Group items tagged

"This paper describes the framework for the development of OER-based learning materials TCC121/05 Programming Fundamentals with Java for ODL learners in Wawasan Open University (WOU) using three main development phases mainly: creation, evaluation and production phases. The proposed framework has further been tested on ODL learners to promote greater use of OER repositories and further the acceptance of a wider range of learning resources. By using collective feedback sessions, the walkthrough of available OER resources to be integrated or assembled into the learning materials is illustrated in the course development cycle and the interaction among students and instructors and learning experiences of courses units' content are evaluated at the end of each of the courses with the production of external course assessor's reports (Quality Assurance). The learners' interactions with OER materials in LMS have demonstrated the development of a model for effective knowledge transfer using OER."

"Open educational resources (OER) are making their way into a variety of educational contexts from formal lesson planning to just in time learning. Educators and training professionals have been recognized as an important audience for these materials. The concepts of self-efficacy and outcome judgment from social cognitive learning theory serve as theoretical constructs to measure educator perceptions of OER. This study uses a path analysis, based on the technology acceptance model, to understand adoption of these resources by this audience with a particular emphasis on self-efficacy. Among the participants, three main groups were identified: K-12 educators, higher education professionals, and those involved in workplace training. A discriminant function analysis found that K-12 educators stood out as finding OER relevant to improving their practice. Recommendations are made in regards to an emphasis on easy to use designs to improve application self-efficacy of OER and instructional messaging for future K-12 educators."

"extbooks represent a significant portion of the overall cost of higher education in the United States. The burden of these costs is typically shouldered by students, those who support them, and the taxpayers who fund the grants and student loans which pay for textbooks. Open educational resources (OER) provide students a way to receive high-quality learning materials at little or no cost to students. We report on the cost savings achieved by students at eight colleges when these colleges began utilizing OER in place of traditional commercial textbooks."

At the Open University in Scotland "openness" is part of our sense of self; our engagement with Open Educational Resources and Practices (OER/OEP) seems obvious. In this paper we explore some of those obvious aspects and using our partnership with a third sector organisation explore some of the less apparent aspects of openness. In addition to an account of the development and design of a suite of learning resources, the paper also reflects on how those resources have been used in practice, and the ways the design process has informed future developments. In doing so the paper attempts to be open and honest about the practice of openness in partnership. The paper is based on a partnership with a third sector organisation Community Energy Scotland (CES). It is funded by the Scottish Government to support and administer funding to community groups interested in energy and sustainability. Some of these communities take forward large scale commercial renewable energy projects, the majority are interested in improving the energy performance of local community facilities - "facilities projects". This paper concerns the development and piloting of a suite of learning resources to support those facilities projects. In particular it looks at the opportunities that openness in partnership presents for HE providers. As an open and distance learning institution it is "normal practice" for us to think about access in relation to a wide range of factors. Open educational partnerships create new questions and new challenges that disrupt our ideas of open practices and the idea of OEP more generally. Some are around the different needs of partners and learners, in particular how that informs pedagogical design, and some around what 'open' means in partnership. Finally, the paper looks at how the materials have been used, and what the development of them has "taught us" about future partnerships and open practices more generally.

Open courses have received a lot of attention in the last two years; however, the question of whether they serve learners has yet to be determined. This paper explores the challenges and potential in assessing the impact of open educational initiatives, particularly those that produce and share Open Educational Resources (OER). We use a collaborative international project as a case study to explore this issue. Bridge to Success was supported as part of the Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) programme to work with a range of community colleges and other organisations in the US through monitored pilots. The project adapted existing course materials in mathematics and learning/personal development skills and released these as OER. A range of approaches were then used to assess the impact of the materials across a diverse set of users, combining data gathered from interviews and questionnaires with both educators and learners and from instructor rating of performance and related student results. This approach allows different indicators of performance to be brought together and so demonstrate the value of OER. However, our findings also highlight tensions between applying robust research methodologies in situations of open use with diverse stakeholders. We provide reflections and suggestions for ways forward in addressing the particular characteristics of openness and how they affect research, and how the multiple perspectives on what constitutes impact can be addressed.

"The past few years have seen increasingly rapid development and use of open educational resources (OER) in higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing countries. These resources are believed to be able to widen access, reduce the costs, and improve the quality of education. However, there exist several challenges that hinder the adoption and use of these resources. The majority of challenges mentioned in the literature do not have empirically grounded evidence and they assume Sub-Saharan countries face similar challenges. Nonetheless, despite commonalities that exist amongst these countries, there also exists considerable diversity, and they face different challenges. Accordingly, this study investigated the perceived barriers to the use of OER in 11 HEIs in Tanzania. The empirical data was generated through semi-structured interviews with a random sample of 92 instructors as well as a review of important documents. Findings revealed that lack of access to computers and the Internet, low Internet bandwidth, absence of policies, and lack of skills to create and/or use OER are the main barriers to the use of OER in HEIs in Tanzania. Contrary to findings elsewhere in Africa, the study revealed that lack of trust in others' resources, lack of interest in creating and/or using OER, and lack of time to find suitable materials were not considered to be barriers. These findings provide a new understanding of the barriers to the use of OER in HEIs and should therefore assist those who are involved in OER implementation to find mitigating strategies that will maximize their usage."