Quality Assurance of Open Education Resources (OER)- An Introduction

1. Quality Assurance of
OER
Ashish Kumar Awadhiya
Assistant Director- Training & Development
Inter University Consortium (IUC)
Indira G&hi National Open University (IGNOU)
New Delhi - 110068
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Part of this presentation was Presented as Discussant during
National Consultation Meeting on OER,
Organized by UNESCO, CEMCA and JNU on 1–2 December 2015,

2. OER
 any teaching, learning & research material
available on public domain
 characterized & distinct by the Open
License
 allows the community to use/ reuse/ adopt/
& repurpose
 democratization of education by providing
equity & access to quality educational
opportunities
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3. The 2012 Paris Declaration
A Framework for Action
 stated that OER promote
 lifelong learning
 social inclusion,
 gender equity
 education for special needs,
 & improve cost efficiency & the quality
of teaching & learning.
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4. Recommendations on OER:
1. Promote the awareness & use
2. Improve media & information literacy
3. Develop institutional policies
4. Educate stakeholders on open licenses & copyright
5. Promote QA & peer review
6. Develop strategic partnerships to avoid duplication
7. Encourage & support research
8. Develop tools to facilitate access
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The 2012 Paris Declaration
A Framework for Action

5. The 2015 Incheon Declaration
‘Education 2030’:
 Towards
 Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education and
 Lifelong Learning for All
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6. The 2015 Incheon Declaration
‘Education 2030’:
 ensure equal access for all women and men to
 affordable and Quality
 technical, vocational and tertiary education
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7. Quality…why Now
OER… Term first used by UNESCO in 2002
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8. Phase of OER
 Phase I: focused on availability & access to
the OER.
 Phase II: using OER to improve learning
experiences.
OER is currently in an intermediate phase.
‘opening up access &
availability’
‘improving learning
quality’ ’
Phase I Phase II
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9. Phase II:
Open Education Practices (OEP)
 go beyond access and seek ways to use
OERs for transforming learning.
 focus on improving quality through
external validation.
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10. Barriers to Use OER
 lack of institutional support
 lack of technological tools for sharing &
adapting resources
 lack of skills & time of users
 lack of Quality or Fitness of OER
 lack of trust & time.
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11. Quality of OER
 In terms of
 Efficacy, Impact, Availability, Accuracy
& Excellence of the OER.
 Key dimension for quality of OER is
thus Fitness for Purpose.
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12. Fitness for Purpose
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Academically Fit
Culturally Fit
Administratively Fit
Technically Fit

13. Achieve-OER
1. Degree of Alignment to Standards,
2. Quality of Explanation of the Subject
3. Quality of content to Support Teaching,
4. Quality of Assessment,
5. Quality of Technological Interactivity,
6. Quality of Instructions and Exercises,
7. Opportunities for Deeper Learning, and
8. Assurance of Accessibility
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Achieve (2011)

14. Determining OER Quality
1. Accuracy,
2. Reputation of Author / Institution,
3. Standard of Technical Production,
4. Accessibility, and
5. Fitness of Purpose.
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McGill (2012)

15. Indicators of Quality Assurance
Atenas & Havemann 2013
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16. TIPS Framework by CEMCA
 Quality indicators of OER based on
learning domains
◦ Cognitive
◦ Affective
◦ Meta-cognitive
◦ Environment &
◦ Management Domain.
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17. TIPS Framework by CEMCA
 T: Teaching & Learning Processes
 I: Information & Material Content
 P: Presentation, Product & Format &
 S: System Technical & Technology
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18. Teaching & learning processes
 Provide Study guide on how to use OER,
navigational aids,
 learner-centered, authentic pedagogy
 reason & purpose , relevance & importance of the
OER
 aligned to local wants & needs, current & future
needs of the student
 gender-free & user-friendly, conversational & simple
language
 Add tasks, activities, SAQs
 Links to before & afterwards OER
 Monitor progress, add feedback & offer learning
support
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19. Information & material content
 Up-to-date, accurate & reliable, relevant &
appropriate to purpose
 support equality & equity, promoting social
harmony, & socially inclusive, law abiding &
non-discriminatory
 authentic, internally consistent & localized
 Encourage student input to create localized
content
 compact in size, with added links to other
relevant resources
 Include a date of production, & date of next
revision
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20. Presentation product & format
 Be sure the open license is clearly visible
 easy to access & engage
 clear, concise, & pleasing attractive
design
 Provision for feedback from students
 Printable, off-line, mobile compatible
 Use open formats for maximum reuse &
remix
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21. System technical & technology
 add metadata tags about the content to find
your OER,
 add metadata tags about duration, level of
difficulty, format, & size of the OER
 use freeware source/ software, compatible
across platforms
 OER is easily adaptable, portable &
transmissible
 Your OER & the student’s work should be
easily transmitted to the student’s own e-
portfolio
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22. Stakeholders of OER
 International/ national bodies
 QA bodies
 Technology providers
 Institutions
 Teachers & learners
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23. Quality of Quality Assurance Tools
 Transparency of procedures used to
assess quality,
 Independence of bodies assessing
quality,
 Reproducibility of QA procedures,
 Auditability of QA processes,
 Comprehensiveness of quality audits.
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24. Implementation Framework
 Apply research into quality of OER and OEP
 Institutions should be encouraged to adopt
these guidelines
 Capacity building of the teachers
 Do It Yourself (DIY) modules on technical
aspects of OERs
 DIY modules on Mobile-OERs (M-OERs)
 Promote use of freeware
 Learners should be encouraged to publish their
re-purposed OERs
 Repository of OERs meeting these st&ards
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25. The Future…. Continuous improvement
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCA#/media/File:PDCA_Cycle.svg
Phase I:
Access &
availability
Phase II:
Improve Quality
Phase III:
?? + Quality
Phase n
??? + Quality

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27. References
 Calimmeri, A., Ehlers, U. D., & Pawlowski, J. (2014). State of the Art Review of Quality Issues related to
Open Educational Resources (OER) (No. JRC88304). Institute for Prospective & Technological Studies,
Joint Research Centre.
 Kawachi, P. (2014). Quality Assurance Guidelines for Open Educational Resources: TIPS Framework.
 Achieve (2011). Achieve-OER-Evaluation. Washington, DC: Achieve Inc. Retrieved January 5, 2013, from
http://www.achieve.org/oer-rubrics
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCA#/media/File:PDCA_Cycle.svg
 European Commission, JRC, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, State of the Art Review of
Quality Issues related OER, 2014
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28. Thank You..
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