Open educational resources for research training: quality assurance through a collaborative evaluation

Abstract

Although it is considered that open educational resources offer vast pedagogical opportunities for any educational context, there have been only few studies so far that have linked their use or application in the field of research training, and even less works that have addressed their quality assurance for that context. As part of an inter-institutional project, the main aim of this article is the collaborative selection and evaluation of appropriate educational resources for research training. The mixed method approach of the article includes needs' analysis of researchers in training through questionnaires and interviews. This was the starting point for the collaborative evaluation of educational resources using the agreed common criteria derived from the Learning Object Review Instrument (LORI) evaluation instrument. This article suggests recommendations regarding the collaborative evaluation of educational resources and the use of LORI, and suggestions for creators of educational resources for research training to facilitate the quality assurance of their materials. A website is being developed to bind together the resources that have met the quality criteria established in collaborative evaluation.

Trends and Gaps in Empirical Research on Open Educational Resources (OER): A Systematic Mapping of the Literature from 2015 to 2019

“…One strand of the studies addresses the evaluation of open materials based on various criteria such as relevance, aesthetics, comprehensibility, and content quality (e.g., Cuttler, 2019). A second strand addresses the process of quality assurance in the (partly collaborative) creation and evaluation of open educational resources (e.g., Marín et al, 2019), while a third strand focuses on the analysis criteria for evaluating OER (e.g., Yuan & Recker, 2015).…”

Offen gemacht: Der Stand der internationalen evidenzbasierten Forschung zu Open Educational Resources (OER)

“…Marín et al. 2019 ), während ein dritter Strang die Analysekriterien zur Bewertung von OER selbst fokussiert (vgl. Yuan und Recker 2015 ).…”

Evaluation of a learning analytics tool for supporting teachers in the creation and evaluation of accessible and quality open educational resources

“…Creating OERs that address students’ diverse learning needs is a challenge for teachers who should consider characteristics such as web accessibility (to avoid barriers to content access), and quality (to make learning contents more appropriate for the learning context in which they are intended). On the one hand, quality is one of the most discussed features of OERs (Marín et al , 2019) and it is recognized to contribute to a better retrieving and sharing of OERs (Almendro & Silveira, 2018). Moreover, Moise et al (2014) stated that the lack of quality assurance hinders the uptake and usage of OERs.…”

“…Most of the research on OER web accessibility and quality has been focused on evaluating the contents after their creation (Kumar & Owston, 2016; Kurilovas, Bireniene, & Serikoviene, 2010; Mishra & Kanwar, 2015). However, evaluating an OER while it is still being created contributes to a better adoption once the resource is published in a virtual learning environment or in a repository (Marín et al , 2019).…”

“…The UNESCO guidelines for Open Educational Resources (OERs) in higher education promote the investment in the systematic production, adaptation and use of OER that address students’ learning needs (Commonwealth of Learning, 2011). Thus, teachers are challenged with providing OERs that meet characteristics such as web accessibility and quality as two key features of OERs, which make them suitable for all students (Almendro & Silveira, 2018; Chen, Sanderson, Kessel, & Królak, 2015; Marín, Orellana, & Peré, 2019; Moise, Vladoiu, & Constantinescu, 2014). Research on how to support teachers in this is limited.…”