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Widening access and OER: developing new practice
Abstract
Open Educational Resources (OER) are widely viewed as having the potential to open up access to educational opportunities at all levels. However, issues of access, openness and free use are complex and contested. The development of OER takes place in contexts where educational and other
resources are distributed unevenly, both between the global north and south and within nations in the developed world. This paper reviews recent literature on OER and widening access to higher education for adults which suggests that so far OER is having limited impact on educational inequality.
In the context of the tensions and challenges identified in the literature it then presents evidence from some recent developments in Scotland where OER has been developed collaboratively in widening access partnerships. The paper argues that the findings from these new initiatives support
the view that realising the promise of OER is as much through the development of innovative social practice as through development of new content. It concludes by suggesting that there is a case for extending the definition of Open Educational Practices (OEP) from a focus on design and pedagogy
into the domain of partnership and social networks.
... In fact, it can be argued that the main issues with open education are not about access to digital devices or the ability to use them, but really about far more complex social and cultural barriers to participation in any form of education (Cannell, Macintyre and Hewitt 2015). "In other words, it is the social and cultural factors that may be more important than the economic ones." ...
... This focus on widening access to OER beyond the scope of the economic and the usability divide has found its way into the concept of OEP (Open Educational Practices), which bears witness to the fact that open education is more than just the provision of OER, with the intention of "changing from a narrow view of educational practice which centres on the production of content, to a broader definition that encompasses all activities that open up access to educational opportunity" (Falconer et al. 2013, 7). This does not only call for an integration of ideological, practical and social aspects of OER, but also for a more interdisciplinary approach to limitations of openness in education (Cannell, Macintyre and Hewitt 2015). ...
... Falconer et al. (2013) provide a long list of suggestions, among them the appeal to view OER as more than content, to promote digital literacy, and to conduct research into the OER practices of learners. Cannell, Macintyre and Hewitt (2015) would like to see a shift of focus to OEP that build on partnerships and social networks in order to promote educational opportunities. Bull (2012) reports on the beneficial outcomes of targeted OER initiatives that are characterized by specifically adapted content presentation and instructional settings in order to appeal to groups who have a hard time accessing higher education. ...
... In fact, it can be argued that the main issues with open education are not about access to digital devices or the ability to use them, but really about far more complex social and cultural barriers to participation in any form of education (Cannell, Macintyre and Hewitt 2015). "In other words, it is the social and cultural factors that may be more important than the economic ones." ...
... This focus on widening access to OER beyond the scope of the economic and the usability divide has found its way into the concept of OEP (Open Educational Practices), which bears witness to the fact that open education is more than just the provision of OER, with the intention of "changing from a narrow view of educational practice which centres on the production of content, to a broader definition that encompasses all activities that open up access to educational opportunity" (Falconer et al. 2013, 7). This does not only call for an integration of ideological, practical and social aspects of OER, but also for a more interdisciplinary approach to limitations of openness in education (Cannell, Macintyre and Hewitt 2015). ...
... Falconer et al. (2013) provide a long list of suggestions, among them the appeal to view OER as more than content, to promote digital literacy, and to conduct research into the OER practices of learners. Cannell, Macintyre and Hewitt (2015) would like to see a shift of focus to OEP that build on partnerships and social networks in order to promote educational opportunities. Bull (2012) reports on the beneficial outcomes of targeted OER initiatives that are characterized by specifically adapted content presentation and instructional settings in order to appeal to groups who have a hard time accessing higher education. ...
... In fact, it can be argued that the main issues with open education are not about access to digital devices or the ability to use them, but really about far more complex social and cultural barriers to participation in any form of education (Cannell, Macintyre and Hewitt 2015). "In other words, it is the social and cultural factors that may be more important than the economic ones." ...
... This focus on widening access to OER beyond the scope of the economic and the usability divide has found its way into the concept of OEP (Open Educational Practices), which bears witness to the fact that open education is more than just the provision of OER, with the intention of "changing from a narrow view of educational practice which centres on the production of content, to a broader definition that encompasses all activities that open up access to educational opportunity" (Falconer et al. 2013, 7). This does not only call for an integration of ideological, practical and social aspects of OER, but also for a more interdisciplinary approach to limitations of openness in education (Cannell, Macintyre and Hewitt 2015). ...
... Falconer et al. (2013) provide a long list of suggestions, among them the appeal to view OER as more than content, to promote digital literacy, and to conduct research into the OER practices of learners. Cannell, Macintyre and Hewitt (2015) would like to see a shift of focus to OEP that build on partnerships and social networks in order to promote educational opportunities. Bull (2012) reports on the beneficial outcomes of targeted OER initiatives that are characterized by specifically adapted content presentation and instructional settings in order to appeal to groups who have a hard time accessing higher education. ...
Openness is an eponymous and hence essential feature of MOOCs, but the defining criteria with regard to what does and does not constitute openness are still subject of debate. Different definitions emphasize various aspects that extend beyond obvious characteristics such as open access to content and magnify issues like the licensing of resources, availability of digital technologies or devices as well as skills and competencies necessary for usage. The focus can be extended even further to include social and cultural factors as well. While MOOCs theoretically offer a higher level of openness when compared to traditional means of education, practice has shown that some groups are notoriously overrepresented. It has even been suggested that the growing body of OER may actually widen instead of bridge the gaps between different socioeconomic groups, because user statistics indicate that the typical well-educated MOOC participant already has good access to higher education, whereas those who lack formal education are also underrepresented in the use of OER.
This paper will review the insights on influences that compromise openness in MOOCs, and we will also present a case study from the Austrian MOOC platform iMooX (www.imoox.at) to illustrate the problem as well as discuss some strategies that might prove useful in alleviating the effects of social exclusion. We argue that there are several mitigating factors that warrant consideration in order to strengthen MOOC participation among educationally alienated groups and to encourage a more extensive understanding of openness.
... Critical scholars of openness in education have emphasized the importance of moving beyond content availability to building open educational practices, OEP (Cannell et al. 2015;Cronin, 2020;Lane, 2016). The focus has shifted from resources to practices and processes, emphasizing the importance of collaborative engagement between learners and teachers in knowledge creation and sharing . ...
Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP) have the potential to transform and positively impact individuals, institutions, and society. As educators, we have a unique responsibility to explore opportunities and possibilities afforded by openness enabled by current technologies to reimagine and reshape current educational reality and provide a more hopeful and equitable future for all. EdTechnica is an openly licensed living encyclopedia that provides background information on central topics and theories in the field of educational technology. As an OER, EdTechnica extends the 5Rs of openness—retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute by also attending to the 3Rs of social justice—recognition, representation, and redistribution—bringing about a responsive product that reimagines what encyclopedias should be. Additionally, the governing board enacts principles of openness in its practice, striving for OEP in all its activities. This article explores how EdTechnica promotes knowledge creation and academic discourse by attending to key principles of openness in terms of ensuring accessibility, flexibility, justice, and sustainable generosity. Specific examples of OER/P in the EdTechnica context offer an insight into our practices and ambitions to improve the current educational landscape, illustrating what is possible at the intersection of justice, hope, and educational technology when we strive for openness and are guided by the values of sustainable generosity and sustainable improvement.
... Some faculty made references to the free access, availability, and quality of OER as part of the major motivational factors for their interest in motivating students to use OER. These responses are not surprising because OER are generally perceived as the gateway to access open pedagogical opportunities at all levels (Cannell et al., 2015). As indicated in the findings of Adedoyin and Altinay (2023), zero price accessibility and availability which addressed free access and availability (i.e. ...
... Some well-known contemporary open education researchers including those from global Open Universities approach their work from a widening participation or social inclusion perspective and explicitly use those terms to discuss lifting the life-chances of disadvantaged learners through education (Lane, 2008(Lane, , 2012(Lane, , 2013Bossu et al., 2012;Bozkurt, Ozdamar Keskin & De Waard;Cannell, 2017;Cannell, Macintyre, & Hewitt, 2015;Lane & Van Dorp, 2011;Tait, 2008). ...
In recent years, hopes that Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) would make access to education fairer faded in the light of research showing MOOCs favoured the already educated and relatively advantaged. This paper presents the results of a systematic review of literature from 2014 to 2018. The aim was to investigate the extent that MOOCs and other free open education programs provide equitable forms of online education to address global widening participation agendas. The literature fell into two main groups: empirical reports on outcomes for students, and those providing policy or practitioner guidance. A globally diverse set of 46 studies and reports were examined, including 24 empirical evaluations of programs reaching over 440,000 disadvantaged learners in both distance and blended learning settings. Most literature claimed an interest in advancing student equity (enrolled or tertiary preparation learners) and/or social inclusion (community learners) with low-skills, low confidence, and/or low levels of previous education. In contrast to the existing literature, this study found that there was a flourishing of multi-lingual and Languages other than English (LOTE) programs and those addressing regional socio-economic disadvantage. Most cases involved MOOCs and free online resources combined with additional forms of support, including face-to-face study groups. Contrary to the existing debate in the open education literature, the review also found that the legal status of the learning materials (copyright or openly licenced) was of little consequence so long as it was free to the end user. What seemed to matter most was the intentional and collaborative design for disadvantaged cohorts, including the provision of digital or face-to-face personal support. Successful design collaborations often featured learner-centred, non-technical partnerships with community groups which increased the understanding of the needs of particular marginalised learners, while also providing more sustainable and distributed learner support. The review concludes that MOOCs which aim to widen participation in education are an alternative global practice that exists alongside more commercial MOOC offerings. Recommendations are provided for addressing gaps in offerings, and improving design and research.
... Innovative forms of social partnership may support OER to reach wider audiences (Cannell, Macintyre, & Hewitt, 2015), and various partnerships have also been devised to widen participation in HE. For example, Hatt et al. (2008) describe partnerships between schools, colleges and HEIs in an initiative to raise confidence and aspirations. ...
Open online courses could provide stepping stones for audiences that are under-represented in higher education (HE). However, there are concerns that these instead proliferate forms of exclusion and do not address known difficulties for widening participation. We explore how organisations that represent the perspectives of particular underserved audiences for HE can act as 'Learner Representative Partners' to support the creation of appropriate courses and to highlight practices that exclude. Six course development processes where a university worked with different partners are analysed using interviews, documentation of resource use, and data on learner behaviour. The analysis utilises previously identified challenges to widening participation and collaborative course creation. Getting partners to directly engage in authoring the course was particularly beneficial but all partners prompted critical thought and greater understanding of the intended audiences. We suggest principles to support such partnerships effectively. These include adapting to a variable capacity of partners to contribute, to encourage reuse or creation of resources by partners, and to facilitate partners to feel confident in expressing their views.
... While the initial promotion of OER largely centred on ensuring broader access to educational materials faced by those in economically deprived circumstances (Daniel, Kanwar & Uvalić-Trumbić, 2006), scholars have begun to be more critical about the cultural impact that OER -much of it produced in the Global North -might have on users, especially those in the Global South (Cannell, Macintyre & Hewitt, 2015;Willems & Bossu, 2012). The question is: Might the proliferation of OER from culturally privileged regions lead to even greater inequalities in the global cultural sphere, as students and educators in low-resource environments become inundated with (and/or reliant upon) "free" OER from more highly resourced contexts? ...
At the heart of the open educational resources (OER) movement is the intention to provide affordable access to culturally relevant education to all. This imperative could be described as a desire to provide education in a manner consistent with social justice which, according to Fraser (2005), is understood as "parity of participation". Drawing on her concept of social justice, we suggest a slight modification of Fraser's framework for critically analysing ways in which the adoption and impact of OER and their undergirding open educational practices (OEP) might be considered socially just. We then provide illustrative examples from the cross-regional Research on Open Educational Resources for Development (ROER4D) project (2014-2017) to show how this framework can assist in determining in what ways, if at all, the adoption of OER and enactment of OEP have responded to economic inequalities, cultural inequities and political exclusions in education. Furthermore, we employ Fraser's (2005) concepts to identify whether these social changes are either "affirmative" (i.e., ameliorative) or "transformative" in their economic, cultural and political effects in the Global South education context.
... Given the potential advantages of Web resources for teacher professional development, teacher education institutes are urged to turn their attention to integrating OER into their curriculum (Cannell, Macintyre, & Hewitt, 2015;Sapire & Reed, 2011). Despite the growing recognition of potential advantages of OER, however, little is known about how to integrate OER into pre-service teacher training. ...
p class="3">The demand for qualified teachers with sufficient pedagogical knowledge and skills is high. However, existing teacher education programs do not provide adequate experiences through which to develop pre-service teachers’ professional foundations. This study recognized Open Educational Resources (OER) as a means by which to address the issue of enhancing teacher education. The purpose of this study was to propose a framework to be used to integrate OER into lesson design activities for pre-service teachers. In this study, a focused literature review investigated the frameworks of distributed cognition and example-based learning. This review process resulted in a unified framework that provides a description of how pre-service teachers learn with OER at both the individual and cognitive system levels. Four principles and 10 guidelines are provided to guide the implementation of OER-based lesson design activities in real settings. The new framework has the potential to enhance pre-service teachers’ Web resource-based professional development.</p
... Vielmehr ist der Großteil der NutzerInnen von MOOCs bereits überdurchschnittlich gut gebildet (vgl. Cannell, Macintyre & Hewitt 2015), und manche Prognosen attestieren MOOCs eine eher ambivalente Rolle, die neben mehr Bildung für alle auch zu einer Vertiefung der Kluft zwischen Menschen auf hohem und niedrigem Bildungsniveau führt: "the technological divide may be narrower but it is deeper -those not connected or not using these new technologies are being left behind at an alarming rate." (Conole 2012, 131). ...
... The development of OERs is growing in popularity as more faculty and administrators realize the collective power they can attain by sharing resources in higher education (Cannell et al., 2015; Clements et al., 2015; Johnson et al., 2015; Porcelle and Hsi, 2013). But the process of developing these resources can be time consuming and often requires the use of additional assets. ...
This insightful collection of essays explores the ways in which open education can democratise access to education for all. It is a rich resource that offers both research and case studies to relate the application of open technologies and approaches in education settings around the world.
Global in perspective, this book argues strongly for the value of open education in both the developed and developing worlds. Through a mixture of theoretical and practical approaches, it demonstrates that open education promotes ideals of inclusion, diversity, and social justice to achieve the vision of education as a fundamental human right.
A must-read for practitioners, policy-makers, scholars and students in the field of education.
... ning worldwide". Undoubtedly, OERs like any modern technology play an important role "as a catalyst for bridging the digital divide, leveling the educational playing field between developing and developed countries" (Olcott, 2012), although their main function would be widening access to education in all educational levels. However, as the authors (Cannell, et. al., 2015) say "so far OERs are having limited impact on educational inequality". ...
The use of Open Educational Resources (OERs) in higher education is becoming increasingly urgent. Therefore it is essential to find out students' views on the opportunities and challenges gained by applying OERs. In the current research there were 127 students involved from different faculties of the University of Latvia. In order to find out their views on the OERs an explorative qualitative research was carried out using online structured e-interviews. The obtained data were processed with qualitative data processing software AQUAD 6.0. The code system was created by the author of the article based on the latest insights on OERs. The model of generalisation was applied. For probing the generalisability of the findings the qualitative data were transformed into quantitative and hidden relations were revealed as Spearman rank correlation by the use of SPSS 11.0. Constructed linkages were checked. The results show that the majority of students do not have a clear understanding of Open Educational Resources, although they are essentially using OERs in the study process. They have different views depending on the level of study. Thus an opportunity could be effective usage of different types of OERs as a challenge for students to develop their computer literacy, foreign language and information literacy skills to become more informal learners, bridging formal education with complementary resources and making learning more self-organised and self-directed, focused on active learning.
... The current global trends of sharing and retrieving Open Educational Resources (OER) provides a strategic opportunity to improve the quality of education as well as facilitate policy dialogue, knowledge sharing, and capacity building (Downes, 2007;Bonk, 2009;Hilton, Wiley, Stein, & Johnson, 2010;Hilton & Wiley, 2011;Hart, Chetty, & Archer, 2015). However, despite the many advantages inherent in OER (Downes, 2007), the level of OER adoption into common teaching practices remains quite low (De Liddo, 2010;Murphy, 2013) due to a variety of barriers and challenges (Cannell, Macintyre, & Hewitt, 2015;Bernstein, 2014;Pirkkalainen & Pawlowski, 2013). Furthermore, some have argued that OER are still mainly created in the developed World (Butcher & Hoosen, 2012). ...
Learning object repositories are a shared, open and public space; however, the possibility and ability of personal expression in an open, global, public space is crucial. The aim of this study is to explore personal spaces in a big learning object repository as a facilitator for adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER) into teaching practices and to gain more insight into different types of OER user behaviors by analyzing the users' behaviors in the Bookmark Collection of MERLOT (a personal space, formerly known as Personal Collection), along with other community activities in that repository: writing comments and peer reviews, as well as sharing learning materials, learning exercises, and contents that were built with the content builder. In addition, using a data mining methodology, most active Bookmark Collection contributors (N=507) were classified into clusters of users with the same patterns of activity. Three clusters resulted, which gave insights into different types of contributor behavior. Furthermore, it was found that personal spaces are applicable for a variety of uses with diverse goals. Members create personal spaces for their own use, while allowing others to view and copy; or for other users. Personal space encourages the reuse of learning materials and enables the construction of unique learning processes that suit the learner's needs. They may offer the possibility of personalizing public repositories and promoting the reuse of OER.
This study examines the influence of mentorship on the desire to pursue higher education among Hmong ethnic minority students aged 12-15 in Lao Cai Province, Vietnam. Utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior as a theoretical framework, the research investigates how cross-ethnic mentorship between Kinh majority mentors and Hmong minority mentees affects students' educational aspirations, using the Phieu Linh Educational Summer Camp as a case study. The study employed a quantitative approach, collecting survey data from 75 Hmong students participating in the summer camp. Five key aspects of mentorship were analyzed: quality, educational accessibility, clear educational outcomes, self-awareness, and cultural identity support, in relation to the components of the Theory of Planned Behavior. Results indicate that all mentorship aspects positively correlate with students' educational desires, with mentorship quality emerging as the strongest factor. Family support and household income were also found to significantly influence educational aspirations. The study reveals that culturally responsive mentorship can play a crucial role in shaping attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control related to pursuing higher education among ethnic minority youth. This research contributes to the understanding of effective strategies for promoting educational equity in Vietnam's multicultural context. It offers insights for designing targeted interventions and policies to support the educational aspirations of ethnic minority students, potentially contributing to narrowing educational gaps among ethnic groups in Vietnam.
This insightful collection of essays explores the ways in which open education can democratise access to education for all. It is a rich resource that offers both research and case studies to relate the application of open technologies and approaches in education settings around the world.
Global in perspective, this book argues strongly for the value of open education in both the developed and developing worlds. Through a mixture of theoretical and practical approaches, it demonstrates that open education promotes ideals of inclusion, diversity, and social justice to achieve the vision of education as a fundamental human right.
A must-read for practitioners, policy-makers, scholars and students in the field of education.
This insightful collection of essays explores the ways in which open education can democratise access to education for all. It is a rich resource that offers both research and case studies to relate the application of open technologies and approaches in education settings around the world.
Global in perspective, this book argues strongly for the value of open education in both the developed and developing worlds. Through a mixture of theoretical and practical approaches, it demonstrates that open education promotes ideals of inclusion, diversity, and social justice to achieve the vision of education as a fundamental human right.
A must-read for practitioners, policy-makers, scholars and students in the field of education.
This insightful collection of essays explores the ways in which open education can democratise access to education for all. It is a rich resource that offers both research and case studies to relate the application of open technologies and approaches in education settings around the world.
Global in perspective, this book argues strongly for the value of open education in both the developed and developing worlds. Through a mixture of theoretical and practical approaches, it demonstrates that open education promotes ideals of inclusion, diversity, and social justice to achieve the vision of education as a fundamental human right.
A must-read for practitioners, policy-makers, scholars and students in the field of education.
This insightful collection of essays explores the ways in which open education can democratise access to education for all. It is a rich resource that offers both research and case studies to relate the application of open technologies and approaches in education settings around the world.
Global in perspective, this book argues strongly for the value of open education in both the developed and developing worlds. Through a mixture of theoretical and practical approaches, it demonstrates that open education promotes ideals of inclusion, diversity, and social justice to achieve the vision of education as a fundamental human right.
A must-read for practitioners, policy-makers, scholars and students in the field of education.
This insightful collection of essays explores the ways in which open education can democratise access to education for all. It is a rich resource that offers both research and case studies to relate the application of open technologies and approaches in education settings around the world.
Global in perspective, this book argues strongly for the value of open education in both the developed and developing worlds. Through a mixture of theoretical and practical approaches, it demonstrates that open education promotes ideals of inclusion, diversity, and social justice to achieve the vision of education as a fundamental human right.
A must-read for practitioners, policy-makers, scholars and students in the field of education.
This insightful collection of essays explores the ways in which open education can democratise access to education for all. It is a rich resource that offers both research and case studies to relate the application of open technologies and approaches in education settings around the world.
Global in perspective, this book argues strongly for the value of open education in both the developed and developing worlds. Through a mixture of theoretical and practical approaches, it demonstrates that open education promotes ideals of inclusion, diversity, and social justice to achieve the vision of education as a fundamental human right.
A must-read for practitioners, policy-makers, scholars and students in the field of education.
There is increasing discussion and academic debate about changing and improving learning and teaching praxis as widespread and increased digitization continues to impact life of individuals and society, both locally and globally. Widening the access to higher education is high on the global agenda not just in the field of education but also from the perspective of employment opportunities, entrepreneurship and innovation in the labor market. An open education for all learners is key to maximize the impact of education on society and to ensure its success and sustainability. Opening up education requires a change in attitudes and mindset that emphasizes flexible growth instead of fixed traditions. Enhancing quality in open education requires a system-based approach in which contingency provides for the integration of digitization and technology in both management and leadership. An open education pedagogical approach, or a more self-directed approach is likewise essential to foster openness in both praxis and culture.This chapter analyses the role of open educational practice and culture by discussing the opportunities and dilemmas encountered in this rapidly evolving age of technology-enabled learning, as well as the key issues that must be addressed in opening up education.
© E. Ossiannilsson, Z. Altinay, and F. Altinay, CC BY 4.0
hp://dx.doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0103.08
As students are asked to complete multimodal assignments in their higher education courses, librarians can guide students to the use of open educational resources (OER), as many librarians are already teaching students about copyright and how to respect intellectual property rights. Two instructional librarians designed a one-shot lesson for first-year composition students around the use of open resources, where the goal of instruction was for students to be empowered with their creative rights and to use the open resources available to them as creators.
This insightful collection of essays explores the ways in which open education can democratise access to education for all. It is a rich resource that offers both research and case studies to relate the application of open technologies and approaches in education settings around the world.
Global in perspective, this book argues strongly for the value of open education in both the developed and developing worlds. Through a mixture of theoretical and practical approaches, it demonstrates that open education promotes ideals of inclusion, diversity, and social justice to achieve the vision of education as a fundamental human right.
A must-read for practitioners, policy-makers, scholars and students in the field of education.
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