Video Lesson: Using Open Educational Resources

Watch the video lesson on open educational resources and their use in designing teaching and educational content. The lesson also introduces open educational practices and explains the difference between open educational resources and massive open online courses (MOOCs). In addition, it discusses the role of the DABAR repository in storing open educational resources and materials created through the activities of higher education institutions and their staff.

Transcript

Welcome to this video lesson dedicated to open educational resources. In this video lesson, we will learn to define open educational resources and explain their purpose in education; recognize the key advantages of open educational resources for improving the quality accessibility, and in innovativeness of teaching; analyze how to take advantage of open educational resources to more effectively design educational materials in today's dynamic educational environment. Finding quality, accessible and adaptable materials is key to successful teaching and learning. Open educational resources OER offer just that - a wealth of resources that can transform your approach to teaching and the design of educational materials. Let's explore this important concept together. According to the UNESCO definition, Open Educational Resources OER are teaching, learning and research materials, as well as other educational materials that are publicly available under an open license that allows free access to these materials, their use, adaptation, and redistribution. Therefore, OERs are not just free, but you are also permitted to adapt them to your needs and share them with others. Open educational resources carry immense potential for improving education at multiple levels. They encourage innovation Since teachers and students can build upon existing materials and create new, more relevant resources. Furthermore, they promote collaboration and the joint creation of educational content, thereby enriching the learning and teaching process. From an economic standpoint, OERs can increase the return on investment in education and reduce costs for both educational institutions and students. A turning point in the approach to openness was the 2012 UNESCO Paris Declaration, which called on governments to make nationally funded OERs publicly available. The sharing of these educational materials can significantly impact the improvement of quality and accessibility of education through national education systems, making OERs available to all participants in education. Making educational content publicly accessible contributes to improving the quality of that content and thus to the reputation recognition and competitiveness of the individuals institutions behind it. Additionally, available OER enables the improvement of educational programs and processes by allowing content to be supplemented and upgraded. Based on these opportunities, new educational programs, systems or methods can be refined and created by adopting the experiences and results of others. Massive open online courses, better known as MOOCs are often mentioned in the context of open education. Although both concepts are related to openness and education reform, it is important to understand their differences. Most MOOCs offer free course attendance, but do not permit downloading, use, or modification of the teaching materials. In contrast, true OERs are always accompanied by an open license that explicitly permits this. While MOOCs are a valuable resource, not all of them can be considered OERs in the full sense of the word. Examples of open educational resources include entire courses and subjects. Modules, units, lessons, textbooks, collections, articles, presentations, images, video and audio recordings, animations, quizzes, tests and assignments, all other learning materials. You can find or publish OERs in an institutional repository or in a specialized global OER repository, such as OER Commons or Dabar. How are usage rights defined when publishing open educational resources through the Creative Commons CC licensing system, which allows for the definition of usage rights when publishing OERs? The following CC licenses are used for OERs. Attribution license requires that the original authorship always be cited. Attribution-ShareAlike license allows modifications and commercial use with mandatory attribution and sharing of derivative works under the same or similar license. Attribution-Noncommercial allows used sharing and modifications only for non-commercial purposes with mandatory attribution. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license allows non-commercial modifications and sharing with attribution and sharing of new works under the same non-commercial license. In Croatia, the Dabar – Digital Academic Archives and Repositories repository plays an important role in storing and promoting OERs. Daer is a national system where high education institutions and their employees store digital content created from their work, including OERs. Daba is an excellent example of the synergy of openness because it is built on open source software while simultaneously contributing to the visibility and accessibility of educational materials produced in our education system. By searching Daba, you can find a wealth of quality OERs for your teaching. Explain the role of Dabar and its contribution to open education in Croatia. Dabar is the national infrastructure for digital repositories that enables institutions within the science and higher education system to store and openly publish the work of their staff and students.
Repositories can be used to publish research data, educational resources, student theses and dissertations, scientific and professional publications, as well as various other digital objects. When it comes to educational content, repositories can host lecture notes, exams, demonstrations, recordings, and a wide range of other learning materials.
Through its repository system, Dabar helps make educational resources that would otherwise remain stored on individual teachers’ computers openly accessible and more visible—not only to students, but also to other educators and the wider public.
  The advantages of OERs are many and significant, especially for students who gain easier access to materials at a reduced cost for teachers who are given space for collaboration and exchange of ideas, and for educational institutions which can develop quality content and increase their visibility. However, there are also challenges. Sometimes the quality of open content can vary and teachers may not be sufficiently informed about the benefits and methods of publishing OERs. Also, the digitization of educational materials raises questions related to secure storage and long-term accessibility. Explain the importance of digital educational content, DEC, and its openness, and tell us a little about CARNET's projects to develop DEC.
  To integrate modern teaching and learning methods, CARNET developed digital educational content as part of the e-Schools program. A total of 98 digital educational resources were developed for 22 subjects, based on the corresponding curricula, covering the range from the 5th grade of primary school to the 4th year of general secondary school. The content is openly available and published under a Creative Commons license, allowing transparent sharing and enabling teachers to adapt and modify the content if they wish. What makes these resources particularly interesting is that they are interactive, multimedia-rich, inclusive, peer-reviewed, and reliable. All of these characteristics have enabled the successful integration of digital educational content into the teaching process.
  Explain the role of the E-Learning Center and its connection to open education.
  The SRCE Learning Center, through its many years of work, has been committed to implementing e-learning within the higher education system. One of the Learning Center’s activities is the promotion of open education. Transparency, fostering competitiveness, improving quality, and sharing various resources for enhancement, adaptation, further development, and the creation of new content that can be shared with society—I believe these are goals of every academic community. The SRCE Learning Center actively supports these goals. All teaching materials, and indeed all materials produced as part of educational activities, whether manuals, courses, guidelines, or similar resources, are published in open access under a Creative Commons license. In addition, the SRCE Learning Center actively promotes and disseminates information about the importance of open education. Open education ensures accessibility for everyone, and it is closely connected to inclusiveness. I believe the future of education is strongly linked to open education, and the SRCE Learning Center strives to play an active role in that future.
  Now that we understand what OERs are and why they're important, let's look at specific ways they can be integrated into the design of your teaching and educational materials. OERs come in various formats, providing flexibility to create an engaging and effective learning environment. One, enriching lectures with video materials instead of creating all video materials yourself. You can look for existing high quality videos on platforms such as Khan Academy or YouTube, provided they have a creative common license that allows their use and embedding in your materials or learning management system, LMS. Two using interactive simulations. Open repositories often offer interactive simulations in various fields such as science or mathematics. These simulations allow students to actively explore concepts, experiment, and learn through practical experience. You can embed them in your online materials or use them as part of classroom exercises. Three, integrated open quizzes and tests. Find existing quizzes and tests with open licenses that you can use for formative summative assessment of knowledge. You can adapt these materials or use them as inspiration to create your own questions. Four, join creation of materials with students. Encourage students to find, use, and even create OER themselves as part of their projects or assignments. This approach not only develops their digital skills, but also actively involves them in the learning process. When using OER, it is important to pay attention to a few key things. Always check the type of license to ensure you have the right to use and adapt the material in the desired way. Do not hesitate to adapt OER to your specific needs and teaching context, and of course, always cite the source correctly to respect the authors and their rights. Open educational resources are a powerful tool for improving quality, accessibility, and innovation in education. By understanding their advantages, we can design teaching and educational materials more effectively. We invite you to explore the world of OER, find the resources that suit your needs, and consider contributing your own materials to the concept of openness. Thank you for your attention.