Open Educational Resources: Enhancing Education Provision and Practice

Open educational resources made their appearance in early 2002 as a promising tool for enhancing the quality of and access to education and were perceived to have the potential to reduce costs by reusing learning materials. This brief draws on a study that reviewed the uptake of OERs and related activities in six institutions in Hong Kong, China; India; Malaysia; Pakistan; and Thailand. Educators worldwide are developing a vast pool of educational resources on the internet, open and free for all to use; however, they are currently not fully leveraged to improve provision of global education. Governments and institutions should adopt an inclusive approach and register as Creative Commons affiliates to encourage educators to experiment with OERs at all levels of education systems as illustrated in the cases. The capacity of educators to effectively use OERs requires significant professional development with regards to both the use of ICT and multimedia applications and new pedagogy of effective online instructional design. Successful investment and adoption of OERs requires strong leadership and long-term commitment, as the return on investment can be low in the short term.