Book Chapters

In the last decade, a number of OER initiatives in African higher education have sought to address challenges related to the access, supply and contextualisation of educational materials. However, limited information is available on the effectiveness of such initiatives. To gain deeper insight into this, OER Africa conducted research between September 2019 and February 2022. The project analysed the effectiveness of eleven key African OER initiatives in higher education and their influence on developing and supporting effective OER practices. The research team used a mixed-methods approach which included a short survey, desktop research and in-depth online interviews with initiative representatives to develop eleven case studies (one for each initiative). They also developed an analytical summary report which drew key findings across the case studies together. Three significant themes emerged from the research, which are explored in this chapter. First, the research highlighted the impact that OER localisation had on improving the number of contextually relevant educational materials. Second, it identified successes and challenges of OER advocacy. Third, it contributed insights about sustainability efforts for the initiatives, including funding, inter-institutional support, and champions to advocate for OER. This chapter explores these themes using the case studies and the accompanying report findings.

Governments across the world are increasing the openness and transparency of their services, a move also taking place in the education sector in some countries, signifying commitment to openness and ensuring that adequate attention and funding is paid to open educational resources (OER). This chapter assesses the extent to which policies are being developed and/or modified to support effective use of open educational resources. However, despite the growth of OER at many institutions, surprisingly few have developed and implemented formal OER policies. Those with policies have most commonly established them in a context of having implemented OER projects, thereafter recognising the need for policy to inform initiatives or to institutionalise OER formally. Others have developed OER policies as they began exploring the use of OER. Evidence suggests the vital role of leadership support and champions in encouraging and driving OER policies.

Several institutions have developed practices or procedures that support OER and which contribute towards institutionalising OER, even though there may not be a formal policy. A review of available policies reveals that they do not typically cover all aspects related to OER creation and adaptation, with most institutions focusing primarily on managing intellectual property rights and releasing materials using a Creative Commons license. In some instances, policy has been created, but with little evidence of consistency between policy and practice, highlighting that policy fulfils a limited function and that issues such as sustainability and faculty buy-in and involvement are of equal importance. This chapter concludes with recommendations to accelerate the development and adoption of open licensing frameworks for governments, institutions and faculty.

This chapter focuses on online teaching but is relevant for all modes of instruction. Topics covered include microlearning and microcontent, text content, video content, and locating OER, along with five references. It is a valuable resource for academics to learn about ‘chunking’ content into manageable amounts, developing and presenting text, using, and hosting video content, and effectively presenting content in their courses.

Ideas for CPD Interventions
Useful for CPD where the focus is on selecting content for use in a course.

The resource champions using a teaching methodology with ‘hands-on activities’ to encourage higher order thinking skills to supplement lectures.

Ideas for CPD Interventions
This Pressbooks chapter is useful when compiling CPD that attempts to encourage lecturers to embrace varied teaching methodologies over and above the lecture. The strategy is to incorporate into a series of lectures opportunities for students to engage with the content in an active fashion. This method could be offered as part of a suggested list of things to try out in class shared among the academic staff, followed by an opportunity to discuss the effectiveness of these hands-on activities.

A good introduction to understand what role technology must play in supporting the common modes of delivery: asynchronous, synchronous, in person with facilitator, remote learning, blended, and hybrid. Once the modes of delivery are understood then the selection of technology is easier.

Ideas for CPD Interventions
The CPD intervention might be to develop a tool, and criteria, to determine if student or staff access to technology is sufficient to support a specific mode at an institution.

This is a book chapter with practical examples of how to curate digital resources. It would lead librarians into understanding the difference between collecting and curating digital resources.

The ebook provides background knowledge on institutional repositories – the content, access points and relevant stakeholders for the successful operations of IRs. 

Digital content refers to any type of material that exists in digital format, whether the material is born-digital or converted using scanning and digitization. Digital content has increased in recent years because of modern and innovative technologies, such as social media, enterprise applications, digital publishing, smart cities applications, Internet of Things (IoT) applications, and mobiles devices, such as smartphones with enhanced digital capture capabilities. The shift toward open access makes it easier and more affordable for libraries to provide access to curated digital collections. The role and nature of the librarian and information professional's job are also changing. Some existing jobs are being reinvented or expanded, and many new jobs are being created.

This resource provides historical and contextual information as well as trends and tools for management of digital content. 

The resource lists risks that data may face, and how policies, procedures, and standards can be put in place for effective management and use of data. 

In May 2011, Pro Vice Chancellor Peter Donkor published this article in the Digital Learning Resources online journal.

The term “open access” refers to resources (often scholarly journal articles) that are freely and publicly accessible to anyone worldwide. Depending the particular terms of use of a given open access journal, the journal may also allow people to copy, modify, or distribute the content of the articles under one of the Creative Commons licenses.

Research (from University of California at Berkeley, University of Toronto, Research Libraries UK, and others) has demonstrated that publishing in open access journals brings increased visibility, usage, and impact to the work of academics, researchers, and students. Open access publishing is compatible with copyright law and with scholarly traditions of peer review, and indexing of articles and citations as indicators of impact and prestige. For example, if an individual uses ideas or words from an open access article, he or she must include the article as a source. Likewise, if using excerpts or direct quotes from an open access article, he or she must designate them with quotation marks and attribution to the original author. There is even an Open Access Search Project in order to detect plagiarism.

This paper investigated the accessibility of Open Educational Resources at The Open University of Tanzania. Specifically, the study looked at staff and students’ level of awareness on the types of OER available at OUT Library, access and use trends of OER by academic staff and students, challenges faced in accessing OER and possible solutions. The study involved one hundred and twenty (120) students and eighty (80) academic staff who were randomly selected. Primary data for this study was collected through self-administered questionnaires. Secondary data was collected through document review. Key findings revealed that staff and students are aware of the OER available at OUT and that the major use of the information found in OER is for self-learning. The major constraint in the use OER was library users’ dependency on librarian assistance in accessing the resources. In addition, other problems encountered by library users when accessing OER were low internet connectivity, unreliable power supply and inadequate number of computers. In view of the fast changing information and ICT environment the study recommends that OUT students and staff should be trained in computer and information literacy skills. Besides, awareness on OER should be created and the ICT bandwidth should be increased to improve access to OER available at The Open University of Tanzania.

Learning challenges within the knowledge society cannot be limited to thetechnological dimension. Leaming and education are embedded in economic, political and cultural contexts. Pedagogies reflect this social  condition.

Consequently we need to situate the pedagogical practices on a wider debate regarding their place in the global system of knowledge production. Some questions are relevant in assessing these practices: What is the sense oflearning in the knowledge society? How this technological paradigm modifies our conception ofleaming and education? How pedagogies are related to technology and the global system of knowledge production? What principles are associated with these proposals? Through a case study of two learning environments, Wikipedia and Google, we compare the two models and the values, principles and competences associated to each of them.

Draws on the experiences of the Vice Chancellor?s Open Educational Resources Adaptation project in the University of Cape Town, which explored whether postgraduate students, with their blend of developing subject knowledge, greater time resources, and experience of teaching artefacts from both a learner?s and educator?s perspective, may be a valuable resource for lecturers or institutions eager to engage in OER but lacking the requisite support structures.

The study applied the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model to elicit instructors? intention to adopt and use OER in teaching. The paper also investigated challenges that hinder instructors to adopt and use OER.

Results indicated that OUT staff were willing to engage with OER but had limited awareness, skills and competencies in the creation, integration and use of OER. The outcome of the study was the development of nine draft OER resolutions expressing needs that include the development of a comprehensive institutional OER policy related to existing institutional policies in order to guide, support and promote research and sustainable OER practice via holistic participation.

Two school-based cases are discussed that highlight the role teachers, who take up these pedagogical challenges play in further brokering change in their local institutions; some of the influences that support the process of institutional change are identified and how these are understood and reported to increase access and enhance learning for all pupils.

Examines OER adoption in African higher education institutions