Developing an Open Educational Resource and exploring OER-enabled pedagogy in higher education

Abstract

There is a growing trend in higher education to explore the various benefits of Open Educational Resources. This applies not only to the cost benefits, but also to potential pedagogical benefits as well. This study explores the process of developing and implementing an Open Educational Resource for an undergraduate course and experimenting with OER-enabled pedagogy. Interview data provide an account of this process, outlining challenges and highlighting insights, which might prove useful for other professionals contemplating the move toward developing Open Educational Resources. Interview data are also organized using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology constructs pertaining to attitude, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, technology self-efficacy, and facilitating conditions. A qualitative interpretive approach was then used to analyze the data. Analysis indicates that most of the constructs can strongly influence faculty to adopt Open Educational Resources but that “social influence” has no effect on adoption. Findings also include reflections on OER-enabled pedagogy as it was applied in the course. These findings indicate that OER-enabled pedagogy has the potential for increasing student engagement, though this potential has not yet been realized. Finally, findings provide an outline of recommendations that might guide others when considering developing and implementing Open Educational Resources.