scholarly journals Open Educational Resources - in Engineering Education, Case Study at UC/AGH, UB and ULBS

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-131
Author(s):  
Dan-Maniu Duşe ◽  
Ildikó Simó

AbstractTo change the educational scene in the epoch of the digital generation there is the possibility of using Open Education (OE) and Open Educational Resources (OER). The term “open educational resources” refers to resources with free access to use, adaptation and redistribution. The objectives of the research are to determine the degree of knowledge and use of OER in three Engineering Universities in three countries (Poland, Hungary and Romania) and to find out whether there is a relationship between the institutions in terms of knowledge and use of OER. The measurement is made by applying the survey method on a sample of n = 192. As a tool we use the questionnaire with 15 questions structured in three chapters: knowledge of OER; using OER; opinions about OER. In this analysis we summarize: the presentation of the degree of familiarity with some OER-related concepts, the use of special search engines, the use of free software sources, the frequency of use of OER and opinions on different types of OER that could be exploited in the future. For the description of relationship between nominal variable we use contingency tables and diagrams and compare the frequency data with the Pearson Chi-square test.

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhajan Chandra Barman

Micro finance in the form of Self-Help Group (SHG) Linkage model has been able to inspire hope in the lives of thousands of rural poor especially poor women by shifting them from debt-trap of informal credit sources to formal credit system. In this context the present study makes a modest attempt to examine that extent to which microfinance programme is effective in empowering rural women. A primary field survey has been carried out in Kharibari block of Darjeeling district to get the real picture. Survey method was applied and interview schedule has been used to collect relevant data from the respondents. Using tabular analysis and chi square test, results of this study indicate significant differences between SHGs women (i.e., those involved with SHG) and non-SHGs women regarding various economic, socio-cultural and political indicators of empowerment. It was also found that SHGs women have more active participation in various income generating activities. They earned more income, saved more money and at the same time owned more assets than non-SHGs women. The study also stresses the need of more loans to be expanded to rural poor women folk to enhance their economic solvency and empower them economically.


Author(s):  
HAYRIYE TUGBA OZTURK

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) came to prominence with Open Educational Resources Movement (OERM). It was based upon the idea of libre in removal of some permission barriers and gratis in removing the price barrier (Suber, 2008) in learning resources. In line with the theoretical underpinnings of OERM, MOOCs embody primary characteristics of connectivist pedagogy which are autonomy, diversity, openness, and community participation. However, in time, moving away from its original philosophical and pedagogical values, new variations of MOOCs have emerged and new MOOCs have become more market oriented and are aligned with instructivist, cognitive, and behaviourist pedagogy. In an attempt to empirically examine the change in underlying values of the MOOCs, a survey method was employed by using a Connectivist Learning Environment Assessment Tool which was developed in the scope of this research. The tool could be useful for formulating and justifying a conceptual framework that enables us to reify the connectivist pedagogy and assess connectivist underpinnings of a learning environment including MOOCs. This research aims to contribute to MOOC studies against the background of previous knowledge from the Open Education and Connectivist fields.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 480
Author(s):  
Martina Zappaterra ◽  
Laura Menchetti ◽  
Leonardo Nanni Costa ◽  
Barbara Padalino

This study aimed at documenting whether dromedary camels have a preference for shade and how their behavior would change depending on the presence of shade and variable space allowance. A total of 421 animals kept in 76 pens (66 with shelter (Group 1), and 10 without shelter (Group 2)) at the camel market in Doha (Qatar) were recorded for 1 min around 11:00 a.m. when the temperature was above 40 °C. The number of animals in the sun and shade and their behaviors were analyzed using an ad libitum sampling method and an ad hoc ethogram. The results of a chi-square test indicated that camels in Group 1 had a clear preference for shade (p < 0.001). The majority of Group 1 camels were indeed observed in the shade (312/421; 74.11%). These camels spent more time in recumbency and ruminating, while standing, walking, and self-grooming were more commonly expressed by the camels in the sun (p < 0.001). Moreover, locomotory stereotypic behaviors (i.e., pacing) increased as space allowance decreased (p = 0.002). Based on the findings of this pilot study, camels demonstrated a preference for shade; shade seemed to promote positive welfare, while overcrowding seemed to trigger stereotypy and poor welfare. Overall, our preliminary results are novel and provide evidence that shaded areas are of paramount importance for camel welfare. Further research, involving designed studies at multiple locations is needed to confirm these results.


Author(s):  
Shengli Wang

<p>English listening is one of the five basic skills such as listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation that a Chinese postgraduate should acquire, and it is also the most significant one. In this study, 194 first-year postgraduate students at Shanghai University of Engineering Science were invited to report their strategies use and listening anxiety in the questionnaire with the 5-Likert Indirect Foreign Language Listening Strategies Scale and the 5-Likert Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale. The SPSS13.0 was used to analyze the descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, Chi-square test and One-way ANOVA, which indicated a medium listening anxiety and a medium level of strategies use. Metacognitive strategies were more frequently used than social and affective strategies, the correlation between listening proficiency and listening anxiety was significantly negative, correlation between listening proficiency and indirect listening strategies was significantly positive, and that between indirect listening strategies and listening anxiety was significantly negative. Indirect listening strategies were useful to allay listening anxiety and would be incorporated into our normal classroom teaching.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-170
Author(s):  
G. Sarzhanova ◽  
◽  
A. Toleuzhan ◽  
S. Turbaeva ◽  
◽  
...  

The article discusses the importance of using open educational resources (OER) and the need to use the technology for the development of speaking skills in the foreign language as well. The concept of OER first emerged in the 1990s and Open Educational Resources Movement announced in 2001 that MIT's entire course catalog was being put online and the project was going to be launched at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2002. This technology has a number of advantages. For example, the use of OER provides free access to textbooks, allows maximizing time efficiently, increases the interest and motivation of students and helps teachers transform classes. However, it is difficult to deny the existence of some problems regarding OER. The main disadvantages include the quality of the educational resource and the lack of Internet access in all regions of the world. But shortcomings are a ‘temporary issue’ and in the future OER will be adapted in all countries of the world to a greater extent. It will be productive to develop foreign language speech skills using OER, since it allows students to acquire new knowledge more quickly and effectively. The developments of such skills will undoubtedly occurre directly as a result of the continuing use of various authentic materials and the frequent use of these materials by foreign language teachers in the classes is a topical issue. As a result, teachers may encounter problems related to lack of suitable language teaching materials. An important condition for solving the problem is the use of OER, which helps the teacher to develop students’ required skills in the learning process.


Author(s):  
Jane Brückner

Die Nutzung und Bereitstellung von Open Educational Resources (OER) sind mit vergleichsweise hohen Unsicherheiten und Herausforderungen verbunden, die in der deutschen Bildungslandschaft zu einem erhöhten Bedarf an Qualitätsausweis für freie Bildungsmaterialien führen. Die Debatte um diese vermeintlich geringer-wertigen Unterrichtsmaterialien reisst nicht ab und qualitätssuggerierende Entwicklungen begleiten die Nutzung von OER in der Schulpraxis: Verlage und Hochschulen geben cc-lizenziertes Material an die Lehrkräfte in allen Bildungsbereichen, Plattformen für OER versuchen Qualitätsnachweise über Nutzerbewertungen, Bildungsinstitutionen entwerfen Qualitätskriterienmodelle für OER. Bei allen Unternehmungen dem Bedarf an Qualitätssicherung und Qualitätsausweisen nachzukommen, wird vernachlässigt, dass gerade OER und die konsequente Praxis von Open Education die Nutzer als autonome, kreative und kompetente Lehrenden und Lernenden versteht. Vor diesem Hintergrund steht ein kritisches Hinterfragen der aktuellen Implikationen des verwendeten Qualitätsbegriffes aus, sowie des Beteiligtenkreises für den Aushandlungsprozess von OER-Qualität.


Open Praxis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivien Rolfe

For those receiving funding from the UK HEFCE-funded Open Educational Resource Programme (2009–2012), the sustainability of project outputs was one of a number of essential goals. Our approach for the hosting and distribution of health and life science open educational resources (OER) was based on the utilisation of the WordPress.org blogging platform and search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques to curate content and widen discovery.This paper outlines the approaches taken and tools used at the time, and reflects upon the effectiveness of web strategies several years post-funding. The paper concludes that using WordPress.org as a platform for sharing and curating OER, and the adoption of a pragmatic approach to SEO, offers cheap and simple ways for small-scale open education projects to be effective and sustainable.


Open Praxis ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanja Urbančič ◽  
Anja Polajnar ◽  
Mitja Jermol

An international online mentoring programme Open Education for a Better World (OE4BW) has been developed to unlock the potential of open education in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The programme provides an innovative approach to building Open Educational Resources, connecting developers of educational materials with experts volunteering as mentors. The model of the programme has been carefully designed and tested in two subsequent implementations in years 2018 and 2019. Results have proved the model to be useful for building capacities in open education, while producing concrete educational materials with great potential for social impact. Analysis of results has been used to suggest further improvements needed for enabling the program to be used on an even larger scale. The paper presents the development of the OE4BW model, its main characteristics, implementation results and guidelines for the future.


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