scholarly journals Meeting the challenges of higher education in India through Open Educational Resources: Policies, practices, and implications

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Archana Thakran ◽  
Ramesh Chander Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
The Past ◽  
Educational Challenges ◽  
Education In India ◽  
Open Educational Practices ◽  
Improve Access

 Over the past two decades, the education sector in India has undergone a substantial transformation. Recent advances in technology have provided access to high quality educational resources and information on the Internet. This article examines the role of open educational resources (OER) in addressing the challenges of higher education in India, which range from geographical disparities in access to education, to shortages of trained and qualified faculty. The authors examine and discuss several OER initiatives that are currently advancing India’s efforts to create strong institutional mechanisms to overcome the country’s educational challenges through a national strategic framework designed to improve access to quality higher education. The authors explore these initiatives designed to increase access to education through OER, as well as those designed to develop OER-related skills for educators. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these initiatives for the development of open educational practices in India.

scholarly journals Investigating perceived barriers to the use of open educational resources in higher education in Tanzania

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel S. Mtebe ◽  
Roope Raisamo
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Perceived Barriers ◽  
Quality Of Education ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Past ◽  
Sub Saharan

<p>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.</p>

scholarly journals Assessing the Potential Toward Open Educational Practices in Kyrgyzstan

Open Praxis ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita R Walz ◽  
Jyldyz Bekbalaeva
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Practices ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Creative Commons ◽  
Professional Development Training ◽  
Open Educational Practices

The study was undertaken to understand the propensity for increased engagement with open educational practices (OEP), to include methods prioritizing student-centered teaching & learning, and awareness, use, and development of open educational resources (OER) among higher education faculty in Kyrgyzstan. The study employed a mixed-methods research design, combining qualitative and quantitative data obtained from 35 faculty, librarians, and administrators in institutions of higher education in Kyrgyzstan. This study aimed to identify current teaching practices and learning resource usage practices, gauge levels of knowledge regarding Kyrgyzstan’s Copyright law, Creative Commons licenses, and Open Educational Resources, and investigate perceptions regarding potential roles for libraries in enabling others’ learning regarding Copyright and Creative Commons, and open educational resources. Analysis of the results revealed a higher than expected gravitation toward student-centered pedagogy than previously assumed. The study also identified broad use of digital downloads as learning materials, conflation of open educational resources with free online resources, and positive perceptions of libraries’ potential to instruct regarding Kyrgyz copyright, Creative Commons, and open educational resources, and needs for further professional development training for librarians.

Open Educational Practices and Resources in the Higher Education Learning Environment

2021 ◽  
pp. 93-111
Author(s):  
Ana Nobre
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Practices ◽  
Pedagogical Innovation ◽  
Design Based Research ◽  
Open Educational Practices ◽  
Methodological Procedures ◽  
Access To Knowledge

In this chapter, the authors highlight the potential of open educational resources (OER) to increase access to knowledge and the challenges to adapt these resources with the participation of students. They analyze the emerging practices resulting from pedagogical innovation, with open educational resources, in the cycles of design, implementation, and evaluation in the curricular unit of a Master's course in Pedagogy of eLearning at Universidade Aberta de Portugal. The investigation is carried out through the methodological procedures of design-based research with two groups of students of higher education at a distance where they addressed the concepts related to OER and participated in the educational practices for integrating OER in online education. In the field of innovation scenarios in online education, the results demonstrate the need to carry out/think about training, with practical actions, so that students can know, adapt, produce, integrate OER in their activities and share resources, thus contributing to increase the availability of quality OER.

scholarly journals OER Awareness and Use: The Affinity Between Higher Education and K-12

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance Blomgren
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Teaching Culture ◽  
Open Educational Practices ◽  
K 12

Educators within Higher Education (HE) and K-12 share in the need for high quality educational resources to assist in the pursuit of teaching and learning. Although there are numerous differences between the two levels of education, there are commonalties in the perceptions of the purpose, practical uses, and challenges that abide in the use of Open Educational Resources (OER). Observations made while producing podcasts and videos for OER awareness, use, and championing, form an exposition of the merits of OER for HE and K-12. Benefits include cost-savings in acquiring resources for teaching and learning as well as user-generated content, instructor creativity, and contextualized and responsively timely learning opportunities. Additionally, the teaching culture of K-12 has historically supported the sharing of learning activities and learning resources. At all levels of education, OER awareness requires a deeper understanding of the changes to teaching and learning borne by open educational practices.

ACCESS TO EDUCATION WITH ONLINE LEARNING AND OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES: CAN THEY CLOSE THE GAP?

2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Geith ◽  
Karen Vignare
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Global Education ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Right To Education ◽  
Education Gap ◽  
The Right ◽  
Compare And Contrast

One of the key concepts in the right to education is access: access to the means to fully develop as human beings as well as access to the means to gain skills, knowledge and credentials. This is an important perspective through which to examine the solutions to access enabled by Open Educational Resources (OER) and online learning. The authors compare and contrast OER and online learning and their potential for addressing human rights “to” and “in” education. The authors examine OER and online learning growth and financial sustainability and discuss potential scenarios to address the global education gap.

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