Open Courseware: A Unique Opportunity for India

The pivotal role of education as an instrument of social change - by altering the human perspective and transforming the traditional mindset of society is well recognized. The universalisation of education has become the top priority, especially for the developing countries. But the extension of quality education to remote and rural regions becomes a Herculean task for a large country like India with multi-lingual and multi-cultural population separated by vast geographical distances, and, in many instances, inaccessible terrain. Open Courseware (OCW) is part of a comparatively new educational movement in the line of Open Access (OA) and leading institutions and universities around the world are capitalizing it for the betterment of the society. OCW provides learners an opportunity to disseminate knowledge beyond the traditional classroom environment. The present study aims to spread the word of OCW and sensitize the teachers and learners about the tremendous potential of OCW in the context of education in Indi

Open Educational Resources: Policy, Costs and Transformation

Open Educational Resources (OER) — teaching, learning and research materials that their owners make free for others to use, revise and share — offer a powerful means of expanding the reach and effectiveness of worldwide education. The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and UNESCO co-organised the World OER Congress in 2012 in Paris. That Congress resulted in the OER Paris Declaration: a statement that urged governments around the world to release, as OER, all teaching, learning and research materials developed with public funds. This book, drawing on 15 case studies contributed by 29 OER researchers and policy-makers from 15 countries across six continents, examines the implementation of the pivotal declaration through the thematic lenses of policy, costs and transformation. The case studies provide a detailed picture of OER policies and initiatives as they are unfolding in different country contexts and adopting a range of approaches, from bottom-up to top-down. The book illuminates the impacts of OER on the costs of producing, distributing and providing access to learning materials, and shows the way that OER can transform the teaching and learning methodology mindset. Recommendations on key actions to be taken by policy-makers, practitioners, OER developers and users are also outlined, particularly within the context of Education 2030. Clearly, progress is being made, although more work must be done if the international community is to realise the full potential of OER. Contents Foreword by the President and CEO, Commonwealth of Learning Foreword by the Assistant Director-General for Education, UNESCO Introduction Open Educational Resources: Policy, Costs and Transformation | Rory McGreal, Fengchun Miao and Sanjaya Mishra Chapter 1 Open Educational Practices in Australia | Carina Bossu Chapter 2 Open Educational Resources Policy for Developing a Knowledge-Based Economy in the Kingdom of Bahrain | Nawal Ebrahim Al Khater, Hala Amer and Fadheela Tallaq Chapter 3 The State of Open Educational Resources in Brazil: Policies and Realities | Carolina Rossini and Oona Castro Chapter 4 Open Educational Resources in Canada | Rory McGreal, Terry Anderson and Dianne Conrad Chapter 5 Caribbean Open Textbooks Initiative | Neil Butcher, Andrew Moore and Sarah Hoosen Chapter 6 Open Educational Resources in Germany | Ulf-Daniel Ehlers Chapter 7 Copyrights in OER Publishing in India: The Case of the National Programme on Technology-Enhanced Learning | Mangala Sunder Krishnan iv Chapter 8 The Promise of Open Educational Resources in Indonesia | Petra Wiyakti Bodrogini and Mohammad Rinaldi Chapter 9 Using Open Educational Resources for Undergraduate Programme Development at Wawasan Open University | Teik Kooi Liew Chapter 10 OERu: Realising Sustainable Education Futures | Wayne Mackintosh Chapter 11 Integrating ICT for Innovative Educational Solutions in Oman: Leveraging OER Policy to Enhance Teaching and Learning | Maimoona Al Abri and Saif Hamed Hilal Al Busaidi Chapter 12 The Polish Open e-Textbooks Project as a Policy Model for Openness of Public Educational Resources | Alek Tarkowski Chapter 13 Open Access to Educational Resources Through Federal Portals and OER in Russia | Svetlana Knyazeva and Aleksei Sigalov Chapter 14 Open Educational Resources for Early Literacy in Africa: The Role of the African Storybook Initiative | Tessa Welch and Jennifer Glennie Chapter 15 Developing an Infrastructure Support for Faculty Use of Open Educational Resources: The Case of the Washington State Community and Technical Colleges System | Boyoung Chae and Mark Jenkins Conclusions | Fengchun Miao, Sanjaya Mishra and Rory McGrea

A basic guide to open educational resources (OER)

133 p. : ill.Libro ElectrónicoThis Guide comprises three sections. The first – a summary of the key issues – is presented in the form of a set of ‘Frequently Asked Questions’. Its purpose is to provide readers with a quick and user-friendly introduction to Open Educational Resources (OER) and some of the key issues to think about when exploring how to use OER most effectively. The second section is a more comprehensive analysis of these issues, presented in the form of a traditional research paper. For those who have a deeper interest in OER, this section will assist with making the case for OER more substantively. The third section is a set of appendices, containing more detailed information about specific areas of relevance to OER. These are aimed at people who are looking for substantive information regarding a specific area of interestContents Acknowledgements 1 Overview of the Guide 3 A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources: Frequently asked questions 5 What are Open Educational Resources (OER)? 5 Is OER the same as e-learning? 5 Is OER the same as open learning/open education? 6 Is OER related to the concept of resource-based learning? 7 How open is an open licence? 8 What is the difference between OER and open access publishing? 9 Shouldn’t I worry about ‘giving away’ my intellectual property? 9 Who will guarantee the quality of OER? 12 How can education benefit by harnessing OER? 13 Is OER really free? 14 Does use of OER preclude use of commercial content? 16 What policy changes are needed for institutions to make more effective use of OER? 16 What are the best ways to build capacity in OER? 17 Where do I find OER? 18 How can I share my OER with others? 19 How much can I change OER for my own purposes? 20 Making the Case for Open Educational Resources 23 Introduction 23 Defining the concept 24 The implications for educational planners and decision-makers 39 Conclusion 44 References 45 Appendix One: Overview of Open Licences 47 Introduction 47 Creative Commons Licences 48 Appendix References 52 Appendix Two: The Components of a Well-Functioning Distance Education System 53 The Components 53 The Rationale for Use of Distance Education Methods 55 Appendix Three: Technology Applications 57 iii Appendix Four: Open Source Software Applications in Education 61 References 64 Appendix Five: Mapping the OER Terrain Online 65 Introduction 65 OCW OER Repositories 65 University OCW Initiatives 70 Subject-Specific OCW OER 74 Content Creation Initiatives 78 Open Schooling Initiatives 81 OCW OER Search 84 Conclusion 85 Appendix Six: A Catalogue of OER-Related Websites 87 OCW OER Repositories 88 Open Schooling Initiatives 92 OCW OER Search 93 University OCW Initiatives 95 Subject-Specific OCW-OER 104 OER Tools 109 Other OER Sources 113 Appendix Seven: Some OER Policy Issues in Distance Education 115 Appendix Eight: OER Policy Review Process 123 Appendix Nine: Skills Requirements for Work in Open Educational Resources 13

USE OF ELECTRONIC RESOURCES BY USERS OF THE GAUTAM BUDDHA CENTRAL LIBRARY AT THE B.B.A.U., LUCKNOW, UTTAR PRADESH: A STUDY

Electronic resources are becoming increasingly popular as a result of their benefits and advantages. Libraries are subscribing to electronic resources for their users and spending a lot of money on it. It is vital to assess user attitudes regarding e-resources. This article investigates user knowledge and perceptions of e-resources accessible at the Gautam Buddha Central Library, BBAU, Lucknow. This study is an attempt to investigate user awareness of e-resources, user frequency of access to e-resources, user perception towards use of e- electronic, purpose of users to use it, problem encountered by users in accessing e-resources, its importance in study and research, and so on

Enhancing the Higher Education Quality with MOOC Penetration: Role of Policy, Library and Curriculum

The governments of emerging economies have realized the potential of MOOCs for enhancing the quality of higher education, but still, the MOOC penetration is very low in countries like India. This study explores the issues relating to MOOC integration and attempts to identify the key drivers for the adoption of MOOC based curriculum. \u27Integration into Curriculum\u27, \u27MOOC Services of Academic Library\u27, and \u27MHRD Policy and Support\u27 are identified as the key drivers for increasing the MOOC Penetration. The higher the level of MOOC penetration the greater would be the improvement in the quality of higher education. The practical implications for practice and policy are classification of MOOC services of academic library and a decision-making model for hybrid learning strategy for higher educational institutions

Evaluation of Library Websites of Colleges Affiliated to University of Delhi: A Content Analysis Study

Abstract Purpose- This paper aims to analyse the content of libraries’ websites of colleges affiliated to University of Delhi in India. Design/methodology/approach-In the present study, observation method was used to analyse the content which was uploaded on the websites of selected ten colleges of University of Delhi. The data and content uploaded on the websites was collected and analysed with the help of checklist specifically designed for this purpose. Findings- Most of the college libraries uploaded information about its collection on the website. It was found that few college libraries have been using web 2.0 tools. It has been noticed that these tools have not been used extensively for promoting the use of library collection and services. Majority of the college libraries provided few useful links on its’ websites. For the optimum use of library resources and services the libraries need to be more informative, well-structured attractive and user friendly. Practical Implication- College library website is very useful for all types of users especially for differently abled belonging to economically weaker section. It is also important that their libraries should upload information about special collections such as book bank material, braille materials, reference resources, CD/DVDs, maps, charts etc. on its\u27 website. Originality/value –World Wide Web has been changing the mode of information dissemination in college libraries. It is also important that their libraries play an important role to develop the knowledge and personality of academic community

Open Educational Resources: A Catalyst for Innovation

Foreword: Open educational resources (OER) are rapidly becoming a major phenomenon in education across OECD countries and beyond. Initiated largely at the level of institutions by pioneers and technology advocates, the OER community has grown considerably over the past ten years and the impact of OER on educational systems has become an issue of public policy. The open education community is increasingly well organised and enjoys support from various institutions and foundations. National governments have developed, or are in the process of developing, open policies to support access to and use of OER. It is the task of the OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) and the OECD Directorate for Education to help policy makers and other stakeholders to confront challenges and benefit from new developments in the educational domain for better policies on improving teaching and learning. This report follows earlier work by CERI on OER, which resulted in the publication Giving Knowledge for Free in 2007, and an OECD country questionnaire on OER-related policy and activities in 2012. It seeks to provide a state of the art review of evidence on OER practice and impacts, and evaluate the remaining challenges for OER entering the mainstream of educational practice

Enhancing curriculum design and delivery with OER

This paper reports on the key findings from the EVOL-OER project which aims to develop a deeper understanding of the reuse of open educational resources (OERs) by academics in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). This paper builds on the JISC OER Impact study by exploring and expanding on the Ratified quadrant of the study’s landscape of reuse framework (White & Manton, 2011). This paper puts forward a different four-quadrant diagram called ‘OER-enhanced curriculum’ to illustrate different approaches adopted by academics to embedding OER into curriculum design and delivery. Key issues in relation to motivation and challenges in reusing OER are discussed