Conceptual framework for parametrically measuring the desirability of open educational resources using D-index

Abstract

<p>Open educational resources (OER) are a global phenomenon that is fast gaining credibility in many academic circles as a possible solution for bridging the knowledge divide. With increased funding and advocacy from governmental and nongovernmental organisations paired with generous philanthropy, many OER repositories, which host a vast array of resources, have mushroomed over the years. As the inkling towards an open approach to education grows, many academics are contributing to these OER repositories, making them expand exponentially in volume. However, despite the volume of available OER, the uptake of the use and reuse of OER still remains slow. One of the major limitations inhibiting the wider adoption of OER is the inability of current search mechanisms to effectively locate OER that are most suitable for use and reuse within a given scenario. This is mainly due to the lack of a parametric measure that could be used by search technologies to autonomously identify desirable resources. As a possible solution to this limitation, this concept paper introduces a parametric measure of desirability of OER named the D-index, which can aid search mechanisms in better identifying resources suitable for use and reuse.</p>

The Impact of Open Textbooks on Secondary Science Learning Outcomes

“…Although this study did not ask teachers to evaluate materials, the authors indicated that many teachers surveyed would be willing to serve on review boards for materials. Abeywardena, Raviraja, and Tham (2012) problematized peer review of OER, however, arguing that peer review is infeasible when resources are proliferated as quickly as OER and can be legally revised or remixed by any user. Clements and Pawlowski (2012) examined quality from the perspective of teachers, highlighting what issues teachers found key for quality OER without providing a way to compare resources or even measure the quality of resources.…”

Recursos Educativos Abiertos en la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Austral de Chile, proyecto AUS1410

“…A su vez, este equipo ha contado con la colaboración de expertos en Educación a Distancia y REA de la Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (www.ufjf.br), de Brasil. La evaluación continua de los REA constituye un aspecto esencial del proyecto AUS1040, pues contribuye para su enriquecimiento y mejoría continua (TEMOA, 2011), lo que redunda, consecuentemente, en la credibilidad del movimiento (Wiley, 2007;Abeywardena et al, 2012;Achieve, 2011). La construcción de una herramienta de evaluación que sea eficaz requiere de rúbricas que permitan establecer niveles de calidad de software.…”

OERScout technology framework: A novel approach to open educational resources search

“…Out of these, the ones which have become global players are mainly commercial ventures or global federations backed by philanthropic funding. One reason underpinning the relatively low success rate of these initiatives can be attributed to the current lack of a search methodology which takes into consideration the level of openness, the level of access, and the relevance of a resource for one's needs (Abeywardena, Raviraja, & Tham, 2012). Though one might argue that popular search engines provide advanced facilities to define various filter criteria which would refine the searches, these search engines however are not tailored to effectively locate OER material which are the most useful for a particular academic purpose.…”

“…The contribution of our work is two-fold: Firstly, we propose a technology framework for locating OER, which are useful for academic needs. In this regard, the advantage of OERScout over existing OER search methodologies is the incorporation of the desirability framework (Abeywardena, Raviraja, & Tham, 2012) in parametrically measuring the usefulness of an OER with respect to openness, accessibility, and relevance. Secondly, we introduce a novel methodology which allows academics to effectively zero in on OER which can be readily used for their teaching and learning purposes .…”

“…The desirability of OER (Abeywardena, Raviraja, & Tham, 2012) is a parametric measure of the usefulness of an OER for a particular academic need based on (i) level of openness, the permission to use and reuse the resource; (ii) level of access, the technical keys required to unlock the resource; and (iii) relevance, the level of match between the resource and the needs of the user. The desirability is calculated using Equation 2 and is denoted as the D-index, which is a value between 0 and 1.…”