Evaluating three different Open Educational Resource models provided to enable Learning in Our Connected World

The swift advancement of Web technologies has provided real opportunities for improving access, transfer and sharing of knowledge and information. One of the outcomes facilitated by these technologies is the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement, which has increasingly expanded during the last decade. The definition of OER The term OER was first used in 2002 at a UNESCO forum about the impact of the OpenCourseWare (OCW) movement on higher education institutions (D'Antoni, 2009). Though the term OER emerged after the OCW initiative, OER has a wider meaning, which also includes OCW. The OECD (2007) defined OER as including "learning content, software tools to develop, use and distribute content, and implementation resources such as open licenses" and referred to OER as "accumulated digital assets that can be adjusted and which provide benefits without restricting the possibilities for others to enjoy them"(OECD, 2007, p.10). The development of OER There are now many OER initiatives around the world, each with their own "distinctive models" (Sclater, in press, p.9). The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) OpenCourseWare initiative - "the publication on the Web of course materials used in MIT classroom teaching- is perhaps the best-publicized and most copied institutional OER model" (Albright, 2005, p.4). The MIT OCW movement played a very important role in initiating and disseminating OER around the world and this successful movement could owe its achievement in part to the popularity of MIT and the financial support it received. However, the adaptability of the MIT model by other institutions could be very difficult since MIT was well supported by funding from different foundations (i.e. the Mellon and Hewlett Foundations) (Abelson, 2008) and a dedicated OCW group. It is unlikely that many other institutions would benefit from such opportunities. The purpose of the study Therefore, we need to investigate a number of OER models and find working strategies that can be applied in other contexts as well. In this sense, the main purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast different OER initiatives in terms of the OER development model adopted to enable information transfer to future projects. More specifically quality assurance strategies, sustainability, content type (resource format), pedagogical approach, licensing and user participation are the main perspectives to be considered. To do this, three major OER projects (MIT OpenCourseWare, Rice University's Connexions, and UK Open University's OpenLearn) were selected for investigation. The rationale behind this selection is that they are successful and most importantly they each appear to have their own distinctive OER development model that differentiates them from other OER initiatives. Significance of the study The findings from this study will influence institutions that are new to the OER arena. New initiatives will be able to learn from the challenges faced and opportunities gained from these earlier initiatives. Thus, new OER initiatives will be able to build on, learn from and take advantage of the working strategies of the previous OER initiatives discussed in this paper. The Approach Although OER initiatives have been examined (Atkins et al, 2007; Stacey, 2007), they have been discussed in broader terms. This study however, will explore these three OER projects not only in detail, but also from a critical perspective. In this sense, the current study will try to answer the following research questions: "What makes the OER development models from the three selected institutions distinctive? "What models are ... [the three selected institutions] adopting in terms of the production of OER?" (Conole and McAndrew, in press, p.9) This study will be based on both desk research (reviewing published reports, journal articles etc.) and semi-structured interviews with key people at the three selected institutions. The preliminary results from the desk research are considered below. Interviews have already been undertaken with the three key people in OpenLearn and one key person from MIT and another interview is planned with key person in Connexions project over the next few months. The findings from the interviews will be reported as part of this paper. Though there are some specific questions related with the project, the themes are general structure of the project, sustainability, reusability, community building, staff engagement etc. Preliminary Results These three models can be compared and contrasted in terms of different perspectives. However in these preliminary results, we will examine these different initiatives in terms of content production, content type and revenue model. When we looked at the structure of the content production cycle, it can be said that MIT follows a very faculty centric model. That is, content has been produced from teaching materials of the faculty members. However, in the other two models, users have a chance to contribute their own content. In reality, the general structure of the Connexions model is decentralized which means it is mainly based on end-user participation. As for OpenLearn, we can say that it has a kind of mixed model. That is, its content relies heavily on the Open University's course materials, but the end-user can contribute their own content in the LabSpace, as well. Secondly, in terms of content type, the MIT OCW initiative has materials which are used as supplementary material in traditional classrooms, whereas the OpenLearn project has self-learning materials designed for distance learners though these also have the potential to be used as supplementary material in traditional campus based institutions (Wilson, 2008). Connexions OER are comprised not only of self-learning materials, but also material that supports traditional classroom learning. Finally, when we look at the revenue model, the MIT OCW project has been supported by external funding (discussed above) and OpenLearn had external funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and JISC in the UK. Although Connexions has some external funding, the revenue model is based on the relationship with profit or non-profit making institutions

Factors for Success and Course Completion in Massive Open Online Courses through the Lens of Participant Types

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the factors for success and course completion through the lens of participants in a Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) system implemented in Turkey. Thirty-two participants were selected on the basis of purposive sampling among 5000 enrolled users from 10 MOOCs, who were then classified into 3 types –lurking, moderately active, memorably active– based on their participation rate in the course activities. The data were collected via the use of two semi-structured interviews. According to the findings, the factors for success in MOOCs to the participants were divided into three categories: instructor effectiveness, course design, and personal factors. As to the factors for course completion, the categories identified were the instructor, course design, personal factors, technical issues, and affordability/clarity. The findings regarding success and course completion were discussed in detail and recommendations were provided to enhance participation in MOOCs

Does Formal Credit Work for MOOC-Like Learning Environments?

Although a number of claims have been made describing massive open online courses (MOOCs) as a disruptive innovation in education, these claims have not yet been proven through research. Instead, MOOCs should perhaps be considered as an integrative model for higher education systems, but to do so will require recognition of credentials. Initial experiments of MOOCs were not offer academic credit, but recently there have been some attempts to offer course credit for MOOCs or MOOC-like courses. However, does earning a credit will affect students’ performance and behavior in MOOCs has not been explored closely. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the effect of crediting on students’ achievement, perceived intrinsic and extrinsic goal orientations, and perceived course value. A causal comparative research design was applied. Data was collected via 516 responses to an online survey and achievement tests. Three credit conditions were compared: credit bearing, non-credit bearing, and credit careless. ANOVA results showed a significant difference between the credit bearing groups and non-credit bearing groups for all dependent variables. The credit bearing group also scored significantly higher achievement scores than the credit careless group. Credit clearly and significantly affected all dependent variables investigated in this study. Therefore, various possible models can be adopted by higher education institutions to integrate MOOCs as a credit. Further studies can explore the effects of credit on students’ online behaviors, such as engagement with online activities and user events on MOOC platforms

Evaluating the current status of OpenCourseWare in Turkish Tertiary Education: Benefits, barriers and incentives

Advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) provide real opportunities for improving access, transfer and sharing of knowledge and information. One outcome from ICT is the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement, which expanded during the last decade. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) OpenCourseWare (OCW) initiative played an important role in instigating the OER movement around the world (Atkins et al, 2007; Scatler, 2009). The impact of this movement has been seen in Turkish Tertiary Institutions with the establishment of the Turkish Academy of Science (TAS). In October 2006, a Turkish OCW Consortium was formed with twenty-four member universities in the leadership of TAS (Yazici et al., 2008). The number in the consortium has since increased to forty-eight. Initiating an OCW project at an institution requires careful planning of resources and vision (Henson, 2005). OCW also involves a systemic approach to minimize unexpected problems and gain maximum benefit. Without doubt, instructors in Turkey are the key players at this early stage of the movement and it is important to understand their perceptions and tendencies in relation to publishing their course materials. This study aims to inform decision makers and other key stakeholders to facilitate strategic change in terms of OCW in Turkey. To accomplish this aim an online survey was developed to ascertain the faculty members’ perspective of potential benefits, barriers and incentives of the OCW movement. Surveys were sent to the consortium’s forty-eight Turkish Higher Education Institutions. This paper addresses the following main research questions from the Turkish faculty members perspective: What benefits do faculty members accrue from publishing course materials freely on the Internet? What barriers do faculty members face when they want to publish course materials freely on the Internet? What incentives would enable faculty members to publish course materials freely on the Internet? Preliminary findings indicate that instructors have a positive reaction to sharing their courses freely on the Internet. However, instructors want their materials to remain unchanged when they are reused. They have particular problems with copyright issues and they are not sure whether they will gain support from their own institution

An investigation of faculty perspectives on barriers, incentives, and benefits of the OER movement in Turkey

The purpose of this survey study is to investigate faculty’s perceptions of the main incentives, barriers, and benefits to publishing their course materials for free within the open educational resources (OER) movement. Data were collected from an online survey of 1,637 faculty from 56 universities in Turkey. Results showed that even though the majority of the participants’ perceptions of OER benefits and their attitudes toward publishing their course materials were positive, legal issues were perceived as an obstacle to effective application. Intellectual property protection mechanisms were perceived as the most important incentive to facilitate their contribution

Adoption of online multimedia resources in a general chemistry laboratory course context: A case study

Pre-laboratory practices and online pre-laboratory resources have been implemented in laboratory courses through various instructional approaches. This study seeks to elicit information about how online multimedia resources are embraced and used in the course system and which factors might affect the adoption of the resources in this context. This research was designed as a case study in order to explore the enablers and barriers of online multimedia resource adoption and associated problems in the system through two resources developed in video and simulation formats. Interviews, observations, and documents were applied so as to provide a detailed perspective of the course and the phenomenon. The findings of the study revealed that the multimedia components of the resources attracted the students’ interest and engagement, and affected the users’ preparation routines; however, attitude toward the course and resources, lack of policy practices and support, quality of the resources, problems in classroom practices, and administration were found to be prominent issues that challenged the adoption of online resources. The study offers suggestions concerning how to adopt the online resources into laboratory courses, and insights about the implications of online resources and their different multimedia features are also presented

An Investigation of Faculty Perspectives on Barriers, Incentives, and Benefits of the OER Movement in Turkey

The purpose of this survey study is to investigate faculty’s perceptions of the main incentives, barriers, and benefits to publishing their course materials for free within the open educational resources (OER) movement. Data were collected from an online survey of 1,637 faculty from 56 universities in Turkey. Results showed that even though the majority of the participants’ perceptions of OER benefits and their attitudes toward publishing their course materials were positive, legal issues were perceived as an obstacle to effective application. Intellectual property protection mechanisms were perceived as the most important incentive to facilitate their contribution

Question-Answer Activities in Synchronous Virtual Classrooms in Terms of Interest and Usefulness

Instructors generally convey their face to face habits to synchronous virtual classrooms, but these face to face strategies do not work in these environments. In this sense, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of question type and answer format used in synchronous class implementations on perceived interest and usefulness. To do this, questions were asked in different ways and answers were requested in different formats in synchronous virtual sessions. The participants consisted of 28 postgraduate students registered in an online criminal justice program at a university located in the North-East part of Turkey. Data was collected in the context of a Research Methods in Security Sciences course during 2012–2013 fall semester. Results showed effects of question type on learner interest, while answer format has an effect on usefulness of online activities. In conclusion, to increase interest in synchronous virtual classrooms by asking questions, instead of closed-ended questions, open-ended questions which everybody can answer should be preferred

An eye-tracking study of how color coding affects multimedia learning

Color coding has been proposed to promote more effective learning. However, insufficient evidence currently exists to show how color coding leads to better learning. The goal of this study was to investigate the underlying cause of the color coding effect by utilizing eye movement data. Fifty-two participants studied either a color-coded or conventional format of multimedia instruction. Eye movement data were collected during the study. The results indicate that color coding increased retention and transfer performance. Enhancement of learning by color coding was due to efficiency of locating corresponding information between illustration and text. Color coding also attracted attention of learners to perceptually salient information