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Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Financial issues regarding the sustainable production, dissemination, and use of Open Educational Resources (OER) in higher education are reviewed and proposed solutions critiqued. Use of OER produce demonstrable cost savings for students. Yet OER development continues to rely almost completely on government and philanthropic funding. This indicates that a mismatch exists between the financial interests of students and those of higher education institutions. Before OER will be broadly adopted, changes to government policy are required to align institutional objectives with faculty motivations and student needs.

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Developing a Sustainable Financial Model in Higher Education for Open Educational Resources.

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.

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

Opportunities and Challenges Faced by Private Higher Education Institution Using the TPACK Model in Malaysia

Substituting open educational resources (OER) for commercially-produced textbooks results in demonstrable cost savings for students in most higher education institutions. Yet OER are still not widely used, and progress toward large-scale adoption in most colleges and universities has been slow. This article reviews the literature informing financial and other issues that affect OER adoption. It describes the outcome of an ongoing, financially self-sustaining project at Athabasca University that has produced significant cost savings for the institution, maintained equivalent student learning outcomes and persistence rates, and enhanced aspects of the student learning experience. Based on the success of the project to date, broadly-applicable recommendations are suggested to reduce organizational impediments to the adoption of OER in higher education institutions.

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Incentivizing the Production and Use of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education Institutions

Nigeria has joined the global race of teaching and learning in a changing educational environment by adopting open and distance learning (ODL). Although it is a global trend, ODL poses some challenges at local levels, one of which is the untimely production of teaching materials currently affecting instructional delivery in Nigeria. The modern approach to ameliorating this challenge is the deployment of open educational resources (OER), and this practice is enabled by information and communication technology (ICT). Hence, today’s educators need OER tools and ICT skills to address the changing nature of education. This paper assessed the needs, readiness, and willingness of ODL professionals from two dual-mode universities in Nigeria to deploy OER in teaching and learning. Data were collected using structured questionnaire items. The major findings of the study’s survey indicated that educators have not really embedded OER in teaching and learning, but they are very eager to be trained in the rudiments of OER and wish to employ them thereafter. The results indicate there is an urgent need for professional development to include training in the rudiments of OER for educators.

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A Needs Assessment of ODL Educators to Determine Their Effective Use of Open Educational Resources.

The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) is Nigeria’s only university dedicated to providing education through the use of distance instructional methods. So far, however, the lack of availability and poor distribution of course materials, which underpin instructional delivery at NOUN, continue to be hindrances to achieving the university’s vision and mission. There are delays and difficulties in developing and distributing materials to students and Study Centres. Many pioneer students cannot graduate because of this challenge. This paper examines the process of developing self-instructional course materials at NOUN. It reflects on the challenges associated with the quantity, quality, and timely production of course materials, labelled “the hills, the wills, and the skills” obstacles. The paper concludes that there is a need for better professional development in order to provide efficient ODL delivery.

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Assessment of challenges in developing self-instructional course materials at the National Open University of Nigeria

Every instructional process involves a strategic assessment system for a complete teaching – learning circle. Assessment system which is seriously challenged calls for a change in the approach. The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) assessment system at present is challenged. The large number of students and numerous courses offered by NOUN as an open and distance learning institution make assessment very cumbersome and an administrative nightmare. This paper has employed descriptive approach in studying the nature and various directions of challenges associated with NOUN assessment. These challenges are related to conduct of examination, question paper, finance, manpower, and collation of results and release of meaningful results. The study explores how technology envisaged to ameliorate these challenges can effectively be employed to restructure assessment in NOUN. Issues relevant for effective deployment of technology in restructuring like question bank, logistic operations, operational processes of technology and formal registration of students for assessment are discussed for ease of implementation. Implications for the use of technology in assessment are presented. Cogent recommendations are made for effectiveness of the system. In sum, the deployment of technology is a viable sustainable strategy open to NOUN to effectively manage the burden of assessment of students learning outcomes. 

Key words:	assessment system; challenged; technology; restructuring; question bank; students registration; sustainability.

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Charity Akuadi Okonkwo

Papers

A Needs Assessment of ODL Educators to Determine Their Effective Use of Open Educational Resources.

Assessment of challenges in developing self-instructional course materials at the National Open University of Nigeria

Rethinking and restructuring an assessment system via effective deployment of technology