Developing a Sustainable Financial Model in Higher Education for Open Educational Resources
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... more
Foundations for OER Strategy Development
The purpose of this document is to provide a concise analysis of where the global OER movement currently stands: what the common threads are, where the greatest opportunities and challenges lie, and how we can more effectively work together as a community. The first draft was born from a meeting of 26 OER leaders in February 2015. We then shared this document on global and regional OER lists... more
Open Content Licensing: A Three-Step Guide for Academics
This guide will enable academics to make informed and purposeful decisions about licensing their work openly. The assumption is that you own the copyright in your own work, and wish to confer permission for its use. The guide is based on the framework of open content licensing, a legitimate, internationally recognised legal practice consistent with copyright law. This guide is aimed at... more
Open Practices in Higher Education: Trends and Possibilities for Africa
This report, based on a desktop review, unpacks the possibilities of opennes in African higher education, launching the discussion with a presentation and explanation of the concepts and icons associated with various tenets of open practice. The discussion then moves on to explore the factors leading to the rise of openness, including a social inclination towards opennes, government... more
Educational Technology for Effective Teaching: A Handbook for Educators
This course on educational technology comprises of 16 units covering different aspects of educational technology as a field of study. Educational technology is a combined application of three major sciences for classroom activities. These are Physical Sciences, Social Sciences, and Managerial Sciences. more
Developing ODL Curricula and Learning Resources: Guidelines for Effective Practice
This document outlines a process for curriculum and learning resource development for effective ODL provision. It suggests three core stages of curriculum design, course design and learning resource development which are inter-related. Examples are taken from a workshop held in Patna, Bihar State, India between 04 and 15 March, 2013. more
Promoting Open and Distance Learning: A Focus on Open Educational Resources
Presentation at the Association of African Universities (AAU) Conference of Rectors, Vice-Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities (COREVIP) is an assembly of the chief executive officers of member institutions or their representatives. The theme of the 2011conference was: Strengthening the Space of Higher Education in Africa. more
Unisa OER Strategy
The University of South Africa has approved its OER strategy which demonstrates that they have realised that the vast quantities of content and teaching materials, especially openly licensed content, have significant potential to contribute to the quality of the teaching and learning experience of its students. more
A Guide to Quality in Online Learning
Existing quality assurance frameworks, guidelines, and benchmarks show that quality in online learning has many dimensions. This guide summarizes the key quality issues in online education in a concise and accessible manner. The guide is structured in the form of 16 ‘Frequently Asked Questions’, followed by an additional reading list focused on quality benchmarks and international best... more
A Guide to Quality in Post-Traditional Online Higher Education
The quality assurance of post-traditional higher education is not straightforward, because openness and flexibility are primary characteristics of these new approaches, whereas traditional approaches to quality assurance were designed for teaching and learning within more tightly structured frameworks. This guide, structured in the form of ‘Frequently Asked Questions’, grapples with this... more
Pages
