Celine Peignen, Technological University of the Shannon
The DOERs project was resourced by the National Forum’s SATLE fund and is led by TUS, in partnership with DkIT, MU and SETU. It aims to raise awareness of Open Educational Resources (OER) and enhance OER discoverability, use, adaptation and creation.
An OER audit within the DOERs partner sites was undertaken in late 2023 and early 2024. An institutional OER survey was created, and adapted as required, by each of the DOERs partner sites. The survey sought to determine a baseline regarding OEP/OER practices and inform our staff engagement strategies, ensuring an evidence-based approach. Four common themes, which emerged from the survey data, were:
OER visibility and awareness
- Many staff report low levels of familiarity with OER and Creative Commons Licensing.
- Many staff lack certainty regarding what constitutes OER and are uncertain if they have ever used OER or not.
OER skills and knowledge
- Staff are keen to learn about OER expressing preferences for: introductory workshops; support identifying discipline specific OER; departmental discussions about OER; peer learning; and technical support in adapting, reusing and adapting OER.
OER quality
- Staff who do not routinely use OER expressed uncertainty regarding the quality of OER for specific disciplines.
- Conversely, staff who have used OER expressed high levels of satisfaction with OER for teaching.
OER culture
- Some staff are unaware of the benefits that OER can afford students, faculty and institutions.
- The importance of integrating OER into programme development and delivery was suggested.
The actions that our project advocates to address these findings are:
- Prioritise OER awareness building initiatives.
- Deploy a range of engagement strategies to support OER capacity building.
- Share high quality OER exemplars to demonstrate the potential of OER.
- Promote awareness of the adaptability of OER and the scope to improve the quality, relevance and inclusivity.
- Recognise that the integration of OER into programmes of study, policies and institutional workflows is essential in order to create and sustain a culture of OER.
The survey findings are also shared as an infographic. The survey questions have been openly licensed and we hope that the survey can be reused by other institutions to provide additional comparable data.
As we launch the second stage of the DOERs project, TUS looks forward to working with partners, existing and new, to empower OER capacity building, community and sustainability. Contact Celine Peignen to get involved.
