Developing open learning materials for your organisation is a major step. It will require considerable effort, skills and investment. However, for many organisations there is no alternative. Generic materials available from publishers may satisfy many needs, but there are also large numbers of needs, skills and subjects where generic materials are inappropriate or unavailable. This unit examines why organisations decide to produce their own materials and provides guidance on how to plan and prepare.

Having completed this unit you should have:

• assessed the options for your organisation of producing materials in-house

• examined the features of open learning materials and highlighted those you consider most important

• analysed the main requirements of your organisation.

• Coverage is uneven - although some areas such as management and information technology applications have a selection of resources available, many other subjects and skills, particularly those of a technical or advanced nature are hardly covered.

• Many are too short - there is a concentration by many providers, particularly multimedia publishers on producing short (e.g. 3-5 hour) learning packages. Although these are a useful size, they may be insufficient in depth and coverage to deliver significant and measurable learning.

• Many are too basic - in many subject or skill areas the mass market is in the basic, broader areas. Understandably, publishers concentrate on this market. The economics of providing for smaller, more advanced markets are often difficult and not always profitable.

• Quality is variable - although there are some excellent learning materials available, the quality of others is extremely variable.

• Inadequate match to needs - however well produced, a package of learning materials will not be able to serve every need in its area of coverage. They may suit some learners, but for others the style, depth, format, coverage or approach may not match.

• Adaptation may be difficult - organisations may need materials to reflect their own culture and ethos. This may not be possible with generic materials and adapting materials may be costly, complex or difficult due to the media involved, cost and copyright

• Many are culturally specific – materials may have been produced for use on a certain country, mainly for particular culture. Differences in knowledge, linguistic expression, local practices, legislation or norms limit their application to other cultures

In addition to the 'problems' of generic materials, many organisations can also identify positive reasons for developing their own materials. These include:

• matching materials precisely to the organisation, its culture and learners

• presenting a coherent image for the materials

• ensuring business objectives are met

• or education and training providers, developing new markets through the sale of materials

• developing the skills and competences of the individuals producing the materials

Topic/title/coverage

Learners (number and brief description)
e.g. Service engineers – 200

Learners (number and brief description)

Topic/title/coverage

Learners (number and brief description)

Topic/title/coverage

Learners (number and brief description)

The activity should have given you the opportunity to consider your rationale, for or against, producing in-house material. Learning materials development can be a substantial investment and unless you are planning a single proposal, you will need to:

• decide if and how to sustain the investment of time and money over several years

• review the rationale and benefits for in-house production on a regular basis

• check that the benefits you are seeking have been delivered as part of on-going evaluation

• consider who will be involved and how to capture and maintain their motivation and commitment

• produce it in-house

• sub-contract the whole project

• undertake a mix of in-house and sub-contracted work

All methods have their advantages and disadvantages. We have summarised the main issues below.

• retain control over project, especially content
  
  
• material can reflect closely the culture and needs of the organisation
  
  
• avoids external expenditure
  
  
• can help develop and maintain a pool of expertise in-house
  
  

• may occupy excessive staff time and energy
  
  
• there may be insufficient high level expertise in-house
  
  
• may disrupt or delay other activities
  
  
• will exclude the wider perspective of external developer

Contracting out materials development reverses the advantages and disadvantages, but has additional issues:

• there will be a clear contractual and copyright basis for the work

• the time needed to manage and contribute to a project may still be substantial

• external materials developers will usually need considerable input from in-house staff in terms of subject matter, monitoring and feedback.