Sarita Kumar, Charu K Gupta and Savithri Singh

Acharya Narendra Dev College (University of Delhi) New Delhi, India

saritakumar@andc.du.ac.in

OER Adoption by University of Delhi, India: Student’s Readiness

and Acceptance

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Cape Town, March 8-10, 2017

My Journey …Key Milestones 2006 - Introduced to OER Philosophy (Wiki) Workshops & Conference

2008 - Organized First OER Workshop at our Institute

Till date - Multiple Workshops to Build Awareness 2012 – Organized International Conference on ‘Open

Paradigms in Education’ Publications

Two research papers Four conference publications on Open Education Published 15 e-chapters under CC license Two Chapters in e-books

Projects Local Coordinator in ROER4D Sub project-2 (2015-

16) Developing e-Museum for students of Biological

Sciences

National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning

National Science Digital Library (NSDL)

National Mission on Education through Information and

Communication Technology (NME-ICT)

Current Status - India

Content development efforts by Government and various Universities

A centralized University located in the Capital of India

One of the premiere Universities - comprising 82 Colleges and Departments

Approximately 3,00,000 students pursue their career

Caters to students from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds

Ventured into developing OER in 2012

University of Delhi

Content published on the Virtual Learning Environment (http://vle.du.ac.in/)

Lessons/materials developed by highly qualified and competent faculty

Contents regularly edited and reviewed, primarily by discipline-expert Fellows

Several levels of rigorous peer reviewing and academic vetting to ensure quality and standardization

Also contains multimedia repository in form of audio, video/short films to expose students to new technologies in pedagogy

Virtual Learning Environment - DU

OER

on

Uni

vers

ity

of D

elhi

Web

site

OER on University of Delhi Website

Why OER?Exemplar shift in curriculum with augmented tenure of study

Combining knowledge with interactive learning

Provides link to other websites for extended learning

Cultivate taste for opening up and sharing thoughts and ideas

Develop qualities for autonomous learning

Is it just there? … very low assess !!!Why? We need to…

Gauge the awareness of Contents existence Recognize reasons of low access of content Understand Student concerns Address issues being faced by learners

So what did we do:

Student Interviews across University

Usability and Accessibility of OER?

Students unaware of the content uploaded

Hesitant of the new technology and concept of blended learning

Limited infrastructure in undergraduate colleges of the University of Delhi

Student’s Interview….

Logical Next Step….

Need for Detailed Survey

Understanding and addressing issues &

Concerns

Awareness of Created Content

The Study….Survey

• Transition/ Transformation in Indian education system

Impact

• Student’s perception, readiness and acceptance

Usability• Challenges

involved in implementation and adoption

Policies

OER adoption by University of Delhi

Methodology…

Sent to students of different streams, region and religionData collected, compiled & analysed to

comprehend/evaluate views, issues, readiness / acceptance

Prepared in Google doc

https://docs.google.com/a/andc.du.ac.in/forms/d/1hNa7F6kvi1MWc3ds-oKSmch7Km9IJjPjWVPVIDeZCWw

Discussions in the class

Online survey through structured questionnaire

Questionnaire..

OER adoption by University of Delhi

Two sections

Section A – 11 Questions

Profile, background, willingness

Facilities at institute,

digital proficiency

Section B – 16 Questions

Awareness, extent of

use

Issues, challenges to adopt

Gender

Stream of Study

Respondents’ Profile

Infrastructure in Institutes

Student’s Perception: Preference of Faculty

Traditional Methods

Blended Learning

Student’s Perception

Motivation of teachers towards putting efforts into e-learning

Prefer Traditional mode

of teaching

Reservations for e-learning

Highly motivated to

adopt e-learning

Putting efforts

Blended learning as inclusive & Effective learning

Student’s Perception

Preferred Mode of Teaching

Digital Proficiency

Web Access by Students

Preferred Device

Refer to educational content on web

Advised by Faculty

Access of Educational Content

Majority answered Wikipedia

Lack of teacher’s mentoring & motivation

Licenses

OER

Awareness Among Students

Only 39.6% - aware about philosophy of OER

31.3% No idea 16.7% - Register

8.3% - Part access

Awareness about OER among Students

Difficulties in OER adoptionSurvey Tool Strongly

agree (%)Agree(%)

Somewhat agree (%)

Disagree(%)

Can’t Say(%)

Lack of computer literacy 1.0 11.5 6.3 74.0 7.3

Lack/Low Bandwidth of Wi-Fi facility 11.5 13.5 30.2 38.5 6.3

Poor accessibility to facilities 7.3 15.6 18.8 50.0 8.3Lack of f2f interaction with teachers 7.0 16.7 17.7 45.8 12.5

Distraction of time 11.5 20.8 21.9 36.5 9.4Lack of motivation to learn new technologies 7.3 9.4 15.6 58.3 9.4

Non-availability of technical help 7.3 12.5 20.8 51.0 8.3

Involvement of high cost 7.3 13.5 24.0 43.8 11.5Increasing competitiveness among peers 6.3 16.7 21.9 38.5 16.7

Lack of faith on technology 2.1 7.3 14.6 62.5 13.5

OER - tool for enhancing learning outcomes

Acceptance of the students towards modules developed by University of Delhi

OER – Means of learning through Joy

Acceptance of the students towards modules developed by University of Delhi

Tool Strongly agree (%)

Agree (%)

Somewhat agree (%)

Disagree (%)

Can’t Say (%)

Easy access to facilities at institution 42.7 35.4 15.6 2.1 4.2

Accessibility to facilities at home 43.8 38.5 14.6 1.0 2.1

Saves cost 43.8 39.6 10.4 2.1 4.2

Enhances autonomy and quality of learning 41.7 38.5 17.7 0.0 2.1

Increases accessibility to education 40.6 46.9 9.4 2.1 1.0

Easy to learn 37.5 40.6 16.7 3.1 2.1

Makes self-sufficient to learn 38.5 36.5 13.5 6.3 5.2

Willingness in OER adoption by Students

Students’ perception about OERs uploaded on University of Delhi Website

Feature Strongly agree (%)

Agree (%)

Somewhat agree (%)

Disagree (%)

Can’t Say (%)

Extremely useful & authentic source of information 22.9 42.7 25.0 2.1 7.3

Easy to access & download 25.0 46.9 17.7 1.0 8.3Impressively presented 19.8 53.1 17.7 2.1 7.3Lucid language, easy to comprehend 24.0 50.0 18.8 0.0 7.3Texts of high academic quality 13.5 53.1 25.0 1.0 7.3Attractive layout and good graphics 17.7 50.0 19.8 5.2 7.3Supplemented with Multimedia 16.7 49.0 22.9 4.2 7.3Adequate Assessment questions 15.6 41.7 28.1 5.2 9.4Additional information adequate 18.8 44.8 26.0 1.0 9.4

Links to other websites provided for extra information 17.7 52.1 21.9 2.1 6.3

Accessible on a variety of devices 24.0 47.9 19.8 2.1 6.3

Useful one-stop resource - includes all information

Enables to learn at a place & time of choice

Enhances knowledge & understanding

Provides useful links to other web-based learning resources

Assessments & tests posted useful way of checking understanding

Can download presentations/ notes related to lectures for better understanding

Can easily prepare assignments by copying material available online

Students Opinion: OER Learning Tool

Students’ Recommendations: Enhance OER effectiveness

Effective implementation of E-learning to achieve its objective as - qualitative & effective learning method

Awareness of students about existence of these resources for effective use

Address issues & design effective online programme for students and faculty

Adequate infrastructure with high bandwidth to make the resources accessible

Concise, crisp resources covering complete curriculum; supplemented with easy to understand text & interactive videos

Virtual lectures on all Curriculum topics with possibility of interaction with faculty

Outcome of the study… Need to recognize the importance of assessing readiness

of organizations, teachers and learners to adopt e-learning style - continued survey

Effective implementation demands more groundwork –

facilities and infrastructure

Students may not be completely prepared and need enough time to adopt new technologies – awareness programs

E-learning should be seen as supplement and not

replacement to the traditional learning methods - blending learning

Future study…Collection of more data from different

Universities and Institutes throughout India

Analysis using statistical tools

Understand the obstacles in policy implementation

Address the issues in adopting OER by organizing awareness programs for students as well as faculty

Suggestions &

Inputs