Faculty of Education - Theses

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Author: Grech, John Charles × End date: 2019 × Start date: 2010 × Type: Masters Research thesis × Subject: education ×

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    Identifying the factors that support or restrict the use of open education resources by higher education academic staff at a vocational education institute
    Grech, John Charles ( 2015)
    This thesis investigates the factors that facilitate the use of Open Education Resources (OER) by higher education staff at a public Tertiary and Further Education Institute (TAFE). By using a case study methodology, academic staff were interviewed regarding their use or non-use of OER, their perceptions of OER, as well as what they regarded as the challenges and enablers in using these resources. This study provides an Australian perspective to research already undertaken in this area, as well as an insight into the contemporaneous use of OER with emerging teaching pedagogies such as Web 2 technologies. For the purpose of this research, OER are defined as resources that are freely available for use, reuse, modification, and sharing in educational contexts, with intellectual property requirements ranging from public domain through to creative commons licensing arrangements. The research found that OER provides a number of benefits, including facilitating the use of extensive and cost effective education resources, supporting learners through Web 2 technologies and allowing academic staff to engage with professional bodies and the broader community. Conversely, a number of issues were also identified that inhibit the use of OER. These include difficulty in sourcing appropriate teaching resources, awareness of copyright and intellectual property legislation, access to technology, cultural and language barriers along with a perception that OER are not academically rigorous. The implications for institutions arising from this research therefore include the requirement to develop an OER culture within the institute; capitalise on existing knowledge; explore the use of web 2 technology and pedagogy; and finally, staff professional development. This research has also found that there are a number of benefits for institutes in utilising OER including: academic delivery cost reductions, marketing and commercialisation opportunities, developing enhanced learner experiences, and being able to leverage off existing blended learning pedagogies.