Developing sustainable business models for institutions’ provision of open educational resources: Learning from OpenLearn users’ motivations and experiences

Universities across the globe have, for some time, been exploring the possibilities for achieving public benefit and generating business and visibility through releasing and sharing open educational resources (OER). Many have written about the need to develop sustainable and profitable business models around the production and release of OER. Downes (2006), for example, has questioned the financial sustainability of OER production at scale. Many of the proposed business models focus on OER’s value in generating revenue and detractors of OER have questioned whether they are in competition with formal education. This paper reports on a study intended to broaden the conversation about OER business models to consider the motivations and experiences of OER users as the basis for making a better informed decision about whether OER and formal learning are competitive or complementary with each other. The study focused on OpenLearn - the Open University’s (OU) web-based platform for OER, which hosts hundreds of online courses and videos and is accessed by over 3,000,000 users a year. A large scale survey and follow-up interviews with OpenLearn users worldwide revealed that university provided OER can offer learners a bridge to formal education, allowing them to try out a subject before registering on a formal course and to build confidence in their abilities as learners. In addition, it was found that using OER during formal paid-for study can improve learners’ performance and self-reliance, leading to increased retention and satisfaction with the learning experience

Open educational resources for all? Comparing user motivations and characteristics across The Open University’s iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform.

With the rise in access to mobile multimedia devices, educational institutions have exploited the iTunes U platform as an additional channel to provide free educational resources with the aim of profile-raising and breaking down barriers to education. For those prepared to invest in content preparation, it is possible to produce interactive, portable material that can be made available globally. Commentators have questioned both the financial implications for platform-specific content production, and the availability of devices for learners to access it (Osborne, 2012). The Open University (OU) makes its free educational resources available on iTunes U and via its web-based open educational resources (OER) platform, OpenLearn. The OU’s OER on iTunes U reached the 60 million download mark in 2013; its OpenLearn platform boasts 27 million unique visitors since 2006. This paper reports the results of a large-scale study of users of the OU’s iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform. A survey of several thousand users revealed key differences in demographics between those accessing OER via the web and via iTunes U. In addition, the data allowed comparison between three groups: formal learners, informal learners and educators. The study raises questions about whether university-provided OER meet the needs of users and makes recommendations for how content can be modified to suit their needs. As the publishing of OER becomes core to business, we reflect on reasons why understanding users’ motivations and demographics is vital, allowing for needs-led resource provision and content that is adapted to best achieve learner satisfaction, and to deliver institutions’ social mission

Cutting out the middle man?: disintermediation and the academic library

Big Deals, open access, and digitisation increasingly mean that selection decisions are being removed from librarians and transferred to the end user. David Ball looks at the forces pushing towards this ‘disintermediation’ and considers the future role of the academic library

Critical success factors for e-learning implementation in Egyptian public universities: a stakeholders\u27 analysis

Higher education is witnessing major change worldwide and new methods of learning are emerging. Modern technologies are affecting the way educational institutions address learning challenges through presenting innovative solutions. E-learning is a form of education to which attention has increased worldwide. Flexibility provided by e-learning is makes it possible for universities around the world to enroll an increased number of students to meet the needs of all learners. The higher education system in Egypt faces several challenges which hinder it from development. It has become important for Egypt to strive to use new technologies to develop and strengthen higher education. Nevertheless, the take-up and use of e-learning in Egypt is still in its early stages and many difficulties and challenges need to be addressed in order for e-learning to be widely adopted. The present thesis studies the current situation of e-learning implementation and adoption at Egyptian public universities. The study analyzes the prospects of benefiting from e-learning in Egypt to minimize the problems facing the higher education system. The study further points out challenges that hinder the take up of e-learning and highlights the critical success factors needed in order to implement e-learning successfully in Egypt. Qualitative data was collected through conducting face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 21 top management officials, strategic planners, information technology experts, instructional designers, and professors teaching e-learning courses from different public universities. The thesis concludes with a set of policy recommendations in order to successfully implement e-learning in the higher education system

Computer attitude, and the impact of personal characteristics and information and communication technology adoption patterns on performance of teaching faculty in higher education in Ghana, West Africa

This study examined computer attitude, and the impact of personal characteristics and ICT adoption patterns on performance of multidisciplinary teaching faculty in three public universities in Ghana. A cross-sectional research of mixed methods was applied in collecting data and information. Quantitative data from 164 respondents were analyzed using descriptive, multivariate analysis of MANOVA and simultaneous multiple linear regression statistics. Findings show high and positive computer attitude with affective dominating usefulness, behavior and control factors. Evidence of differential ICT adoption thresholds represented by computer purchase, general use, teaching, and research is observed. Overall ICT-based performance of the teaching faculty is modest. Significant variability in mean differences is reported across ICT performance factor levels on age and academic discipline, but not on gender and professional status. Independently, laggards predicted overall high statistically significant impact on ICT performance at 52% (p \u3c .01). All other significant predictors fall within regression coefficients of 17 and 38% (p \u3c.01 and .05 levels). Reasons, incentives and barriers to ICT integration were examined and reported together with special computer proficiency levels. Inclusive development is a palpable opportunity and the best practices are those supported holistically for their impact. Strategies for practice and further studies into adoption and performance behaviors that could ultimately influence investment, personal, professional, and overall growth of ICT in higher education are recommended

Saudi College Students’ Attitudes towards Online Collaborative Learning

Online learning has the potential to expand collaborative learning and teaching. It has tremendous potential in the educational field, as it allows people to access computing services to share and edit data over the Internet. Yet few studies investigate the growing impacts of online learning on students’ learning skills, such as collaborative learning. This study investigates attitudes, factors, and challenges to adopt online applications by Saudi students at King Abdul-Aziz University to support collaborative learning. The hypothesized model was developed through the Technology Acceptance Model of Davis, and the Diffusion of Innovation model of Rogers. Three hundred and six students participated in an electronic survey (138 female and168 male). The findings reveal the students have positive attitudes toward collaborative learning with their classmates (M = 4.07, SD = .78), and have positive attitudes toward adopting online collaborative learning, (M = 3.96, SD = .77). Of the participants, 60.1% use online applications for their learning, and 69.9% preferred the learning style that mix between collaborative and individual learning style. There was a significant relationship between the overall attitudes of the students (M = 3.96, SD = .77), and perceived usefulness of online applications in collaborative learning (M = 4.09, SD = .68), with r (306) = .774, p = .00. Students reported facing three major barriers to adopt online collaborative learning, which are data concerns (M = 3.86, SD = 1.01), privacy issues (M = 3.64 and SD = 1.22), and security issues (M = 3.47 and SD = 1.19). Of three predictors: age, gender, and education major, none were significant predictors of student attitudes towards adopting online collaborative learning (F (3,302) = 1.32, p .05). Given that the online applications can be a very useful solution for education, as it may reduce the costs incurred for the purchase of computers, other equipment, and for employing IT people, it is urgent that universities and administrators start implementing this solution