Measuring use and creation of open educational resources in higher education

Authors

  • Ross Charles McKerlich Okanagan College
  • Cindy Ives Athabasca University
  • Rory McGreal Athabasca University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v14i4.1573

Keywords:

open educational resources, OER, open textbooks, open learning

Abstract

The open educational resources initiative has been underway for over a decade now and higher education institutions are slowly adopting open educational resources (OER). The use and creation of OER are important aspects of adoption and both are needed for the benefits of OER to be fully realized. Based on the results of a survey developed to measure the readiness of faculty and staff to adopt OER, this paper focuses on the measurement of OER use and creation, and identifies factors to increase both. The survey was administered in September 2012 to faculty and staff of Athabasca University, Canada’s open university. The results offer a snapshot of OER use and creation at one university. The survey tool could provide a mechanism to compare and contrast OER adoption with other higher education institutions. Forty-three percent of those in the sample are using OER and 31% are creating OER. This ratio of use to creation is introduced as a possible metric to measure adoption.

Author Biographies

Ross Charles McKerlich, Okanagan College

Education Technology Coordinator, faculty member and researcher in emerging education technology.

Cindy Ives, Athabasca University

Acting Associate VP Academic (Learning Resources) and   Director, Centre for Learning Design & Development

Rory McGreal, Athabasca University

UNESCO/ COL Chair holder, Open Educational Resources and Director, TEKRI

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Published

2013-09-30

How to Cite

McKerlich, R. C., Ives, C., & McGreal, R. (2013). Measuring use and creation of open educational resources in higher education. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 14(4). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v14i4.1573

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 4 (2013)

Section

Research Articles

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