Higher education is going through a period of great digital acceleration. In spite of the mayhem Covid-19 has brought to all aspects of our lives, higher education institutions are adapting, and piloting new approaches to delivering teaching and research. Digital transformation may be happening at a quicker pace than formerly planned, but now is the time to take advantage of these developing trends and new ways of thinking. Openness is impacting many areas of higher education. As a librarian embracing openness, where knowledge and resources are typically kept behind paywalls, and incorporating the idea of openness through resource provision, discovery, dissemination and library instruction is what drives me towards OER and OEP. Under the subscription model, the role of libraries is to buy or license content on behalf of our users and then act as gatekeepers to control access to them. Libraries need to consider OER as sustainable alternatives or additions to established subscribed resources. OER – freely licensed, remixable learning resources – offer a promising solution to the constant challenge of delivering high levels of student learning at a lower cost. I think libraries have a role to play in advocating and raising awareness of OER in the academic community and in supporting our colleagues in a collaborative manner to use, re-use and publish OER. Moreover, OER offer much more than just cost savings - well-designed, customizable, openly licensed resources can engage students and invigorate educators in ways that permit more responsive teaching and enhanced learning. In a world where research is open, the role of libraries is shifting from licensing and disseminating to facilitating and supporting the publishing process itself. I support UNESCO’s call to support the use of OER for sharing learning and knowledge openly worldwide with a view to building more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient Knowledge Societies.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
WELCOMEto My Reflective Space Archives
December 2023
Categories
All
|