Social:Openscout

OpenScout

OpenScout is a European initiative aiming at providing a single access point for open management education and business education. Users can search, re-use and publish open educational resources such as learning objects, open courseware or open management education programs. OpenScout also provides access to tools to modify, adapt and contextualize freely available resources.

Idea and explanation

OpenScout stands for "Skill based scouting of open user-generated and community-improved content for management education and training". OpenScout is a project co-funded by the European Commission. OpenScout aims at providing an education service in the internet that enables users to easily find, access, use and exchange open content for management education and training.

Target groups

OpenScout can be used by learners directly but also by training and education institutions that search for learning content to be integrated into their learning offerings. OpenScout provides a community for people in business and management education, willing to share and publish learning materials and resources as well as trying out new business model for education and training ). A particular focus is the provision of learning materials to SMEs - for SMEs it is often hard to send their staff to often expensive trainings - open educational resources are thus a promising alternative.

Competence based learning

Competences consist of knowledge, skills, attitudes and motivations to solve problems. In Europe, the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) describes different levels of competences. In OpenScout, it is possible to search for competences to be achieved by using courses or learning materials.

Components

OpenScout provides several components and services to re-use, share, modify and publish learning materials:

• The OpenScout portal: The OpenScout Portal allows you to access hours of free management education from one website with just a few clicks. It lets business users, teachers and students search, visualize, use, share and publish business information.
• The Tool Library allows users (such as content developers, teachers, educators) to find useful software to adapt or modify resources to suit requirements and needs.
• The OpenScout community aims at bringing together educators in the management domain.