Supporting Access to Open Online Courses for Learners of Developing Countries

Nti, Kwame

doi:10.19173/irrodl.v16i4.2328

Cited by 13 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 21 publications

(17 reference statements)

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“…Given that the interwoven relationship between social structures and human agency is wellestablished as a sociological orthodoxy (Sayer, 1990), this sort of structural myopia is surprising. A number of authors argue that insufficient attention is paid to the desires, aspirations, and practices of those from the global South who are potential and/or actual participants in these online learning opportunities (Daniel et al, 2015;Garrido et al, 2016;Nti, 2015;Rhoads et al, 2013 (Liyanagunawardena, 2013;Nkuyubwatsi, 2013;Warusavitarana et al, 2014), and a study of archetypal Southern "learner personas" (Liyanagunawardena & Williams, 2015), but a focus on the structural barriers to open online learning dominates the literature, to the exclusion of explorations of Southern learners as social agents.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recent research reveals higher completion rates among participants from Southern countries (Garrido et al, 2016), although this is disputed (Kizilcec, Saltarelli, Reich, & Cohen, 2017). Reach does not always equal accessibility (Nti, 2015), and many learners in the global South still struggle to utilise the necessary ICTs via a regular, stable Internet connection.…”

Section: Moocs Oer and The Global Southmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Resources in English can help learners looking to improve their English language proficiency (Ally & Samaka, 2013). Conversely, English-only content marginalises speakers of other languages (Oates, 2009;Sapargarliyev, 2015) and Southern learners may have difficulty understanding different accents and dialects, as well as technical and academic vocabulary (Nti, 2015).…”

Section: Participant Literaciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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MOOCs and OER in the Global South: Problems and Potential

King

Pegrum

Forsey

2018

IRRODL

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This paper examines the problems and potential of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and Open Education Resources (OER) in the global South. Employing a systematic review of the research into the use of open online learning technologies in Southern contexts, we identify five interrelated themes emerging from the literature: 1) access to the Internet; 2) participant literacies; 3) online pedagogies; 4) the context of content; and 5) the flow of knowledge between North and South. The significance of Southern voice and participation is addressed in the final section, which concludes that on balance, the literature offers a qualified endorsement of the potential and actualities of MOOCs and OER in the global South. The ongoing tendency for the research literature to pay little heed to the agency of the social actors with the most to gain from these innovations is noted, opening up space for further research into the lived experience of online learners in the global South.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Moocs Oer and The Global Southmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Participant Literaciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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MOOCs and OER in the Global South: Problems and Potential

King

Pegrum

Forsey

2018

IRRODL

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“…While the majority of available OERs are in English (Larson & Murray, 2008), hindering usage by those who do not know the language (Nti, 2015), OERs may also be able to bring a solution to the same problem by making multilingual resources available (Protonotarios, 2013 (Pati & Dash, 2002). In addition, publishing resources in hundreds of existing Indian languages is an impossible task for traditional publishing houses (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2016;Sridhar, 1996), because of major differences in scripts (Sinha, 2009;Choksi, 2014;Hardie, 2007) and cultural variations of a language (MacKenzie, 2009).…”

Section: Language and Literacymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Language is an important barrier to OER access, especially in developing countries (Nti, 2015). Given that many developing nations are not only multilingual, but also multicultural and multi-faith, a single language resource cannot serve the needs of their diverse population (Larson & Murray, 2008).…”

Section: Languagementioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Open Educational Resources (OERs) in Primary Education in Developing Nations: A Case Study of India

Ganapathi¹

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This research aims to identify how open educational resources (OERs) can contribute towards primary education, and what role they might play in increasing childhood literacy in particular, which has been identified as a prime component in ensuring educational attainment in primary school. Literature in the area largely addresses OERs and their potential to widen participation in tertiary education with a focus on developed nations, with little discussion about how OERs can be utilized in primary education. This thesis is particularly interested in the role OERs might play in primary education in developing nations where a range of challenges contribute to the low levels of literacy. In nations like India and South Africa, which are the locations of the case study organizations selected for this research, decentralized rural populations, combined with high levels of poverty, child labor and low levels of literacy and awareness cause poor attendance and access to schools. This research suggests that OERs aimed at developing literacy in primary school-aged children can overcome the distribution and access issues that contribute to low attendance and engagement with education in these nations. OERs have the capacity to bypass low levels of educational infrastructure by distributing high quality resources online in low definition formats suitable for downloading and under open licenses on platforms suitable for users to repackage, translate and re-purpose according to their particular need or audience. While there are a range of sustainability challenges for organizations with a social mission to use OERs to increase the equity and access of educational materials, these organizations have found innovative solutions taken from other online successes such as gaming and social media. Making use of volunteers and users in a community of practice to ensure that content is translated, quality is maintained and there is volume on their sites has some risks but also enables the maintenance of an open repository of materials for use, re-use, adaptation and sharing. This thesis contributes to the existing literature by shedding light into understanding these challenges from the experiences and perspectives of three case study organizations that provide OERs for children.

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