scholarly journals The use of a publishing platform to facilitate the adaptation and development of Open Textbooks: A Pilot Report

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Nixon ◽  
Katya Henry
Keyword(s):  
Academic Staff ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Student Feedback ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Perceived Benefit ◽  
Course Material ◽  
Open Textbooks ◽  
Specific Unit

After a successful proof of concept to expand the university’s commitment to Open Educational Resources (OER), a pilot program was launched to facilitate the adaptation and development of Open Textbooks by academic staff for students as well as broader audiences. The pilot involved the use of the publishing platform Pressbooks as a mechanism to raise awareness of Open Educational Resources, and to provide a university-supported tool with which to develop Open Textbooks. Commencing in Semester 2, 2020, participants in the pilot received vendor training from Pressbooks, as well as support from learning and teaching and library staff. Pilot participants used the Pressbooks platform in a number of ways. Academics created textbooks as course material in a single unit, academics adapted open textbooks for Australian contexts over a number of units, and academics created open textbooks based on their research and not for a specific unit of study. Of the 13 pilot participants, five open textbooks were created, with one still in development. Responses to the pilot were mixed. Student feedback on the use of Pressbooks indicates that they enjoyed the structured and easy-to-read course material. Other students expressed frustration with the higher workload expectations of consuming material online prior to participating in synchronous classes. Students appreciated the zero cost of engaging with an open textbook. Academic feedback was also mixed, with some appreciating the flexibility and engagement that they can achieve in Pressbooks. Others were discouraged by the amount of time spent on creating material for little perceived benefit. The majority of academic staff who developed a textbook using Pressbooks would like to continue to use the platform.

scholarly journals Mainstreaming Open Textbooks: Educator Perspectives on the Impact of OpenStax College open textbooks

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Pitt
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Open Research ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Educator Perspectives ◽  
Open Textbooks ◽  
The Impact

<p>This paper presents the results of collaborative research between OpenStax College, who have published 16 open textbooks to date, and the OER Research Hub, a Hewlett funded open research project examining the impact of open educational resources (OER) on learning and teaching.  The paper focuses primarily on the results of two surveys that were conducted with educators during 2013 and 2014/2015. These surveys focused on use and perceptions of OER and OpenStax College materials, financial savings and perceptions of impact on both educators and students.  This paper reports on the research findings related to the impact of OER on educator practice and make a series of specific recommendations based on these findings. </p>

scholarly journals Open access repositories on open educational resources

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chew Bee Leng ◽  
Kamsiah Mohd Ali ◽  
Ch’ng Eng Hoo
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Data Repositories ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Knowledge Platform ◽  
Harvesting Method

Purpose Triggered by the advancement of information and communications technology, open access repositories (a variant of digital libraries) is one of the important changes impacting library services. In the context of openness to a wider community to access free resources, Wawasan Open University Library initiated a research project to build open access repositories on open educational resources. Open educational resources (OER) is an area of a multifaceted open movement in education. The purpose of this paper is to show how two web portal repositories on OER materials were developed adopting a Japanese open source software, called WEKO. Design/methodology/approach The design approach is based on a pull to push strategy whereby metadata of scholarly open access materials kept within the institution and network communities’ digital databases were harvested using the Open Archives Initiatives Protocol for Metadata Harvesting method into another open knowledge platform for discovery by other users. Findings Positive results emanating from the university open access repositories development showed how it strengthen the role of the librarian as manager of institutional assets and successfully making the content freely available from this open knowledge platform for reuse in learning and teaching. Research limitations/implications Developing further programmes to encourage, influence faculty members and prospective stakeholders to use and contribute content to the valuable repositories is indeed a challenging task. Originality/value This paper provides insight for academic libraries on how open access repositories development and metadata analysis can enhance new professional challenges for information professionals in the field of data management, data quality and intricacies of supporting data repositories and build new open models of collaboration across institutions and libraries. This paper also describes future collaboration work with institutions in sharing their open access resources.

Sharing higher education learning and teaching resources in art, design and media

2010 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 35-39
Author(s):  
Stephen Mallinder ◽  
Debbie Flint
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Teaching Resources ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Art Design ◽  
The Uk

Wider social, cultural and technological changes are precipitating transformations in higher education. There is increasing need for universities and specialist colleges to operate effectively in a global online environment. The development of accessible and re-usable online teaching and learning materials has provided challenges to staff and institutions. This article explores aspects of the UK Open Educational Resources Programme and, in particular, the Art Design and Media Open Educational Resources (ADM-OER) Project which has sought to examine the processes, challenges and opportunities open educational resources (OERs) present to these ‘creative’ disciplines. Part of the project has explored art, design and media tutors’ perceptions of the shift to ‘teaching in public’ and we share some preliminary findings.

scholarly journals Otwarte zasoby edukacyjne - przegląd inicjatyw w Polsce i na świecie

e-mentor ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 51-60
Author(s):  
Kamila Kokot-Kanikuła ◽  
◽  
Anna Wałek
Keyword(s):  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Open Education ◽  
Educational Materials ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
Training Materials ◽  
Barriers To Teaching ◽  
And Training

Open Educational Resources (OER) are training materials and tools that support both learning and teaching. This phenomenon is inextricably linked with a broader concept - open education, which calls for the removal of barriers to teaching so that learners can acquire knowledge following their educational and training needs. The aim of the article is to familiarize the readers with the idea of open educational resources, the legal and organizational foundations crucial for their creation and development, as well as the latest initiatives undertaken in the field of OER dissemination. In the first part of the article, the authors explain the concept and role of open educational resources in the teaching process. Then, they present selected initiatives implemented by members of European Network of Open Education Librarians (ENOEL) and the results of a survey conducted among European academic libraries by SPARC Europe. The analysis of publications, the content of legal documents, reports, and recommendations made it possible to precisely define the meaning of open educational resources for their users. The multifaceted nature and scale of the activities confirm that modern teaching can develop faster based on open educational materials.

scholarly journals The adoption of open educational resources by one community college math department

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Levi Hilton III ◽  
Donna Gaudet ◽  
Phil Clark ◽  
Jared Robinson ◽  
David Wiley
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Community College ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Educational Outcomes ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Fall Semester ◽  
Educational Benefits ◽  
Open Access Resources ◽  
Open Textbooks

<p>The high cost of textbooks is of concern not only to college students but also to society as a whole. Open textbooks promise the same educational benefits as traditional textbooks; however, their efficacy remains largely untested. We report on one community college’s adoption of a collection of open resources across five different mathematics classes. During the 2012 fall semester, 2,043 students in five different courses used these open access resources. We present a comparison between the previous two years in terms of the number of students who withdrew from the courses and the number that completed the courses with a C grade or better. Our analysis suggests that while there was likely no change in these educational outcomes, students who have access to open access materials collectively saved a significant amount of money. Students and faculty were surveyed as to their perceptions of these materials and the results were generally favorable.</p>

scholarly journals Student Perceptions of College Faculty Who Use OER

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Vojtech ◽  
Judy Grissett
Keyword(s):  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Public University ◽  
College Faculty ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Psychology Courses ◽  
Undergraduate Psychology ◽  
Open Textbooks

<p class="3">Research indicates that students find open educational resources (OER) favorable, but there is no research regarding students’ perceptions of faculty who use open textbooks. In the present study we examined this topic experimentally with two undergraduate psychology courses at a small public university. Participants read two passages—one about an instructor using an open textbook and another using a traditional copyrighted textbook—and rated each instructor on a range of characteristics through closed- and open-ended questions. Participants rated faculty using an open textbook higher on kindness, encouragement, and creativity than faculty using a traditional copyrighted textbook, and were more likely to want to take a class with faculty using an open textbook. Participants frequently mentioned textbook cost in their justifications.</p>

scholarly journals A technical mode for sharing and utilizing open educational resources in Chinese Universities

2011 ◽  
pp. 356-374
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Management System ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Or Education ◽  
Chinese Universities ◽  
Metadata Standard ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Resource Management System

Open educational resources just supply potentials to help equalize the access to worldwide knowledge and education, but themselves alone do not cause effective learning or education. How to make effective use of the resources is still a big challenge. In this study, a technical mode is proposed to collect the open educational resources from different sources on the Internet into a campus-network-based resource management system. The system facilitates free and easy access to the resources for instructors and students in universities and integrates the resources into learning and teaching. The technical issues regarding the design the resource management system are examined, including the structure and functions of the system, metadata standard compatibility and scalability, metadata file format, and resource utilization assessment. Furthermore, the resource collecting, storage and utilization modes are also discussed so as to lay a technical basis for extensive and efficient sharing and utilization of the OER in Chinese universities.

scholarly journals Becoming an Open Author! A Reference for Writing and Self-Publishing an Open Textbook

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Beamer
Keyword(s):  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Copyright Holder ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Support Resource ◽  
Open Textbooks ◽  
Research Resources

Becoming an Open Author Guide is a support resource is designed to help you become an open author. Open Textbooks and Open educational resources (OER) are defined as teaching, learning, and research resources that, through permissions granted by the copyright holder, allow others to use, distribute, keep, or make changes to them. We consider this publication as a type of OER that trains faculty, staff, and students how to build, customize, and use open textbooks.

scholarly journals Open Educational Practices in Learning and Teaching of Computer Science

2021 ◽  
pp. 203-212
Author(s):  
Jose Luis ◽  
Covadonga Rodrigo
Keyword(s):  
Computer Science ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Virtual Machines ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Gender Inclusion ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Basic Characteristics ◽  
Set Up

This paper shows several actions that address the use and development of open educational resources (OERs) and the utilisation of open source machine virtualization tools for Moodle course instantiation in a Computer Science-based Teacher Training course. The training is dedicated to show the basic characteristics and tools present in e-learning environments and to transmit the knowledge to develop educational resources and personalize different learning environments. The learning activities have been designed following the constructive approach, in the form of practical tasks that ensure the training of students in the self-implementation and personalisation of e-learning courses embedded into virtual machines. Students learn how to do the pedagogical design, to set up a delivery, and perform to develop their own resources and re-use from others. Finally, students have to assess the quality of the OERs following the UNE71362 standard. As a transversal pedagogical objective of the Master’s course, the learning aims to help the dissemination and awareness of the UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) which ensures inclusive and equitable quality education and fosters lifelong learning opportunities for all. In this sense, specific OER development for gender inclusion and accessibility for all learners has been promoted.

Adoption and Use of Open Educational Resources at Botswana Open University

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1 & 2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lekopanye L. Tladi ◽  
Tebogo E. Seretse
Keyword(s):  
Academic Staff ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Open University ◽  
Time Saving ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
International Trends ◽  
The University

The purpose of the study was to investigate the adoption of open educational resources (OER) at Botswana Open University (BOU). The paper examines the journey the university traversed over the years, both as a user and contributor of OER resources. The problem was that despite the institution’s involvement in a number of OER initiatives since 2009, it was observed that OER uptake was still slow. The objective of the study was therefore to investigate the perceptions of the academic staff involved in the use of OER programmes so as to examine the successes and challenges experienced by BOU in adopting and implementing OER. The following research questions were posed: What are the perceptions of academic staff on the OER? What skills are required for effective utilisation of OER? What are the challenges experienced in using the OER? The methodology followed a qualitative case study approach and used document analysis with an open-ended written questionnaire as methods for data collection. The research population comprised four lecturers and purposive sampling was preferred. Some of the key findings were that OER were useful, good quality, cost saving and time saving. One of the outstanding findings was that academic staff lacked adequate training on the use of OER. They also required provision of adequate ICT and connectivity resources. Some of the challenges highlighted were inadequate funding as well as an inadequate academic staff complement. The paper recommends possible solutions to address some of these challenges at a local level in line with international trends. Consideration should also be made to capacitate the academic structures of the university with more qualified personnel to take responsibility for programme design and course content using OER.

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