Open education resources’ benefits and challenges in the academic world: a systematic review

Abstract

Purpose Open educational resources (OERs) are internet-based digital content that is used for academic purposes by instructors, students and researchers in the era of the information economy. Hence, this study aims to systematically review the literature, focusing on OERs’ benefits and challenges in the academic world. Design/methodology/approach The relevant literature systematically reviewed following the preferred reporting items for systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The pertinent literature was obtained from four main scholarly databases, and finally, 21 papers that met the inclusion criteria were included in this study. Findings The findings revealed that the key benefits of OERs include expanded access to knowledge, supporting lifelong learning, pedagogical benefits and enhancing students’ learning outcomes. However, the key challenges include lack of time to find appropriate resources, lack of awareness about the usage and copyrights, quality assurance and technological limitations and lack of organizational support. Practical implications The practical and policy implications highlight the joint venture of academia and library professionals to help the students evaluating OERs, quality assurance, copyright issues and lifelong learning. Originality/value Earlier studies missed few significant insights of OERs, such as they did not address the quality assurance of OERs; the issue of understanding of copy right (creative common license) challenges related with OERs; and lack of time for finding suitable resources. Hence, this study identified significance insights related with OERs.

Exploring the use of mobile technologies for learning: an empirical study of library and information science (LIS) students

“…However, in 2019 China topped the list of countries with the highest consumption of mobile devices and technologies, followed by the USA and India. In developing countries, even though mobile devices and technologies are available for educational purposes, m-learning appears to lag behind the developed world in its practical implementation in the educational field (Adil et al , 2022; Al-Adwan et al , 2018).…”

“…In developing countries, even though mobile devices and technologies are available for educational purposes, m-learning appears to lag behind the developed world in its practical implementation in the educational field (Adil et al, 2022;Al-Adwan et al, 2018).…”

“…Rosman (2008) investigated the impact of mobile learning on educational patterns and found that m-learning would bring changes in the educational patterns due to its efficient and convenient delivery, promote more frequent interaction with learning material and create a universality in learning by eliminating the physical classroom. Moreover, Adil et al (2022) reported that mobile learning helped learners in improving their literacy and numeracy skills quickly. It also increased their independence, teamwork, seamless learning, selfesteem and selfconfidence and supported learning for those learners who were reluctant to face-to-face learning.…”

A Bibliometric Review of Leadership Literature in Library and Information Science Profession, 1959–2022

“…Digital information sources have supplanted the libraries' monopoly on authentic information sources. However, libraries continue to support their users' learning and scholarly communications (Adil et al, 2022). The primary function of librarians is to connect information consumers with information sources, which remains unchanged (Williamson, 2008).…”

The impact of generative artificial intelligence on socioeconomic inequalities and policy making

“…The integration of generative AI in education represents a continuation of the technological evolution that began with Massive Open Online Courses and similar initiatives. Massive courses have increased access to education to some degree (Adil et al, 2024). However, they have often fallen short of their anticipated transformative impact for various reasons, including minimum learning by doing and lack of personal support (Rai & Chunrao, 2016).…”