Removing Digital Divide: Reflecting on the Employability of Open Educational Resources

The term, Open Educational Resources (OER) was first coined at UNESCO's 2002 Forum on Open Courseware as:

"teaching, learning and research materials in any medium, digital or otherwise, that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions. Open licensing is built within the existing framework of intellectual property rights as defined by relevant international conventions and respects the authorship of the work".

In short, OER in teaching, learning, and research permits their free use. OER full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge. OER can include both digital and non-digital resources.

In this regard, the 5R activities/permissions of OER were proposed by David Wiley (taken from https://opencontent.org/definition/), which include:

1.     Retain - the right to make, own, and control copies of the content (e.g., download, duplicate, store, and manage)

2.      Reuse - the right to use the content in a wide range of ways (e.g., in a class, in a study group, on a website, in a video)

3.     Revise - the right to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself (e.g., translate the content into another language)

4.   Remix - the right to combine the original or revised content with other material to create something new (e.g., incorporate the content into a mashup)

5.    Redistribute - the right to share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others (e.g., give a copy of the content to a friend)

Users of OER are allowed to engage in any of these 5R activities, permitted by the use of an open license. Thus, due to these 5R OER has following advantages.  (The following discussion is taken from https://libraryguides.goucher.edu/c.php?g=242548&p=1612887 and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_educational_resources)

Advantages of using OERs include:

·     Expanded access to learning:  Students anywhere in the world can access OERs at any time, and they can access the material repeatedly.

·       Scalability. OERs are easy to distribute widely with little or no cost.

·   Augmentation of class materials. OERs can supplement textbooks and lectures where deficiencies in information are evident.

·    Enhancement of regular course content. For example, multimedia material such as videos can accompany text. Presenting information in multiple formats may help students to more easily learn the material being taught.

·   Quick circulation. Information may be disseminated rapidly and quick availability of material may increase the timeliness and/or relevance of the material being presented.

·        Less expense for students. The use of OERs can reduce the cost of course materials.

·    Showcasing of innovation and talent. A wide audience may learn of faculty research interests and expertise.  Potential students and donors may be impressed, and student and faculty recruitment efforts may be enhanced.

·   Ties for alumni. OERs provide an excellent way for alumni to stay connected to the institution and continue with a program of lifelong learning.

·     Continually improved resources. Unlike textbooks and other static sources of information, OERs can be improved quickly through direct editing by users.

In short, anywhere at any time access to learning is possible.  Further, the enhancement of course material – texts, images and videos can be used to support different learning styles. Furthermore, the rapid spreading of information is possible and it is cost effective as the study material is available online.

However, the restrictions in open licenses can make OER less open. Students may have difficulty accessing online resources. Further, the quality/reliability concerns need to answer in time. OER supports Anywhere, Anytime, but in India it has to support ANYONE by removing the digital divide.

The gap between those who have access to technology and those who do not may be widening. But, as it is observed in India, the use of ICT specially, the use of Mobile is amplified. Hence, the apt applicability of OER through the use of Mobile/Tabs will prove more useful in removing the digital divide in education and in overall development. In all the OER will cater the lifelong learning.

References:

https://opencontent.org/definition/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_educational_resources

https://libraryguides.goucher.edu/c.php?g=242548&p=1612887

https://en.unesco.org/themes/building-knowledge-societies/oer

https://library.educause.edu/topics/teaching-and-learning/open-educational-resources-oer