Motivations for socio-collaborative learning practices: examining how community and interactions support learning among registered users on OpenLearn

Open Educational Resources (OER) are being produced globally by various educational institutions. Depending on an organisation’s mission, purposes and intent for providing vary, determining what features are made available. In establishing OER the focus has often been on this provider perspective, however how OER will be used also depends on user motivations. This paper presents findings from a study conducted on OpenLearn which focused on motivations for socio-collaborative learning among its registered users. Evidence gathered through interviews with six learners and examinations of fifty-seven user profiles and online output suggests users have intrinsic motivations to interact but are also influenced by various online and offline factors that keep changing, highlighting the dynamic, multidimensional nature of motivation in expertiseand support-linked interactions. Results suggest the value of interactions in self-directed learning and the importance of creating OER that support both content provision and interaction between users, catering for diverse learning needs.