OER Adaptation and Reuse Across Cultural Contexts in Sub Saharan Africa: Lessons from TESSA (Teacher Education in Sub Saharan Africa)
Over a period of three years a number of International and African based institutionscollaborated to design and create a set of Open Educational Resources (OERs) to support school based teacher education as part of the TESSA project. Writing the materials drew on case studies, experiences and existing resources from across the region using a highly structured template. These TESSA OERs were... more
The Openness-Creativity Cycle in Education - A Perspective
The nature of openness in education has transformed from just relating to open access to encompass a wide range of interpretations. This paper explores the concept of an 'open scholar' whose practice is shaped by digital and networked technologies. It is argued that openness represents an effective working method in this environment, and that creativity plays a key role in realising this. The... more
Herzberg, Hygiene and the Motivation to Reuse: Towards a Three Factor Theory to Explain Motivation to Share and Use OER
The list of barriers and enablers identified as influencing the use of open educational resources (OER) is extensive. However, factors and influences relating to reuse have often been noted within projects operating within a short time span, or subject to other specific conditions which limit generalizability. Evidence of reuse in practice has often emerged as isolated examples or anecdotes... more
OER, Resources for Learning - Experiences from an OER Project in Sweden
This article aims to share experience from a Swedish project on the introduction and implementation of Open Educational Resources (OER) in higher education with both national and international perspectives. The project, OER - resources for learning, was part of the National Library of Sweden Open Access initiative and aimed at exploring, raising awareness of and disseminating the use of OER... more
Mainstreaming Open Educational Practice: Recommendations for Policy
Open Educational Resources, and open education more generally, is considered to have huge potential to increase participation and educational opportunities at large and to promote widening participation and lifelong learning. At the same time the past decade has shown that openness in itself is not enough to unfold these potentials. A number of elements need to be taken into account in order... more
Defining Openness: Updating the Concept of "Open" for a Connected World
The field of Social Research Methods is shared not only by the social sciences, but by many other disciplines. There is therefore enormous scope for the creation and re-use of open educational resources (OERs) in this area. However, our work with social scientists on a number of recent projects suggests that barriers exist to OER creation and use in social research methods teaching. Although... more
The Case for Openness: Access to Knowledge, Visibility, Influence, Participation and Quality
This article discusses the different roles of "openness" in education and how African universities can contribute and become more globally visible. more
Open Educational Resources: Tools to Help 21st Century Student Achieve Their Post-secondary Education Goals and Keep America Competitive
Open courseware and other open educational resources are beginning to draw the attention of higher education policymakers and other leaders. Why? Simply put, these web-based educational tools hold the promise of both reducing the cost of higher education and helping learners to complete their degrees by providing access to top quality course materials and instruction. By radically reducing... more
Cathy Casserly on a Review of the OER Ecosystem, Hewlett OER Grantees Meeting 2012
Cathy Casserly (Creative Commons) asks the critical questions: What are the core elements of OER infrastructure? What are the gaps? What are examples of supportive OER policies? What research is needed in each of the three pillars? Where are there opportunities for innovation? more
OER in Action: A Look at KNUST (full-length version) (2009)
In 2008, the College of Health Sciences at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana piloted its OER program part of the Health OER Collaboration sponsored by the Hewlett Foundation. This 23 min video explores KNUST's motivations, experience, and plans for OER within teaching and training at the College of Health Sciences. The video features several core... more
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