D6.7 MOOC 'The Open Data Ecosystem'

Towards a sustainable Open Data ECOsystem D6.7 MOOC ‘The Open Data Ecosystemʼ This project has received funding from the European Unionʼs Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 955569. The opinions expressed in this document reflect only the authorʼs view and in no way reflect the European Commissionʼs opinions. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. D6.7 MOOC ‘The Open Data Ecosystemʼ Project Acronym ODECO Project Title Towards a sustainable Open Data ECOsystem Grant Agreement No. 955569 Start date of Project 01-10-2021 Duration of the Project 48 months Deliverable Number D6.7 Deliverable Title MOOC ‘The Open Data Ecosystemʼ Dissemination Level Public Deliverable Leader Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) Submission Date 30-06-2025 Author Anneke Zuiderwijk, TU Delft Co-author(s) Bastiaan van Loenen, TU Delft Document history Version # Date Description (Section, page number) Author & Organisation V0.1 21-05-2025 First draft Anneke Zuiderwijk, TU Delft V0.1a 22-05-2025 Review Bastiaan van Loenen, TU Delft V0.2 18-06-2025 Second draft. Processed feedback obtained from the peer review process Anneke Zuiderwijk, TU Delft V0.2a 23-06-2025 Review Euripides Loukis, AEGEAN, Francisco J. Lopez, UNIZAR V0.3 28-06-2025 Final report Anneke Zuiderwijk, TU Delft V1.0 30-06-2025 Final editing Danitsja van Heusden, TUD D6.7 MOOC ‘The Open Data Ecosystemʼ Table of Contents Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Deliverable objectives............................................................................................................................... 5 1.2 Learning objectives for the ESRs .......................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) .......................................................................................... 5 1.4 Advantages and disadvantages of MOOCs ..................................................................................... 6 1.5 Outline ............................................................................................................................................................ 6 2 Approach .................................................................................................................................................................... 7 2.1 June 2024: video instructions and start of video development............................................... 7 2.2 September 2024: Finalization of video scripts by ESRs and feedback by supervisors and the project coordinator ............................................................................................................................................. 8 2.3 October 2024: Video recordings in Delft .......................................................................................... 8 2.4 November 2024 - February 2025: video editing ........................................................................... 9 2.5 May 2025: MOOC ready .......................................................................................................................... 9 2.6 July 2025 – July 2027: Evaluation ......................................................................................................... 9 3 Results ........................................................................................................................................................................10 3.1 OpenLearn ..................................................................................................................................................10 3.2 YouTube ........................................................................................................................................................17 3.3 Zenodo .........................................................................................................................................................17 4 Conclusions .............................................................................................................................................................18 5 References ................................................................................................................................................................19 6. Appendix 1 ...................................................................................................................................................................20 List of figures Figure 1: MOOC structure on the OpenLearn platform. .................................................................................11 Figure 2: Introduction section of the MOOC on the OpenLearn platform. .............................................12 Figure 3: User-drivenness section of the MOOC on the OpenLearn platform. ......................................13 Figure 4: Inclusiveness section of the MOOC on the OpenLearn platform. ............................................14 Figure 5: Circularity section of the MOOC on the OpenLearn platform. ..................................................15 Figure 6: Conclusion section of the MOOC on the OpenLearn platform. ................................................16 Figure 7: MOOC videos on the ODECO YouTube channel. ............................................................................17 Figure 8: MOOC videos on the ODECO Zenodo section. ...............................................................................17 List of tables Table 1: Overview of MOOC videos, ordered by project theme. .................................................................10 D6.7 MOOC ‘The Open Data Ecosystemʼ 4 Abbreviations ESR Early Stage Researcher MOOC Massive Open Online Course NGO Non-Governmental Organisation OER Open Educational Resources Nr Partner Partner short name Country Beneficiary 1 Technische Universiteit Delft TU Delft Netherlands 2 Katholieke Universiteit Leuven KUL Belgium 3 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS France 4 Universidad de Zaragoza UNIZAR Spain 5 Panepistimio Aigaiou UAEGEAN Greece 6 Aalborg Universitet AAU Denmark 7 Università degli Studi di Camerino UNICAM Italy 8 Farosnet S.A. FAROSNET S.A. Greece Partner organisations 1 7eData 7EDATA Spain 2 Digitaal Vlaanderen DV Belgium 3 City of Copenhagen COP Denmark 4 City of Rotterdam RDAM Netherlands 5 CoC Playful Minds CoC Denmark 6 Derilinx DERI Ireland 7 ESRI ESRI Netherlands 8 Maggioli S.p.A MAG Italy 9 National Centre of Geographic Information CNIG Spain 10 Open Knowledge Belgium OKB Belgium 11 SWECO SWECO Netherlands 12 The government lab GLAB United States of America 13 Agency for Data Supply and Infrastructure ADSI Denmark 14 GFOSS Open Technologies Alliance GFOSS Greece 15 Inno3 Consulting IC France 16 Regione Marche RM Italy 17 Open Data Institute OCI United Kingdom 18 Swedish National Archives SwNA Sweden D6.7 MOOC ‘The Open Data Ecosystemʼ 5 1 Introduction 1.1 Deliverable objectives This deliverable describes the development and content of the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) ‘The Open Data Ecosystemʼ. This free online course aims to disseminate the ODECO project outcomes to students, (future) researchers, practitioners, and other learners worldwide. The target group of practitioners includes managers and other personnel of all the target groups that are part of the ODECO project, including public organizations, businesses, developers, NonGovernmental Organisations (NGOs), students, and journalists. Hence, the MOOC has a wide target audience. The MOOC is of interest to anyone interested in or occupied with open data sharing and (re)use. The MOOCʼs key objective is to allow participants to master the basics of data and open data ecosystems, in data-driven research, and grasp the key principles surrounding open data ecosystems. 1.2 Learning objectives for the ESRs Now that the ODECO project is ongoing for 45 months, the involved Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) have made considerable progress concerning their research. Beyond the formal objective of this deliverable, the MOOC was also an ideal way for the ODECO ESRs to develop new skills. It stimulated the ESRs to: • reflect on their research findings and summarize these findings in a video of a maximum of six minutes; • connect their findings to the key themes of the ODECO project (user-drivenness, inclusiveness, and circularity) to improve the connections between cross-cutting themes; • formulate their findings in a way that is understandable to a wider audience beyond scientists; • apply Open Science practices and spread the knowledge that has been created within the ODECO project beyond the project consortium; • learn how to develop new online training material based on their research; • consider lifelong learning beyond the project duration. 1.3 Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) The MOOC should be viewed from the wider movement of Open Science. Open Science encompasses a range of initiatives, including Open Access (making scientific literature freely available), Open Data (sharing the primary datasets from research or government work), and Open Education (promoting the open licensing of teaching and research materials as open educational resources) [1]. The MOOC is related to Open Science in two major ways. First, content-wise, open data is one key aspect of Open Science [2]. One of the most crucial elements for the success of open science is open data, as it is an essential prerequisite for reproducibility and scientific progress [3]. When vast amounts of information can be effectively filtered, analysed, processed, and recombined, this increases the opportunities for improving quality and boosting productivity [1]. Second, the MOOC teaches the ESRs about how to openly share their research findings and contributes to applying Open Science principles – including open education – to their own research. Hence, in the ODECO project, Open Science was identified as one of the generic research themes that is relevant to ESRsʼ individual research projects and that ESRs should be trained in (see WP1 description). D6.7 MOOC ‘The Open Data Ecosystemʼ 6 TU Delft defines MOOCs as “freely accessible and open-licensed short courses, delivered to large groups of learners fully online” [4]1. According to the literature, MOOCs can be defined according to their four components: massive, open, online, and course [5]: • Massive. The term ‘massiveʼ can be understood in various ways; however, [5] defines the threshold of 150 learners as an initial benchmark. The term massive may be used to mark the transition of a MOOC from a ‘group,ʼ where participants are familiar with one another, to a ‘network,ʼ defined by broader interactions [5]. • Open. Openness is often regarded as the greatest challenge facing MOOCs and their overall quality. Openness typically refers to unrestricted access, however, a number of MOOCs have sign-up requirements, admission criteria, and fees [5] (e.g. for earning certificates). As a result, there has been debate over whether such courses should truly be considered open [5]. In this deliverable we consider the openness components from the perspective of using open methodologies, meaning innovative Learning and education approaches, which has also been argued by other scholars [6] [7]. • Online. MOOCs need to be offered online since that is the only way to reach a large number of learners. Therefore, there should not be any offline activities required to fully take part in the MOOC [5]. • Course. The term ‘courseʼ is often defined as a sequence of events with a set beginning, a set conclusion, and a shared central theme. However, most MOOCs combine various formats and are typically delivered within a relatively short timeframe [5]. 1.4 Advantages and disadvantages of MOOCs Various advantages of MOOCs have been identified in the literature. Zakharova and Tanasenko [8] identified three categories of MOOC advantages: 1. The potential to better structure the content of courses and organize the learning process. By doing so, MOOCs stimulate learning flexibility as learners can follow MOOCs at their preferred time. Moreover, the quality of MOOCs improves based on the reviews of learners. 2. Advancing instructorsʼ career and personal objectives. For example, MOOCs serve as platforms to promote individual courses, the affiliated university, and the instructorʼs broader teaching portfolio. They can lead to innovative teaching experiences, using new educational formats, and increased knowledge sharing. 3. Accessibility and social mobility. MOOCs offer broad access to education, reaching diverse audiences including adult learners and individuals from around the world. They support selfpaced learning and are typically free of charge. They democratize access to high-quality courses taught by leading academics. Various disadvantages have also been identified. For instance, [8] state that the creation of MOOCs and the interaction with learners can be highly time-consuming, and that learning formats may not be perfect as these are not adjusted to individual learners. 1.5 Outline The next chapter explains our approach towards reducing the potential disadvantages and maximizing the MOOC advantages. Then, we present the MOOC content and draw conclusions. 1 https://online-learning.tudelft.nl/mooc-massive-open-online-courses/ D6.7 MOOC ‘The Open Data Ecosystemʼ 7 2 Approach This chapter describes the approach taken in the development of the MOOC. The MOOC ‘The Open Data Ecosystemʼ was prepared in such a way that it was complementary to existing open data MOOCs that had already been created by several beneficiaries. The MOOC builds on the eight modules of the ODECO online training program. While the online training program focused on open data basic knowledge, the MOOC integrated new insights that were derived from the research conducted by the ESRs over the past few years. The MOOC integrated contributions from the research of all fifteen ESRs on various aspects of open data ecosystems. The preparations for this deliverable started in April 2024. During the training week at KU Leuven, an approach for the creation of the MOOC was proposed to the consortium. This approach included: • examining which of the three themes - inclusiveness, circularity, or user-drivenness – the ESRs related the most to; • discussing in groups what approach towards the MOOC would be most impactful for society and feasible for the ODECO consortium. During the training week at KU Leuven, we discussed that each ESR would contribute one video to the MOOC, related to either the theme of inclusiveness, circularity, or user-drivenness. During the meeting at KU Leuven, all consortium partners agreed on the following schedule: 1. June 2024: video instructions and start of video development. 2. September 2024: Finalization of video scripts by ESRs and feedback by supervisors and the project coordinator (check for consistency/alignment). 3. October 2024: Video recordings in Delft. 4. November 2024 – February 2025: Video editing and checking. 5. May 2025: MOOC ready. 6. July 2025 – July 2026: Evaluation. In the following subsections, we report on each of these steps. 2.1 June 2024: video instructions and start of video development All ESRs were asked to email their first and second choice regarding which of the three MOOC themes they preferred to contribute to: inclusiveness, user-drivenness, and/or circularity. In June 2024, TU Delft divided all fifteen ESRs among the three project themes, accommodating their preferences as much as possible. Each group was requested to show in their videos how they related to the theme. The deadline for submitting the slides and scripts was 1 September 2024. To ensure consistency between the videos and to support the ESRs as much as possible, TU Delft sent specific guidelines to the ESRs. The instructions concerned both the structure of the video presentation and the recording process. The instructions related to the video structure included the following: • Use the following structure for the video presentations (quite similar to the setup of a paper: • 2-3 slides introduction of the topic. The first slide should explain how your video relates to the theme of inclusiveness/ circularity/ or user-drivenness. • 1-2 slides concerning challenges/ problem statement. • 1-2 slides with some background information. • 3-5 slides concerning results. • 2-3 slides concerning conclusions. Ensure you mention both the scientific and societal implications of your research. D6.7 MOOC ‘The Open Data Ecosystemʼ 8 The instructions related to the recording process included the following: • Use the ODECO template for the slides. • On the slides, only use keywords. Even better: use visuals instead of text wherever you can (see example attached). • While recording, you will use the autocue and will not see the slides yourself. You will only look into the camera that has the text/autocue. Someone else will click to go to the next slide for you. Hence, you need to create a script in which you indicate what you want to say for each slide and when someone should click (see attached example). • Use animations in your video, meaning not all text/elements of visuals appear at once. Indicate in the script when the video recording team should ‘clickʼ to make your text/visual appear. • The script should not be longer than 1,000 words, and close to 800 words would be ideal. No more than 6 minutes in total. • It is nice to start the script with a teaser or a question that makes the viewer interested in seeing more of the video, even before you discuss the problem or objective of your study. • Practice the script in combination with your slides and see if this works well. Nearly always, this leads to script and slide improvements. • Do not introduce yourself in the video, and do not refer to other presentations or anything else that may change in the future. Instead, your introduction can be added in a description on the platform (next to the video). Some examples can be found in Appendix 1. 2.2 September 2024: Finalization of video scripts by ESRs and feedback by supervisors and the project coordinator In September 2024, all the ESRs had to share the scripts and slides of their video presentations with Anneke Zuiderwijk and Bastiaan van Loenen (TU Delft). They organized feedback sessions, in which they provided feedback to the scripts and video presentation slides of all the ESRs. Moreover, each ESR had to review the script and slides of another ESR within their group, hence applying a peer review process. All scripts were shared with all ESRs in a shared MS Teams environment to stimulate peer learning. The results of the review process were noted in the shared documents and discussed in three online meetings, one for each theme. After this meeting, the ESRs still had a few weeks to process the feedback they gathered before submitting the final versions of their scripts and slides to Anneke Zuiderwijk (TU Delft) in mid-October. 2.3 October 2024: Video recordings in Delft All the MOOC videos were recorded at TU Delft in Delft, the Netherlands. This ensured consistency between the videos, and TU Delft has excellent facilities and support for professional video recordings. TU Delft has been developing MOOCs across a broad range of subject areas since 2013. More than three million people worldwide have enrolled in TU Delftʼs MOOCs, which form part of TU Delft's commitment to open education. [1] A student assistant who had been trained in the recording and editing of videos for educational purposes prepared the scripts and slides for recording. For instance, when the text on a slide would need to be adjusted to make sure the presenting ESR would not be standing in front of the text, the student assistant adjusted the position of the text. In some situations, this was done after the recordings. On three different days in October 2024 (28, 29, 31 October), the ESRs recorded their videos physically in a professional studio at TU Delft. Most videos were recorded two or three times, and the best recordings were selected for the final video. The student assistant supported the recordings and the editing of the videos afterwards. All videos were recorded in front of a green screen, which provided flexibility in the editing process. D6.7 MOOC ‘The Open Data Ecosystemʼ 9 2.4 November 2024 - February 2025: video editing The videos were edited by the student assistant and then forwarded to the involved ESR, Anneke Zuiderwijk, and Bastiaan van Loenen (TU Delft) for a final check. Some minor mistakes were still corrected, such as minor language errors on the slides. 2.5 May 2025: MOOC ready On the first of May, an introduction video was recorded by Bastiaan van Loenen and Anneke Zuiderwijk of TU Delft. This video was created to introduce the fifteen ESR videos. When all the videos were complete, the platform for disseminating them was decided upon. We obtained advice from an expert in lifelong learning (Joost Groot-Kormelink, TU Delft) to consider the most appropriate platforms for the dissemination of the MOOC. Eventually, the decision was made to select the British OpenLearn platform. OpenLearn Create (formerly OpenLearn Works) is a pioneering open educational platform that enables individuals and organizations to publish and share open content, courses, and resources. Built on the Moodle open-source e-learning system, it offers features for collaboration, reuse, and remixing of materials, and supports the use of Open Badges. OpenLearn Create operates as a sister site to OpenLearn, which hosts specially designed open content from The Open University. OpenLearn Create currently offers more than 450 live public courses and 70 additional resources, such as articles and other learning materials. The platform attracts approximately 3.4 million visitors annually. We selected OpenLearn Create because of the benefits it offers, including: • the ability to personalize learning materials; • a low-barrier environment for collaboratively developing educational content; • a space to explore and test new technologies and innovative approaches to learning; • opportunities for building communities around open educational resources (OER); • a platform for research projects experimenting with new educational tools and practices; • a cost-effective solution for initiatives aiming to deliver OER; • a platform with an international focus and a large reach rather than a smaller national or local platform. The MOOC can be found here: https://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/course/view.php?id=15309 We applied a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC-BY-NC-SA licence), meaning that the work of the contributors can be shared and adapted but only if appropriate credits is provided, it is not used for commercial purposes, and if the work is remixed, transformed, or built upon, the new work must be provided under the same license as the original work. Moreover, the MOOC videos have been published on YouTube 2 and on Zenodo3 to enhance the reach of the videos. The next chapter provides an overview of the developed MOOC. 2.6 July 2025 – July 2027: Evaluation In the following years, we will evaluate the impact of the MOOC. This will be done by reviewing the number of participants of the MOOC, the responses and comments they provide on the MOOC, and potential references to the MOOC videos (e.g., in other videos and blogs). If the responses and comments provided by the MOOC participants are potentially reason to improve the MOOC, we will consider this and adjust the MOOC accordingly. 2 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1VCKSFHtAIzlb6viUewadg 3 https://zenodo.org/records/15388485 D6.7 MOOC ‘The Open Data Ecosystemʼ 16 Finally, we end the MOOC with a conclusion section. Figure 6: Conclusion section of the MOOC on the OpenLearn platform. Participants can follow the MOOC at their own pace and select the elements that are most relevant to them. D6.7 MOOC ‘The Open Data Ecosystemʼ 17 3.2 YouTube To enlarge the reach of the MOOC, it has also been made available on a YouTube channel (see Figure 7). Figure 7: MOOC videos on the ODECO YouTube channel. 3.3 Zenodo To further enlarge the reach of the MOOC and especially reach academics, the MOOC videos have also been made available through Zenodo (see Figure 8). Figure 8: MOOC videos on the ODECO Zenodo section. D6.7 MOOC ‘The Open Data Ecosystemʼ 18 4 Conclusions The deliverable describes the development and content of the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) ‘The Open Data Ecosystemʼ. This free online course was designed to disseminate the results of the ODECO project to a broad audience including students, researchers, practitioners, and other open data stakeholders. By presenting research insights from fifteen Early Stage Researchers (ESRs), the MOOC offers structured learning on the themes of user-drivenness , inclusiveness , and circularity within open data ecosystems. The course is accessible through multiple platforms—OpenLearn, YouTube, and Zenodo—to ensure wide dissemination and reuse. Despite its successful launch, the development of the MOOC encountered several challenges. First, aligning the contributions of fifteen ESRs across three thematic areas required significant coordination, peer-review mechanisms, and editorial oversight to ensure coherence and quality across the videos. Second, the ESRs experienced time constraints, as the ESRs had to balance MOOC development with their ongoing research responsibilities. Third, the use of professional video recording facilities (e.g., autocue, green screen, animation timing) introduced a learning curve for ESRs unfamiliar with these tools. Fourth, a key difficulty was ensuring that videos were both scientifically accurate and understandable to a broad, non-expert audience. Striking this balance required iterative script development and careful guidance to ensure the balancing of academic rigor with accessibility. From these challenges, we learned that clear instructions, templates, and early engagement helped streamline the content creation process. Moreover, peer-review and collaborative feedback across ESRs improved the quality and consistency of content while fostering learning among researchers. In addition, the centralized video production at TU Delft ensured technical consistency and benefited from institutional experience with MOOCs, and the open dissemination through multiple platforms maximized accessibility, visibility, and long-term value of the MOOC. Looking forward, several recommendations and additions can strengthen the MOOCʼs future impact. We will actively collect and analyse feedback from learners through 2026–2027. Based on this, updates or refinements to the MOOC may be introduced. We will also consider adding quizzes, discussion forums, and self-assessment tools to improve engagement with the MOOC participants. Furthermore, we encourage the ESRs and project partners to incorporate the MOOC into their presentations, workshops, teaching, and public outreach. The videos can serve as reusable learning objects in various formats. Future additions could include more advanced or indepth modules based on ongoing research outcomes or partner feedback. In conclusion, the MOOC not only fulfils its objective of disseminating ODECO insights but also stands as a model for combining open science, cross-institutional collaboration, and digital education. It enhances the long-term sustainability and outreach of the ODECO project. D6.7 MOOC ‘The Open Data Ecosystemʼ 19 5 References [1] Machado, J. (2015). Open data and open science. In S. Albagli, M. L. Maciel, & A. H. Abdo (Eds.), Open science, open issues (pp. 189–214). IBICT; UNESCO. [2] Ramachandran, R., Bugbee, K., & Murphy, K. (2021). From open data to open science. Earth and Space Science , 8 (5), e2020EA001562. [3] Burgelman, J. C., Pascu, C., Szkuta, K., Von Schomberg, R., Karalopoulos, A., Repanas, K., & Schouppe, M. (2019). Open science, open data, and open scholarship: European policies to make science fit for the twenty-first century. Frontiers in big data , 2 , 43. [4] MOOC: Massive Open Online Courses https://online-learning.tudelft.nl/mooc-massive-openonline-courses/ [5] Stracke, C. M., Downes, S., Conole, G., Burgos, D., & Nascimbeni, F. (2019). Are MOOCs Open Educational Resources? A Literature Review on History, Definitions and Typologies of OER and MOOCs. Open Praxis , 11 (4), 331-341. [6] Gaskell, A., & Mills, R. (2014). The quality and reputation of open, distance and e-learning: what are the challenges? Open Learning, 29(3), 190–205. https://doi.org/10.1080/026805 13.2014.993603 [7] Stracke, C.M. (2017a). The Quality of MOOCs: How to improve the design of open education and online courses for learners? In P. Zaphiris & A. Ioannou (Eds.), Learning and Collaboration Technologies. Novel Learning Ecosystems. LCT 2017, Part I, LNCS 10295 (pp. 285–293). https://doi. org/10.1007/978-3-319-58509-3_23 [8] Zakharova, U., & Tanasenko, K. (2019). MOOCs in higher education: Advantages and pitfalls for instructors. Вопросы образования, (3 (eng)), 176-202. D6.7 MOOC ‘The Open Data Ecosystemʼ 20 6. Appendix 1 The first example we provided can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLq0YTm5qRY&t=109s. The second example we provided can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6vEoNJOaT8&t=374s. The third example we provided can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj1Bb8lzHlk&t=2s.