scholarly journals Using Open Educational Resources at Viterbo University: Faculty and Student Feedback

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-90
Author(s):  
Alissa L. Oelfke ◽  
Jennifer A. Sadowski ◽  
Cari Mathwig Ramseier ◽  
Christopher Iremonger ◽  
Katrina Volkert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Science ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Older Students ◽  
Quality Cost ◽  
Pilot Implementation

This study evaluated a coordinated and collaborative pilot implementation of open educational resources (OER) across multiple disciplines including nursing, accounting, environmental science, religious studies, and finance. Participating faculty were qualitatively surveyed regarding their experience creating and implementing OER in a course. Students were surveyed on their perceptions of OER quality, cost savings, and ease of use. Faculty had an overall positive experience with OER, believing there was a significant benefit to students in cost savings while maintaining learning quality. Faculty felt the OER implementation process took a significant investment of time and recommended that faculty should be compensated for creating and implementing OER materials in future courses. Students overall showed positive responses to using OER in their course; the majority of students agreed with the OER cost savings, quality of OER resources, ease of using OER, and they trusted the use of OER materials. Older students (over 30 years) were more likely to state they would print out OER materials rather than read them online (as compared with students 30 and under). Senior-level students agreed significantly more than did freshman-level students that OER presented a cost savings. Faculty recommendations from this study included focusing on courses with very high textbook costs and courses that would impact the greatest number of students. Additionally, faculty recommended a follow-up revision process to keep OER materials current after implementation.

scholarly journals Comparing quantitative and comment-based ratings for recommending open educational resources

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dalia Hanna ◽  
Abdolreza Abhari ◽  
Alexander Ferworn
Keyword(s):  
Sentiment Analysis ◽  
Recommender Systems ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Open Education ◽  
User Comments ◽  
E Learning ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Open Education Resources

The recent application of recommender systems for educational resources and e-learning has facilitated online and accessible education on social networks. However, there are currently few studies about the methods for evaluation and performance measurement of these recommender systems in the complicated environment of educational and social networking platforms. The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the effectiveness of using sentiment analysis methods for educational resources based on user comments and compare it with the quantitative approach based on user rating to recommend best open learning resources (OER) available through online OER repositories. The quality of the OER will be justified by comparing the user rating and the users' reviews. The quality of users' reviews is based on calculating the term frequency for selected positive and negative terms, then determining the similarity among the comments. Comments with positive or negative words confirm the high and low ratings respectively. Keywords: Open Education Resources, OER, Recommender Systems, Sentiment Analysis.

The Effects of Using Open Educational Resources on Minority Achievement in Undergraduate Mathematics

2020 ◽  
pp. 20-41
Author(s):  
Josephine Dunbar Davis ◽  
Samuel Bradley Cartwright
Keyword(s):  
Cost Savings ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
State University ◽  
Minority Achievement ◽  
Course Enrollment ◽  
University System Of Georgia ◽  
Algebra Students ◽  
Historically Black University ◽  
The University

Prominent in the public debate on college affordability is the rising cost of textbooks. Owing to limited finances or mounting college debt, many students fail to purchase required course textbooks. Among the perils students without textbooks face are delayed course enrollment, high failure or dropout rates, and extended time to graduation. At Fort Valley State University, an Historically Black University within the University System of Georgia, the mathematics faculty first observed increasing numbers of college algebra students without textbooks, then, similarly, with upper division students. As a cost-savings measure, the faculty redesigned eight courses using open educational resources (OER). This chapter highlights the four-year results of faculty and students' OER course experiences. OER students have better grades, lower failure rates, and better attendance records than those using traditional textbooks. The attitude of OER students towards mathematics also improved. A total cost savings of $197,780 was realized with an average, per student savings of $198.

scholarly journals Examining the Usefulness of Quality Scores for Generating Learning Object Recommendations in Repositories of Open Educational Resources

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (13) ◽  
pp. 4638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aldo Gordillo ◽  
Daniel López-Fernández ◽  
Katrien Verbert
Keyword(s):  
Recommender Systems ◽  
User Study ◽  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Learning Object ◽  
Personalized Recommendation ◽  
Effective Learning ◽  
Pedagogical Quality

Open educational resources (OER) can contribute to democratize education by providing effective learning experiences with lower costs. Nevertheless, the massive amount of resources currently available in OER repositories makes it difficult for teachers and learners to find relevant and high-quality content, which is hindering OER use and adoption. Recommender systems that use data related to the pedagogical quality of the OER can help to overcome this problem. However, studies analyzing the usefulness of these data for generating OER recommendations are very limited and inconclusive. This article examines the usefulness of using pedagogical quality scores for generating OER recommendations in OER repositories by means of a user study that compares the following four different recommendation approaches: a traditional content-based recommendation technique, a quality-based non-personalized recommendation technique, a hybrid approach that combines the two previous techniques, and random recommendations. This user study involved 53 participants and 400 OER whose quality was evaluated by reviewers using the Learning Object Review Instrument (LORI). The main finding of this study is that pedagogical quality scores can enhance traditional content-based OER recommender systems by allowing them to recommend OER with more quality without detriment to relevance.

scholarly journals Management of Malignant Pleural Effusion with ASEPT® Pleural Catheter: Quality of Life, Feasibility, and Patient Satisfaction

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inderdeep Dhaliwal ◽  
Masoud Mahdavian ◽  
Shabnam Asghari ◽  
Benson Chun To Wong ◽  
Rosalie Labelle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Effective Option ◽  
Eortc Qlq C30 ◽  
Pleural Catheter ◽  
Eortc Qlq

Objective. The PleurX® IPC system has been used extensively in the past. Over time, management of MPE with the PleurX system can be costly. The new ASEPT pleural catheter, through advantages in design, may ultimately show cost savings. The primary outcome of this study was to evaluate safety and efficacy of the ASEPT system.Method. This single centre, prospective study enrolled 50 patients with MPE, who were followed for as long as they were alive with a catheter. Quality of Life (QoL) was assessed before, at 2 weeks, and 6 weeks after ASEPT catheter insertion using the EORTC QLQ-C30 and LC13 questionnaires. Ease of catheter use and complications were reported by physician and community nurses.Results. 50 patients with MPE with a mean age of64.5±1.9, BDI of2.8±0.9, and ECOG score of3.0±0.7were recruited. No immediate or long-term complications were reported during the study period. Compared to precatheter insertion, global health status (−18,p<0.001), QLQ-C30 dyspnea (−39,p<0.00001), and LC13 dyspnea (−11,p<0.0005) significantly improved at 2 and 6 weeks after intervention. Provider surveys indicated favourable ease of use.Conclusion. The new ASEPT catheter offers a safe and effective option for the management of MPE.

scholarly journals Comparing quantitative and comment-based ratings for recommending open educational resources

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dalia Hanna ◽  
Abdolreza Abhari ◽  
Alexander Ferworn
Keyword(s):  
Sentiment Analysis ◽  
Recommender Systems ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Open Education ◽  
User Comments ◽  
E Learning ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Open Education Resources

The recent application of recommender systems for educational resources and e-learning has facilitated online and accessible education on social networks. However, there are currently few studies about the methods for evaluation and performance measurement of these recommender systems in the complicated environment of educational and social networking platforms. The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the effectiveness of using sentiment analysis methods for educational resources based on user comments and compare it with the quantitative approach based on user rating to recommend best open learning resources (OER) available through online OER repositories. The quality of the OER will be justified by comparing the user rating and the users' reviews. The quality of users' reviews is based on calculating the term frequency for selected positive and negative terms, then determining the similarity among the comments. Comments with positive or negative words confirm the high and low ratings respectively. Keywords: Open Education Resources, OER, Recommender Systems, Sentiment Analysis.

scholarly journals THE PROBLEM OF USING OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES IN THE LITHUANIAN LANGUAGE AS A LESS WIDESPREAD LANGUAGE IN THE WORLD

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 204
Author(s):  
Vaiva Zuzevičiūtė ◽  
Laima Ruibytė ◽  
Rūta Adamonienė ◽  
Aušra Stepanovienė ◽  
Birutė Pranevičienė ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Teaching Material ◽  
Literature Analysis ◽  
Teaching Resources ◽  
Education Resources ◽  
Quality Of Teaching ◽  
The World

The demand to promote development of Open Educational Resources (OER) in less used languages is relevant all across Europe. Although numerous education resources are available today, their access in the Lithuanian language is very scarce. The aim of the article is to reveal the importance of OER in the Lithuanian language for the development of teachers’ competences. This is crucial to assure the quality of teaching material by providing a possibility to disseminate innovations, to develop creativity and consistency as well as to share created teaching resources. The article is based on scientific literature analysis and descriptive methods. OER in Lithuanian are crucial to assuring the quality of teaching material by providing teachers a possibility to develop their competences, creativity, and consistency as well as to apply innovations and share the designed resources of teaching.

Open Educational Resources and Open Language Learning for Taiwanese Adult Learners

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 58-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Ju Lin ◽  
ChanMin Kim
Keyword(s):  
Learning Styles ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Web Design ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Learning Beliefs ◽  
Information Interaction ◽  
Essential Components

The Internet offers easy access to open resources, especially for educational use. However, the quality of open resources has been constantly criticized (). The purpose of this study was to examine English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) open educational resources (OERs) and to make recommendations for designing ESL OER websites that supported open language learning. Both the ESL learning (i.e. motivation, learning styles, and learning beliefs) and technical (i.e., the usability of websites in consideration of the three essential components: information, interaction, and interface) aspects were investigated in this study. The study findings showed that the following elements were important in both ESL learning and technical aspects: prior experience, ESL learning characteristics, and ESL learning beliefs. Based on these findings, recommendations for ESL OER web design and implications for open language learning are elaborated.

scholarly journals Cost, Outcomes, Use, and Perceptions of Open Educational Resources in Psychology: A Narrative Review of the Literature

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia Clinton
Keyword(s):  
Cost Savings ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Narrative Review ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Empirical Examination ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Cost Outcomes

Open educational resources (OER) have been developed to free students from the expense and instructors from the restrictions of commercial materials. There has been a wealth of empirical examination on numerous aspects of OER. The purpose of this narrative review is to synthesize and integrate the findings on OER in psychology to assist instructors in making informed decisions about course materials. Topics in this review were organized according to the Cost, Outcomes, Usage, and Perceptions framework. Results indicated that OER adoption yielded cost savings while generally having similar or better outcomes in terms of grades. Students typically reported similar use and perceptions of OER compared to commercial course materials. Resources for instructors interested in OER are described. Criticisms of OER, such as concerns about quality, are addressed as well as limitations of reviewed research and future directions for research and development of OER.

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 Influencing factors in OER usage of adult learners in Korea

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Byoung Wook Kim ◽  
Won Gyu Lee ◽  
Byeong Rae Lee ◽  
Jin Gon Shon
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Open Architecture ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Learning Intention ◽  
Factors Influencing

Open Educational Resources (OER) is terminology that refers to educational resources (content and software) distributed through the Internet, free of charge and freely accessible, expanding learning opportunities for adult learners. This terminology first appeared around 2002, although its roots can be traced to the open architecture of the Internet. Until recently, OER development has focused more on quantity of contents rather than quality. In this study, we have examined the factors influencing the learning intention of adult learners in the OER context. Based on the relevant literature, we have identified a number of factors influencing a learner’s intention to use e-learning content. We have also developed a questionnaire for conducting a survey on such influencing factors. The survey results show that ease of use and relation to immediate workplace needs affect the intention of adult learners in using OER. The findings of this study can inform those developing and designing a learning environment that employs OER while also providing general guidance for developers and educators on how to design OER content.

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