovation.
This award recognises the work of everyone in our growing community, and in celebrating the National Teaching Repository's global recognition and Award for Excellence in Open Collaboration, we extend a warm invitation for you to join us.
Dawne Irving-Bell is Professor of Teaching and Learning at BPP University. Committed to raising the profile of the learning and teaching, as an advocate of Open Educational Resources Dawne established The National Teaching Repository to encourage colleagues to share their everyday scholarship in a way that secures recognition for their practice.
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