Special Report on the Role of Open Educational Resources in Supporting the Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education Challenges and Opportunities

Open Educational Resources (OER) and their offspring, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), are becoming important factors in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education (SDG4). This was recognised early on by UNESCO in 2004 when they first coined the term “Open Educational Resources” and in 2012 with the OER Paris Declaration. UNESCO is continuing its support of OER with the 2nd OER Summit in September 2017. There is recognition that OER and MOOCs, while not being the solution to the world's educational crises, will play an important, if not essential, role. The OER movement is less than 15 years old and is growing rapidly as more and more nations and institutions adopt the view that publicly-funded research and educational content belongs to the people and should therefore be open and accessible to them. Canada can play an important role in supporting SDG4 by increasing its support for OER and open education in general, both in Canada and abroad.

education through open curriculum development. And, most importantly, OER are digital; the world economy is digital and students must learn how to work (and play) in digital environments.
Because OER can be reproduced at virtually no cost, they can be effectively used to reach vast numbers of learners, while supporting quality enhancements. As well, since they can be reused, revised, remixed, redistributed, and retained, OER can be adapted to different learning environments (Wiley, 2014). It was UNESCO that first used the term open educational resources, defining them as "teaching, learning or research materials that are in the public domain or released with an intellectual property license that allows for free use, adaptation, and distribution" (UNESCO, 2002, par. 2). The UNESCO Paris Declaration of 2012 followed, supporting OER for development and recommending that educational materials developed with public funds be made available under open licenses (UNESCO, 2012).
Additionally, because OER are open, they can be translated into different languages and localised to meet the needs of different countries, regions, institutions, and learners (Butcher, Kanwar, & Uvalic-Trubic, 2015).
OER, as content, are free of cost to learners and teachers. However, there are other costs that must be taken into account, including the salaries and time of the OER creators/adapters/assemblers. These costs can be significantly reduced by sharing OER with other institutions. For example, an institution, rather than creating its own course material, can choose to make use of OER that have been created by others, thus saving the cost of content creation; however, there still may be costs for searching/finding, assembling, and adapting the content. In addition, an appropriate technological infrastructure needs to be in place with access to adequate bandwidth and wifi, as well as trained support staff. (Please note that these costs are the same when using commercial content.) Furthermore, the cost of commercial textbooks is becoming a greater problem as the prices are all too often increasing beyond the ability of students to pay for them. As a result, there has been rapid growth in the number of learners internationally, who cannot afford the high cost of textbooks. The advantage of OER is that they are cost-free and can be adapted freely. The ability to adapt and modify content is an important advantage, especially when targeting specific populations such as those with disabilities or special needs.

Indigenous Knowledge
OER can also be used to preserve and distribute Indigenous knowledge, which is being supported now in many countries. OER can be used to support the "participatory principle" that is common in many Indigenous communities, as well as preserving and distributing Indigenous knowledge that has traditionally been open. Indigenous knowledge is seen as belonging to the community as a whole and like OER, it can be continually enhanced and expressed in many forms such as in stories, dance, songs, and through the wisdom of elders. Sharing is conducted through personal interactions among the community/kinship or religious groups (Bertini, 2010).

Maskwacis First Nation Cultural College
As a Canadian example, in Alberta, the Chair has worked with this college to introduce them to OER. They received funding from the Ministry of Advanced Education for the development of Indigenous content

Indo-Educa
This is a community-based OER project building a repository for Indigenous content in both Portuguese and different Indigenous languages. The organisers believed that OER was a concept "fundamentally in sync" with the Indigenous way of knowing. The aim was also to preserve traditional knowledge, while linking Indigenous communities with the wider society. Indigenous university students were enlisted to prepare relevant and appropriate OER for use in schools. The OER preserve and open access to more than 200 traditional stories, rituals, beliefs, and other cultural artefacts (Rossini & Castro, 2016).

AgShare II
This is a collaborative project in OER of three universities: Haramaya (Ethiopia), Makerere (Uganda), and Mekelle (Ethiopia). Its aim was to investigate the forms of Agricultural Indigenous Knowledge used by different groups of farmers for managing soil fertility and preparation, pest control, and diseases, weed control, planting, harvesting and storage of Indigenous root crops and animals (AgShare II, 2015,). This research project sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has determined good strategies for documenting and disseminating Indigenous knowledge as OER, which is contributing to both sustainable food security efforts and educational for all.
Considered very important by many are the affordances available with OER that support innovation in teaching and learning. The training of faculty in the use of educational technology is a major task. Faculty must not only master the technology, but also be skilled in its pedagogical uses to improve learning outcomes. OER, because of the flexibility and openness, can enable the best teaching practices and increase student achievement levels both for knowledge and skills. The open licences used by OER, unlike commercial content, allow users to localise content to meet the special conditions of learners, teachers, institutions, and nations. For example, OER can be designed to meet the accreditation requirements of schools and agencies, or they can be translated to local languages or adapted to respect the exigencies of a particular culture. They can also be used to support active learning by students. OER can be manipulated and altered to support this and other constructivist approaches to learning; students can work with instructors in creating more effective learning environments (Butcher & Hoosen, 2012).
OER can be used to create alternate or complementary pathways to education. It is estimated that there will be a need for more than 80 million places for additional students internationally by 2025 (Daniel, 2012). OER can be used to create additional places using access to credentials as, for example, the case of the OERu, which is a consortium of plus 30 institutions on five continents, creating OER pathways to degrees from credible public universities (Mackintosh, McGreal, & Taylor, 2011). Canada is unique in the world in that it is the only country whose national government has no authority in education; in Canada, education is exclusively a provincial responsibility. In large and complex countries with diverse educational institutions, especially in a Confederation such as Canada, where each province has total autonomy in education, it is difficult to be aware of the many varied practices and policies that are emerging. While other countries can develop national policies, it is only possible in Canada to develop trans-Canadian provincial partnerships in education, but these partnerships operate without national government involvement.

OER: Opportunities and Challenges
Perhaps the most important opportunity for OER is in the global free exchange of knowledge. OER render this knowledge not only accessible but also reusable by learners and teachers in a variety of formats; anyone can access information on the Web, but if it is restrictively licensed, it cannot be downloaded or reused, whereas OER does allow this. In addition (as previously noted), OER are very much "in sync" with the "participatory principle" noted in diverse Indigenous communities and so can provide Indigenous organisations with an opportunity to support the distribution and preservation of their cultures and Indigenous knowledge (Bertini, 2010). OER have also made possible a move towards South-South exchanges, whereas previously knowledge flowed uni-directionally from the North to the South. For example, lusophone learners in Brazil are accessing Portuguese language OER created by the African Virtual University (Diallo, 2011).
Any implementation of OER becomes an opportunity that presents challenges. OER can save time and money, but as has been noted above, the implementation does not come without costs both one-time and recurring. One-time costs include those of searching, transferring, adapting, assembling, etc., while the recurring costs are for the infrastructure and updating. Note, that there are similar costs when implementing commercial content. Many teachers and learners still do not understand the difference between freely accessible content on the internet and OER, believing that all web resources are OER (Chen & Panda, 2013).
However, most available OER are in English. This can be seen as both an opportunity and a challenge as the English language is widespread as a first or second language in most countries, counting hundreds of millions of speakers, but it is still not understood by the vast majority of the world's people. Another major challenge for OER advocates is to overcome what has been seen as a unilingual and one-directional flow of knowledge and resources from the global North to the South (Glennie, Harley, Burcher, & van Wyk, 2012), often referred to as "cultural imperialism," based on an unequal distribution of power.
A most serious challenge for the global South, and in underserved remote regions in the global North is the lack of infrastructure. This includes not only available devices but also access to high bandwidth either by wire or wireless. Nevertheless, more than 90% of the world's population is within range of effective wireless signals, which raises opportunities for learning using mobile device (M-learning). The demand for a mobile learning can be used to convince governments of the importance of providing an adequate, The increasing volume of OER that are becoming available represents an opportunity for teachers and learners everywhere. On the other hand, this increasing volume has created a serious challenge in the effort that is often required to find and evaluate relevant OER (Chen & Panda). However, this is becoming less of a barrier in the first year of higher education, as more robust and capable search engines and OER repositories are becoming available for searching out content in the major subject areas. In less popular subjects and in the upper levels of university, finding relevant OER still remains problematic.
OER can also be used to raise the quality of education, not only of the teaching content but also of the teaching itself by supporting the transformation of the educator's learning environment. Nevertheless, quality issues have been raised regarding the use of OER. Criticisms include not just subject matter quality, but quality in relation to the local environment, culture, and pedagogy. However, unlike commercial content that must remain static and untouched, OER can be localised and customised to the specific environment and to different approaches to learning. They can also be formatted for delivery in a variety of ways including print form, when needed. In India, the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) has recognized that OER can be used to address the poor quality of teachers, poor infrastructure, poor libraries, and poor educational resources. They recommend that OER can be very effective in reducing these problems and improving the quality of education while increasing accessibility (Dutta, 2016) There are an increasing number of OER and MOOC initiatives being implemented internationally. To date, most projects have been in North America and Europe; however, important exceptions include Siyavula and the African Virtual University (AVU) in South Africa, the Indian NKC OER initiative, and several universities in Asia. There is research on several of these initiatives, their impact on the demand for OER, and on their reuse. Lessons can be learned from these and also from research on activities in the more developed countries (Das, 2011;Dhanarajan & Porter 2013;Dutta, 2016).

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)
There are huge educational benefits becoming available through MOOCs. These are not limited to significant cost savings, which can be substantial, because they can also provide worldwide access to highquality learning content with at least vicarious interactions with experienced instructors. This combined with anytime, anywhere learning, make MOOCs, combined with OER, a valuable and significant factor in meeting the United Nations and UNESCO's educational goal. While providing access to learning for large numbers of learners, MOOCs have become instrumental in the transformation by institutions to more technologically enhanced learning, improving the quality of both online and blended learning. On the other hand, MOOCs have been criticised for the quality of their pedagogy, relying on traditional video lecture formats; their low completion rates; and a failure to deliver on inclusive and equitable quality education (Darco, Rosewell, & Kear, 2016) MOOCs represent a major opportunity for meeting the Quality Education goal. However, they also present serious challenges. MOOCs cannot be seen as a solution for all (like classroom-based teaching, Special Report on the Role of Open Educational Resources in Supporting the Sustainable Development Goal 4 McGreal 300 which is not for all and has its own challenges). MOOCs are being used by many institutions solely as a marketing tool. Moreover, to date, MOOCs are mostly being accessed by those with higher levels of education rather than the masses of learners who lack access to traditional education (Rohs & Ganz, 2015). It is argued that MOOCs are simply extending the digital divide by expanding inequalities of opportunity. In addition, other barriers can be insurmountable for many learners. These include information overload, lack of local language support, and access to well-trained teaching professionals.
Educators must find new strategies for addressing the needs of these non-traditional learners.
Nevertheless, MOOCs can be used to improve educational quality while massifying the educational market. Haber (2014) cautions that just because they are not a cure-all does not mean that MOOCs are not important in promoting quality education -despite their limitations.
The future of MOOCs will depend on approaches taken to accreditation. Students not only want to learn but also want their learning recognized officially. The OERu is attempting to remedy this with their OER courses and testing by the participating universities (for a fee) for students who want a credential. Several MOOCs now offer certificates while others offer badges. Automated testing and prior learning assessment will play a key role in supporting credentialing as MOOCs become more popular.
MOOCs have the potential to open up education to many more students at substantially lower costs.
Scholarships can be awarded to students who monitor other students in MOOCs. The world economy is digital and students can learn to help each other online and become proficient digital citizens. MOOCs are capable of being used to reach large numbers of teachers anywhere at any time and are in fact benefiting from this now. For example, The Commonwealth of Learning and Athabasca University are delivering Technology Enabled Learning training via a MOOC to large numbers of learners, many of whom are in the least developed countries or on small island states.

UNESCO/COL Chair in OER and Awareness Training
The full potential of OER and their MOOC offspring can be realised with executive commitments and the approval of strong open education policies, along with the implementation of appropriate technologies (Miao, Mishra, & McGreal, 2016). These measures should be combined with training for knowledge about OER and the skills to effectively use them. These include expanding awareness of OER and MOOCs; the integration of OER into institutional administrative frameworks; and developing and applying sustainable OER business models, including faculty incentives (Cox & Trotter, 2016).
The role of the UNESCO/COL/ICDE Chair in OER is to continue lobbying for OER initiatives and policies among the relevant constituencies (School Boards, Higher Educational Institutions, Ministries of Education and Advance Education, faculty, students, etc.) in Canada and internationally, particularly in the global South, in order to expand participation and extend access. The Chair must lead by example by collaborating on OER projects with other Canadian and international educators and researchers, as well as those in his home institution. He has a role also in advising administrators and government officials in how best to implement OER initiatives, including quality assurance and issues of privacy and ethics 301 (Ferguson, Scanlon, & Harris, 2016, p.21). The creation of templates, standards, and guidelines for OER implementations and use are also important activities that are being undertaken.
Success builds on success. The Chair in OER has been instrumental in supporting BC's initial leap into OER; was heavily involved with students in the lobbying of the Alberta government to support OER, resulting in a $2 million grant; and was named co-Chair of the Alberta OER initiative. His efforts have had some (if limited) influence in Ontario where he has advised Ministry and eCampus Ontario officials on OER. Internationally, universities in Malaysia, Pakistan, India, the Philippines, South Africa, Uruguay, Bahrain, and other countries, have all benefitted from OER consultations with the Chair, resulting in many responding with significant OER initiatives. The role of the Chair, then is to support OER implementations wherever possible.

OER: Advancing Sustainable Development Goal 4? Ensure Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education and Promote Lifelong Learning Opportunities for All
As I have represented above, OER can be a significant aid in ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and can promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. OER, by their very nature as freely available and usable learning resources, can be considered important, if not essential, for supporting the expressed goals in all areas of education. From pre-kindergarten to lifelong learning, including technical and vocational training, OER can have significant impact.
Governments can better support free K12 education financially because the OER are available at no cost.
They can be taken "as is" or modified and they can be made available to all. This includes all levels from early childhood to secondary school. Affordable education for vocational and technical education as well as university is also made more affordable with OER. MOOCs with their ability to serve large numbers of users can be used to increase the number of youth and adults with relevant skills. Gender disparities can be diminished when both men and women have equal access to the free content. People with disabilities will benefit, because the OER can be adapted and reformatted to meet their individual needs. And, OER fit very well with the community-sharing culture of many Indigenous communities.
One of the biggest boosts to literacy is the open availability of OER. They not only assist in promoting literacy education, they actually can serve as an incentive. With the world's knowledge freely available and re-usable, this provides a reason for people to become literate and numerate, not to mention technology literate.
OER can be used to help ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity, and of culture's contribution to sustainable development. OER can be child, disability, and gender sensitive, and provide safe, nonviolent, inclusive,