On Distance Learning, Open Educational Resources, and the Role of University Libraries in These Processes

Abstract

Objective. The article is aimed to improve the understanding of university communities (teachers, students, librarians) concerning the development of distance learning, open educational resources, and the new role of university libraries in these processes. Methods. The main data on the development of distance learning, OER, and increasing the role of university libraries in these processes were obtained due to the analysis of professional publications in periodicals and on the university websites of around the world, the application of methods of method of participant and non-participant observation, a description of the authors’ own experience (the director of the scientific library, the associate professor of IT disciplines and the heads of the scientific library departments) who work at the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technology (Dnipro, Ukraine). Results. It has been established that the implementation of distance learning systems, the use and availability of open (preferably free) information sources on open access platforms or open educational resources (OER), exchange of scientific research in the digital scientific space, etc. – these components are closely interconnected and used among teachers, scientists, students. Distance education requires inclusion in the processes of both teachers – authors of open educational resources, and employees of certain services providing information and IT support for both teachers and the resources created by them. Such structures are university libraries, which were among the first to support the philosophy of openness and to join the processes of supporting open access, open science, and open education based on intellectual information systems and technologies. The experience of the scientific library of USUST is considered – a structure that enables online access to text and non-text OER as a necessary element while ensuring limited personal interaction between a teacher and a student. Conclusions. Today, during the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the foundations are being actively laid to make the provision of educational services at universities, in particular distance education, dynamic and multidimensional. It is necessary to integrate electronic library resources with distance learning platforms to ensure unhindered access for students and teachers.

The Specifics of the Elective “School of Leadership” Using Repositories of Online Resources

“…It is also important to use all available resources to effectively organize and conduct this elective. One of these resources is online library resources that provide access to a large amount of diverse information that can be used to successfully organize the School of Leadership elective and develop students' leadership competencies (Kolesnykova, 2023;Kolesnykova, Gorbova, & Shcherbatiuk, 2022).…”

The third mission of the university in the context of war and post-war recovery

“…One of the essential elements of such changes must be the introduction of critical thinking skills (Rudolph et al, 2022) and the basics of cyber literacy and cyber security (Terepyshchyi & Kostenko) at all stages of learning and teaching. Kudlińska and Mospan (2022) and Kolesnykova et al (2022aKolesnykova et al ( , 2022b) investigated the features of distance learning and its popularity among students and the European practice of creating and using Open Educational Resources (OER). They indicated the need for further development of modern and high-quality analogues in Ukraine, specifically in the state language.…”

Representative Virtual Material Collections about University Scientists: The Experience of the Uzhhorod National University Library

“…The role, meaning and justification of the advantages of Facebook are studied on the example of the American public and scientific and university libraries (Aharony, 2012), the accents of advantages and disadvantages of Facebook in the work of university libraries (Margaix-Arnal, 2008); the issue of creating and distributing the virtual book exhibitions through virtual notification (Argasiński & Woynarowski, 2019). The methods of expanded user access to online services and content creation based on the functioning of the dominant social media of the scientific libraries in Ukraine, as a positive consequence of the remote work of librarians, a study of the Ukrainian library specialists (Petrushka, Kozhushana, & Manach, 2022); innovative transformation of the library work and drawing attention to the changes in the educational and research ecosystems of the institutions during the period of uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (Kolesnykova, Gorbova, & Shcherbatiuk, 2022).…”