Pedagogical quality enrichment in OER based courseware: Guiding principles

This is a critical phase for Open Educational Resources (OER) movement: on one side the number of OER is increasing rapidly, and on other side debates about quality of OER-based courseware are heating up. These debates emanate from the fact that OER-based courseware are supposed to help users to follow a logical learning path and get an engaging, interactive, and enjoyable learning experience. There are two aspects of quality assurance in OER-based courseware: content and pedagogy. The content aspect primarily rests with subject experts, and pedagogical quality of courseware mainly lies in the hands of developers. Present trends reveal that mainly enthusiasts, working with some support from the institution management are designing and developing OER-based courseware. There seems a possibility that these enthusiasts are developing courseware without undergoing any specific courseware development training, and in the absence of proper knowledge and training about pedagogy, one can not be sure that the produced courseware will be of superior quality. In this backdrop, present paper discusses and details about a number of guiding principles for enrichment of pedagogical quality in OER-based courseware.

[1]  J. M. Pawlowski,et al.  User-oriented quality for OER: understanding teachers' views on re-use, quality, and trust , 2012, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[2]  Mohammad Issack Santally,et al.  OERs in Context--Case Study of Innovation and Sustainability of Educational Practices at the University of Mauritius. , 2011 .

[3]  G. Geser.  Prácticas y recursos de educación abierta: la hoja de ruta OLCOS 2012 , 2007 .

[4]  S. Downes.  Models for Sustainable Open Educational Resources , 2007 .

[5]  David Richard Moore,et al.  E-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven Guidelines for Consumers and Designers of Multimedia Learning , 2006 .

[6]  Jan M. Pawlowski,et al.  The Quality Adaptation Model: Adaptation and Adoption of the Quality Standard ISO/IEC 19796-1 for Learning, Education, and Training , 2007, J. Educ. Technol. Soc..

[7]  Ansary Ahmed,et al.  Instructional Design Principles in the Development of an E-Learning Graduate Course , 2005 .

[8]  Michael Kompf.  Planning and Developing Open and Distance Learning: A Quality Assurance Approach, Reginald F. Melton , 2004, Education and Information Technologies.

[9]  Judith V. Boettcher.  Ten Core Principles for Designing Effective Learning Environments: Insights from Brain Research and Pedagogical Theory. , 2007 .

[10]  Gerald White.  ICT Trends in Education , 2008 .

[11]  I. Mázár.  Open Educational Practices and Resources – OLCOS Roadmap 2012 (Edited by Guntram Geser) , 2007 .

[12]  Daniel E. Atkins and John Seely Brown and Allen L. Hammond,et al.  A Review of the Open Educational Resources (OER) Movement: Achievements, Challenges, and New Opportunities , 2007 .

[13]  S. Johnstone.  Open Educational Resources Serve the World , 2005 .

[14]  美帆 深川.  Open Course Wareを用いた聴解指導 , 2008 .

[15]  R. Mayer,et al.  Aids to computer-based multimedia learning , 2002 .

[16]  M. David Merrill,et al.  First principles of instruction , 2012 .

[17]  Riina Vuorikari,et al.  An Overview of Learning Object Repositories , 2009, Database Technologies: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications.

[18]  R. Mayer,et al.  Nine Ways to Reduce Cognitive Load in Multimedia Learning , 2003 .

[19]  Pamela Taylor Northrup,et al.  Learning Objects for Instruction: Design and Evaluation , 2007 .

[20]  Reginald F. Melton.  Planning and Developing Open and Distance Learning : A Quality Assurance Approach. Radiological Studies in Distance Education. , 2002 .

[21]  E. Eisner.  Report to the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation , 1978 .

[22]  Michael W Allen,et al.  Michael Allen's Guide to E-Learning , 2003 .

[23]  Susan D'Antoni,et al.  Open educational resources : conversations in cyberspace , 2009 .

[24]  Peter Baumgartner,et al.  Open Educational Practices and Resources : OLCOS Roadmap 2012 , 2007 .