Content Analysis of OpenCourseWare Initiatives

within the Scope of Digital Literacy Skills

Turkish OpenCourseWare Consortium Case

Tolga ÇAKMAK – Jan 04, 2012

BBY 608 - Electronic Information Services

Outline

• Open Education Resources

• Digital Literacy Skills

• General Overview

• Methodology

• Findings

• Results and Recommendations

• Definition of Open Education Resources??− teaching, learning or research materials − in public domain − released with an intellectual property license that allows for

free use, adaptation and distribution (UNESCO, 2009).

OER

• Definition of Open Education Resources??− digitized materials − freely and openly for educators, students and self-

learners− Aim: use and reuse of the materials for teaching,

learning and research.

OER

Digital Literacy

• Web 2.0

• New technologies and new resources

• Controlled and uncontrolled contents

• Critical thinking

Digital Literacy

• The digital literacy skills required for OER include:

1. Evaluating the resource

1.1.Where does the resource come from?

1.2.Who produced it?

1.3. Does it have use appropriate sources?

1.4. How current is it?

Digital Literacy

• 2. What can I do with resource?

2.1. Are there any license restrictions?

2.2. Is the resource format suitable for adaptation?

• 3. Resources assumed to use the resource

3.1. Does it require access to particular digital resources (course readings)?

3.2. Does it require access to particular software

3.3. Does it require access to particular tools/ infrastructure?

Digital Literacy

• 4. Type of interaction assumed by the resource4.1. Does it assume any particular type of interaction (group work?)4.2. Does it assume any form of online interaction/ community?4.3. Does it assume expert assistance?4.4. How does it fit with my patterns of learning?

• OpenCourseWare (OCW) - by the Massachusetts Institute

of Technology (MIT) in 2000. − Many projects and consortia which enable access to

course materials have been developed.

General Overview

• In Turkey, the first initiative as regards OER is “Turkish OpenCourseWare

Consortium” attempted by The Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA) in

2007.

• aimed to present course contents including curriculum, notes and

presentations (powerpoint, video, animations, etc.) of the course

• There were 65 universities attending the consortium in 2010, but merely

five of them had active participations (Çağıltay, 2010). − However, today this number has been made 13.

E    R O

General Overview

• All OER projects and consortia can be regarded as a considerably

effective means of;− lifelong learning for each individual − connection between formal, non-formal and informal learning.

• «OER have not only been one of the significant ways to reach

information sources and course materials but also an efficient

tool to disseminate information among higher educational

institutions, particularly in the past decade.»

General Overview

• Aim: to demonstrate the current situation of first and main OER

initiative, conducted by Turkish Academy of Science in terms of

digital literacy skills that were determined under the scope of

Information Literacy.

• The focus group: Turkish OpenCourseWare Consortium.

http://www.acikders.org.tr/

• Findings were gathered and obtained through content analysis

and web based checklist.

• Related research data were assessed via Predictive Analytics

Software (PASW).

Methodology

Findings

Content Distribution

FindingsWho Produced it?

FindingsWho Produced it?

FindingsCourse Type?

FindingsCourse Level?

FindingsCourse Topics

FindingsHow current is it?

• Additional Resources− Courses that have additional resource list: 67.2%− Courses that have exams: 68.7%− 6 Courses have assignments or lab studies although they

don’t have any exam.

• 6 Courses require additional programs for effective learning− .jar− .c− PASW− .swf

Findings

FindingsContent Type?

FindingsHow to create a course?

FindingsWhat can i do with resource

Results & Recommendations

• Most of the courses are created by Turkish

scholars

• Content creation policies should be revised− Moodle functions can be promoted instead of

promoting PDF upload process.

• Almost the same content is produced in the

disciplines of social sciences, science −More content can be added in the discipline of

engineering.

• Other contributors or other content providers

should be encourged.

Results & Recommendations

• OCW, as new controlled information resources,

vitally significant and essential for individuals.

• Turkish OpenCourseWare Consortium can be a

crashing point of all organizational OCW

initiatives.

Thank you!

Questions & Comments??

Open is the Power!

Tolga ÇAKMAK – Jan 04, 2012

BBY 608 - Electronic Information Services