HEA/JISC Open Educational Resources case study, pedagogical development from OER practice: Film and audio-visual media OER: the case of SP-ARK, the Sally Potter film archive

SP-ARK1 is an interactive online project based on the multi-media archive of filmmaker Sally Potter. Potter's work features across the curriculum and syllabus of many university courses both in the UK and abroad within the film, media and literature subject areas. Potter herself is a key figure of study within these disciplines (see Appendix 1 for a list of her films; see also Mayer (2008, 2009) and Fowler (2009)). This case study frames SP-ARK and the materials that it encompasses as Open Educational Resources (OER), even though it was not conceived under traditional OER frameworks and it did not originate from within a higher education institution. It is an open and freely accessible resource and the creators, Sally Potter’s own production company Adventure Pictures (AP), have actively engaged with the higher education community since the projects conception in 2007 through to its later release. This report presents a consolidation of the materials, research and narratives that have documented the development and use of SP-ARK since its conception. These materials have been generated through numerous sources. These include AP and the many academics, researchers and higher education institutions that have utilised SP-ARK. Much of this documentation is dispersed across locations, both physical and digital, online and offline, and also across media – printed, digital and video (see Appendix 2 for a list of contextual videos about SP-ARK available online). This case study provides an appropriate vehicle for the cohesive presentation of this work. The case study then goes on to extend the work of SP- ARK, its documentation and research under the topic of OER and teaching quality. The case study aims to test and report upon the educational potential of SP-ARK within the fields of media, film theory and practice in higher education. As well as compiling and consolidating the previously generated findings of user experimentations from participating higher education institutions, the case study has also enabled the opportunity to work alongside students and staff at five universities. This exploration and evaluation of the potential of the archive as a teaching, learning and assessment device has also facilitated the collaborative generation, development and sharing of Open Educational Resources around the archive (see Appendix 3, which details the video OER that have been produced as a result of this project). To summarise, the work of this case study project has been four-fold: to explore the pedagogic potential of SP-ARK as an Open Educational Resource within film and media curriculum; to stimulate pedagogic activity and OER generation around SP-ARK; to evaluate the impact upon teaching, learning and assessment practices within these disciplines; to expand upon and inform the future development of SP-ARK as an Open Educational Resource.