Welcome to the OER Workshop

This web site is designed to support a self-directed, activity-based approach to understanding how open education resources (OER) can be used to support teaching and learning in open and distance learning contexts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Use the Sidebar at the right side of the page to choose the module you wish to use.

You can use these materials in sequence from Module 1 to Module 5, or in any order you choose.

 

The Materials

The assembly and presentation of workshop materials were sponsored by the International Development Research Centre of Canada (IDRC - CRDI) and were produced by Wawasan Open University (Malaysia). The materials were first used at a training workshop at Hanoi Open University in June 2010, and then again at training workshop in Penang, Malaysia in May 2011. This web site provides access to a revised and updated version of the workshop materials.

 

Each module contains both information and activities. The idea is for you to learn about OER concepts by exploring the information, web links and media resources within the modules, and then for you to collect and manage OER resources that make the most sense for you in your personal or institutional context.

 

We used Creative Commons to help us prepare these workshop materials

 

The resources on this web site are either new materials or repurposed (remixed) materials licensed using a Creative Commons license.   You should explore the Creative Commons web site to find out more about how its licenses make educational materials freely accessible for use, reuse, remixing and redistribution.

 

Creative Commons licenses provide a mechanism that allows educators to freely share and reuse digital educational materials for teaching and learning.

 

Read about Creative Commons and Education. 

 

 

Foreword by Maria Ng, IDRC

The International Development Research Centre of Canada [(IDRC) is pleased to be associated with the training modules on open education resources (OER) that are being presented, through our sponsorship of its development. Our interest in OER stems from our interest in the inherent value of freely available knowledge resources to the world’s poor and marginalised populations and our long association with the Open Source movement. Many of the developing countries, where IDRC is active, are challenged to find financially affordable and pedagogically acceptable solutions in providing educational services, in the face of increasing demand for post-secondary education and increasing cost. A foremost concern is to maintain the quality of teachers and the content and instruction they deliver. It is possible to address educational quality and reach by increasing the availability and use of OER and associated open source software. By supporting OER research and development, our aim is to enhance the quality of openness that networked technologies enable; protect the rights of citizens and consumers to knowledge; catalyze the inclusion of marginalized communities in emerging networked societies; and deepen the field of information networks and development.

 

In preparation for the roll-out of its 2011-2016 programming, the “Information and Networks” Team at IDRC made early investments in 2009 into an Asia-wide study to gather information on the state-of-practice of OERs in adult education; assess OER costs and benefits; and produce recommendations to motivate OER practice through a series of case studies. In the process, we became aware that those who stand to gain the most from OER reuse in the developing world face considerable barriers, owing to a general lack of knowledge about the concept of OER and a paucity of technological infrastructure and institutional policies. Thus, our project stakeholders formed a materials development team to design, develop and trial the delivery of a modular training course on Open Educational Resources aimed at teachers and policymakers in the developing world. The course delivery was trialed in Hanoi and Ulaanbaatar during 2010 and more recently in Penang, Malaysia in May of 2011. A few of the modules in this suite were also trialed in British Columbia to test out their portability. Following the various trials, the training content has been further reviewed and edited by the OER experts who designed these materials. 

 

I am happy to see this product being released through OERAsia.com and WikiEducator under a Creative Commons (CC) license in the spirit of the openness philosophy that underlies IDRC-supported research. We hope through continuous engagement with the community these modules will be regularly updated as new knowledge about the practice accumulates. For its part, IDRC through its new Program Prospectus for 2011-2016 will continue to focus and build a critical southern perspective of the networked society that is transforming developing countries, and the extent to which marginalized groups are able to productively take part in emerging networked societies.

 

I wish to place IDRC’s thanks to the developers of these modules: Dr. G. Dhanarajan, David Porter, and Dr. V. Balaji and as well to Dr. Wayne Mackintosh who peer reviewed the materials for us.

 

Maria Ng Lee Hoon

Senior Program Specialist 

Information and Networks , Science and Innovation Program Area

International Development Research Centre

 

Message from Workshop Developers

Since 2004 the International Development Research Centre of Canada has been engaged in studying the growth and contribution by distance education methods in Asia through its Singapore offices under a project called PANdora[1] [ www.pandora-asia.org ]. About a dozen Asian countries were involved in this “meta-project,” the findings of which were published in two books in 2010[2, 3]. Among the many findings of these ‘meta projects’ were the options available in Asia to benefit from open education resources [OER] that started populating the digital universe. While some countries in the region were exploiting these opportunities many of the low income ones were inhibited from doing so because of their general lack of knowledge regarding OER and skills to utilise the technologies.  Members of the PANdora network felt one way to address this shortfall is to develop an OER toolkit that would be freely available to all those wishing to know more about OER and the skills to use these resources.

 

The result is the toolkit presented in 5 five discrete modules created and distributed in a digital format under a Creative Commons (CC) license. As authors we consciously went about using OER for the 25 or so topics that make up the five modules thereby walking the talk and demonstrating what is possible and doable even with limited resources. We expect the modules to be used in one of these three ways:

 

1. As self-learning modules downloaded from the web by individuals
2. As an instructor’s resources in a face- to- face environment in groups
3. In a guided on-line environment through mentoring by a tutor

 

These modules are being made available at two sites. The first is the newly created web page OERASIA.org hosted by the WAWASAN Open University of Penang, Malaysia [ www.wou.edu.my ] and the other at WikiEducator.org. The latter would allow for revisions as our knowledge grows on the topics covered.

 

The developers are pleased to have this opportunity to share our approach to OER training with the global education communit. We are also grateful to PANdora for the invitation to make this contribution and to IDRC for a modest grant to support the project. Finally, we were also delighted to have Dr. Wayne Mackintosh of the OER Foundation [http://wikieducator.org/OERF] who reviewed and contributed enormously to the task.

 

We hope in a modest way this contribution will enhance all of our efforts to share knowledge for the betterment of our common humanity.

 

G. Dhanarajan, Institute of Research and Innovation, Wawsan Open University, Malaysia

D. Porter, BCcampus, Vancouver, BC, Canada

V. Balaji, Commonwealth of Learning, Vancouver, BC, Canada

 

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References

[1] Pan Asia Networking  Distance Open Resources Access

[2] Baggaley, J. & Belawati, T. [2010]: Distance education technologies in Asia. VUP, IDRC & Sage

[3] Belawati, T. & Baggaley, J. [2010]: Policy and Practice in Asian Distance Education. VUP, IDRC & Sage

 

Wordle diagram produced at http://www.wordle.net