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AfricanHealthOERNetwork–ImpactStudyJune2012
Acknowledgements:ThisisthethirdtimethatAfricanHealthOERNetworkprojectcoordinatorshavebeencalledontoarrangeschedulesandproceduresforanevaluation.Theircontinuedsupportisacknowledgedwithgratitude.
Theevaluatorisalsoindebtedto:
Academicsandstudentswhoconsentedtobeinterviewed,foundthetimetomakeinterviewspossible,andexpressedtheirviewsasopenlyandfranklyastheydid;
Alargenumberofstudents,academicsandinterestedpartieswhocontributedtothisevaluationbyrespondinganonymouslytoquestionnairesandonlinesurveyinstruments;
Saide’sinformationservicesforaregularflowofrelevantnewsitems; OERAfricaprojectstaffwhomadethenecessarytravelandadministration
arrangementsforevaluationvisits;and ThebroaderOERAfricateamandotherrespectedcolleaguesfortheircontinued
encouragementandsupport.
ParticularthanksareduetoKathleenLudewigOmolloandMongeTlaka.KathleeninterviewedstudentsinGhanaandarrangedfortranscriptionoftherecordings.Mongeadvisedontheconstructionofonlinequestionnairesandmanagedthecollectionandcaptureofthesedata.Bothmadesterlingcontributionswithoutwhichthisevaluationwouldnothavebeenpossible.
Itishopedthatthisevaluationdoesjusticetotheexperiencesandviewsofallwhocontributedtothedataonwhichitisbased.Needlesstosay,theevaluatorisresponsibleforjudgementsandconclusionsinthisreport.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Tableofcontents......................................................................................................................................................3
Listoftables...............................................................................................................................................................6
Acronyms....................................................................................................................................................................7
Backgroundandoverview...................................................................................................................................8
1. TheAfricanHealthOERNetworkandprojectevaluation..........................................8
1.1PROJECTBACKGROUND................................................................................................................................8
1.2Projectevaluationsandthecurrentimpactstudy.............................................................................9
1.3DistinctiveformsofOERdevelopmentinpartnerinstitutions...................................................10
2. Impactstudy:Researchquestionsandresearchdesign..........................................12
2.1FormalquestionsformeasuringimpactoftheNetwork...............................................................12
2.2Impactresearchdesign................................................................................................................................13
2.3Datacollection.................................................................................................................................................14
2.3.1Projectmetrics.............................................................................................................................................14
2.3.2Interviewsandquestionnaires.............................................................................................................15
2.3.3Documentstudy(includingwebsites)...............................................................................................15
2.4Analyzing,interpretingandpresentingdata......................................................................................16
2.5Strengthsandlimitationsoftheimpactstudy...................................................................................16
3. Projectmetrics ........................................................................................17
3.1Indicatorsandattainments........................................................................................................................17
3.2Summary:Indicatorsofimpact................................................................................................................25
4. StudentuseofOER ........................................................................................26
4.1ResponsesfromtheonlineStudentSurvey.........................................................................................26
4.2Viewers’commentsonYouTube..............................................................................................................29
4.3Conclusion:Thebroaderstudentpopulation’suseofOER...........................................................29
5. Qualityofteachingandlearning.......................................................................................29
5.1Students’viewsontheirOERexperiences...........................................................................................30
5.2Academicstaffjudgementsonqualityofteachingandlearning................................................35
5.3Management’sjudgementsonqualityofteachingandlearning................................................36
5.4Conclusion:Impactonteachingandlearning....................................................................................37
6. ImpactofOERonacademics’careerdevelopment....................................................37
6.1Personalaccountsofacademicstaff.......................................................................................................37
6.2Conclusion:OERimpactonacademics’careerdevelopment......................................................40
7. RelativefinancialimplicationsofOER............................................................................40
7.1Conclusion:RelativefinancialimplicationsofOER..........................................................................41
8. UseofOERproducedoutsideoftheNetwork...............................................................42
8.1OERproducers’useofOERfromoutsideoftheNetwork.............................................................42
8.2Non‐OERproducers’useofOERfromoutsideoftheNetwork...................................................43
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8.3Conclusion:UseofOERproducedoutsideoftheNetwork...........................................................43
9. Non‐partnerinstitutionsusingOERfromtheNetwork............................................44
9.1AwarenessanduseoftheNetwork........................................................................................................44
9.1.1Overallstatisticsonvisitorsanddownloads...................................................................................44
9.1.2IndividualresponsestotheonlinePublicSurvey.........................................................................45
9.1.3ThreecameosofOER‘take‐up’.............................................................................................................47
9.2Conclusion:Non‐partneruseofOERfromtheNetwork................................................................48
10. EffectivesocialandtechnicalinstitutionalinfrastructureforOERproductionanduse ........................................................................................48
10.1Technicalinfrastructure...........................................................................................................................48
10.2OERchampions–andthebigchampion............................................................................................49
10.3AstructuralhomeforOER.......................................................................................................................50
10.4AnintellectualhomeforOER..................................................................................................................50
10.5‘Reculturing’thecore:Teachingandresearch................................................................................51
10.6Peerreviewandquality............................................................................................................................51
10.7Useofopenaccesssourcesinallteachingandresearch.............................................................52
10.8Studentexpectations..................................................................................................................................52
10.9Externalsupport..........................................................................................................................................52
11. Effectivecross‐institutionalcollaborationmodelforOERproduction..............53
11.1Cross‐institutionalcollaborationachievedthusfar......................................................................53
11.2Possiblemeasurestopromotecollaboration..................................................................................54
11.3Conclusion:Promotingcross‐institutionalcollaboration...........................................................55
12. Conclusion ........................................................................................55
12.1ImpactwithinNetworkpartnerinstitutions....................................................................................55
12.2Impactacrossbroadercommunitiesandnetworks......................................................................57
12.3Networkrationaleandprovisionoftraininginthehealthsciences......................................57
13. References ........................................................................................59
14. Appendices ........................................................................................62
Appendix1:Interviewees(personal,telephonicandSkype)..............................................................62
Appendix2:Distributionstrategyforquestionnaires...........................................................................63
Appendix3:Additionaldetailonprojectmetrics....................................................................................65
PartA:#Individual/organizationalcontentcontributors...................................................................65
PartB:OERacrossdisciplines..........................................................................................................................67
PartC:YouTubeVideos.......................................................................................................................................68
PartD:Top20ResourcedownloadsfromtheNetwork........................................................................69
PartE:Sourceoftopwebsitereferrals.........................................................................................................70
PartF:Top20searchtermsonHealthOERNetworkwebsite...........................................................70
Appendix4:OERproductionineachinstitution......................................................................................72
UniversityofGhana...............................................................................................................................................72
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KwameNkrumahUniversityofScienceandTechnology.....................................................................73
UniversityofCapeTown.....................................................................................................................................75
UniversityoftheWesternCape.......................................................................................................................76
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LIST OF TABLES
Table1:DistinctiveformsofOERdevelopmentinpartnerinstitutions 10
Table2:Evaluationdesign:alignmentofqualitativeresearchquestionswith
sourcesofdata 14
Table3:Categoriesofrespondents,datacollection,andnumberofresponses 15
Table4:Projectmetrics 17
Table5:Networkimpactintermsofoutputsandattainments 25
Table6:ProfileofresponsestotheonlineStudentSurvey 27
Table7:Students’judgementsontheadvantagesoflearningwiththeuseofOER 31
Table8:ImpactofOERonindividualacademics’careerdevelopment 37
Table9:Downloadsandvisits 44
Table10:CountriesfromwhichonlineresponsestothePublicSurveywerereceived 45
Table11:Inferencesdrawnfromindicatorsofimpact 45
Table12:Listof115authorsrepresenting12institutions,andnumberofresources 65
Table13:310healthOERresourcesacrossdisciplines 67
Table14:OERwiththehighestnumberofviews 69
Table15:Top20resourcedownloadsfromtheAfricanHealthOERNetworkwebsite 69
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ACRONYMS
CET Centre for Educational Technology
DeCoDe Department of Communication Design
HEALTH Higher Education Alliance for Leadership Through Health
ICT Information and Communication Technology
KNUST Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
MBChB Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery
MPH Masters in Public Health
OER Open Educational Resource/s
OERA OER Africa
OEP Open Educational Practices
PDF Portable Document Format
PG Postgraduate
PPT PowerPoint
Saide South African Institute for Distance Education
SOPH School of Public Health
ToR Terms of Reference
UCT University of Cape Town
UG University of Ghana
U-M University of Michigan
UWC University of the Western Cape
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AfricanHealthOERNetworkImpactStudy
BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW
Thelengthofthisreportisdue,inpart,tothewide‐rangingcompassofimpact.Becauseoflength,someofthesupportingdocumentationthatwouldnormallybeintegratedinthemainreporthasbeencollatedinanAnnexurecomprisingaseparatedocument.Forthesamereason,inadditiontotheoverlapandrepetitionitwouldintroduce,anexecutivesummaryisnotincluded.Inmattersofsubstance,theConclusioncoverswhatwouldhavebeeninanexecutivesummaryhadtherebeenone.Inmattersofdetail,eachsectionaddressingamajorindicatorhasaconcludingsummary.Sections2and3providedetailoftheresearchquestions,methodologyanddatacollection.Fortherest–thebulkofthisreport–thedetailwillhopefullyprovideanaccountablebasisforconclusionsthatarereached,andforalternativeconclusionsreadersoftheentirereportmayreach.
1. THE AFRICAN HEALTH OER NETWORK AND PROJECT EVALUATION
1.1 PROJECT BACKGROUND
TheAfricanHealthOERNetwork(hereafteralso‘theNetwork’)isasub‐programmeofOERAfrica.TheNetworkseekstoenableparticipantstodevelop,adaptandsharehealtheducationalresourcestoaugmentlimitedhumanandotherresourcesinthehealthsector,andtherebytoimpactpositivelyonoverallhealthprovisioninAfricaandbeyond.
TheNetworkisco‐facilitatedbyOERAfrica,aninitiativeoftheSouthAfricanInstituteforDistanceEducation(Saide),andtheUniversityofMichigan(U‐M).Since2008,thefollowingpartnerstotheNetworkhavebeenengagedinOERdevelopment:
KwameNkrumahUniversityofScienceandTechnology(KNUST). UniversityofGhana(UG). UniversityofCapeTown(UCT). UniversityoftheWesternCape(UWC),withtheprojectfunctioningindependently
intwodifferentunits,namely,theFacultyofDentistryandtheSchoolofPublicHealth(hereafteralsoreferredtoas‘UWCDentistry’and‘UWCSOPH’respectively).
OERAfricaandU‐M’sstrategyforgrowingtheAfricanHealthOERNetworkbyformingpartnershipswithexistinghealthconsortiahasbeenaccompaniedbynewinstitutionsparticipatingintheNetwork. VaryingdegreesofprogresshavebeenachievedwiththeKamuzuCollegeofNursingattheUniversityofMalawiandtheAruaComprehensiveSchoolofNursinginMuni,anewpublicuniversityintheWestNileregionofUganda.CollaborationwiththeseveninstitutionsoftheEastAfricaHEALTHAlliancecarriespromiseofwide‐reachingimpact(seeSection11fordetailofthealliance).
LargelyfundedbytheWilliamandFloraHewlettFoundation,theNetworkhasevolvedoverthreedistinctphases:
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1) PilotPhase(2008)–Asix‐monthgrantenabledU‐MtobringtogetherhealthscienceinstitutionsfromacrossAfricatodiscussopportunitiesforadvancinghealtheducationusingAfrican‐producedopenlylicensededucationalmaterials.
2) DesignPhase(2009)–Thesixfoundingmembersreceivedajointone‐yeargranttoinitiatehealthOERinitiativeswithinthefourAfricanuniversitiesandtoencouragecollaborativeauthoringofmaterialsbetweeninstitutions.
3) NetworkPhase(2010–12)–ThegrantwasrenewedwiththeobjectiveofscalingthehealthOERinitiativeswithineachuniversityandtosystematicallydrawinmoreAfricanand,eventually,globalparticipants.
OnthebasisoftheEvaluationBrief,adocumentstudyandaseriesofinterviewswerecarriedoutbetweenSeptemberandNovember2010.ThisreportreflectsthestatusoftheprojectasitwasattheendofDecember,2010.
1.2 PROJECT EVALUATIONS AND THE CURRENT IMPACT STUDY
Thecurrentimpactstudyfollowsonfromtwoearlierevaluationsoftheproject.
AformativeevaluationoftheDesignPhasecompletedattheendof2009focusedmainlyonOER‘take‐up’andproductioninthepartnerinstitutions(OERAfrica2009).Thisevaluationconcludedthatexpectationsandcontractualtargetshadbeenmet,orexceededbyanimpressivemargin,withprojectcoordinatorsandparticipantsineachpartnerinstitutionhavingengagedOERincreativewaysthatweremostappropriatetotheirowncontexts.
Thesecondevaluation,amid‐termevaluationtitled‘Phase2Evaluation:ConsolidationandSustainability’(OERAfrica2011),reinforcedthefindingthatindividualandinstitutionalparticipantsintheprojecthadmadesignificantprogressinproducingOERaswellasindevelopingOER‐supportivepolicyenvironments.Thistheyhaddoneintheirowndistinctiveways,inamannerthatwasconsistentwiththeirownethos,contextualrealities,strategiesandresources.OERcreationsandOERpolicyhadthusbeendevelopedinlogically‘grounded’ways.Projectconceptualizationandfollow‐throughreflectedarespectforinstitutionalautonomyandtheencouragementofprogressbuiltongroundedneedsandpossibilities.Projectsupporthadbeenconsistentwithinstitutionalneedsandchoices.Incomplementaryways,projectparticipantsandprojectmanagementalikehadbeenresourcefulinexploitingandmakingthemostofopportunities.TheconceptofOERaccordinglyhadcredibilityinpartnerinstitutions.TheevaluationarguedthatcredibilitywasenablinginstitutionstoutilisetheirownresourcestosupportOERinwaysthatcontributetotheviabilityofOERproduction.Thiswasencouragingintermsofsustainability.
WiththeAfricanHealthOERNetworkgrantdrawingtotheendofitsthree‐yearperiod,animpactevaluationwasscheduledforcompletionbytheendofMay2012(AfricanHealthOERNetwork2011).
ThegoaloftheevaluationresearchistoassesstheimpactandvalueoftheNetwork.Thepotentialaudienceincludes:funders,
existingandpotentialinstitutionalpartners,OERcreatorsandusers,networksofAfricanhealtheducationproviders,andtheinternationalOERcommunity.(Saide&U‐M2011:2)
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1.3 DISTINCTIVE FORMS OF OER DEVELOPMENT IN PARTNER INSTITUTIONS
AlthoughthecurrentevaluationfocusesontheimpactoftheNetworkitself,ratherthanitsconstituentinstitutions,institutionaldifferencesformanecessarybackdroptooverallimpact.Table1(below),reflectinginstitutional‐specificapproachestoOERdevelopment,isaconsolidatedversionoftablesinthe‘ConsolidationandSustainability’evaluationreportof2011(AfricanHealthOERNetwork2011).
Table1:DistinctiveformsofOERdevelopmentinpartnerinstitutions
Issue UG KNUST UCT UWCDentistry
UWCSOPH
PriororientationtoOER
OERwasintroducedasanewconcepttothehealthsciences.
OERwasintroducedasanewconcepttothehealthsciences.
Prominentindividualacademicswerealreadyactivee‐learning/OERproducers.
OERwasintroducedasanewconcepttothefaculty.
TworesourceswereavailableasOERpriortotheAfricanHealthOERNetwork.
DevelopmentofOERpolicy
Started‘fromscratch’;Mainlytopdown–ledbyprovost.
Started‘fromscratch’;Mainlytopdown–ledbyprovost.
Bothtopdownandbottomup;Formalizationofexisting,on‐the‐grounddevelopments.
TherewerenosubstantiveinstitutionaldrivingforcestooperationalizeUWC’sopencoursewarepolicy,whichremainedlargelysymbolic.
DevelopmentofOERmaterials
Started‘fromscratch’intandemwithpolicydevelopment.
Started‘fromscratch’intandemwithpolicydevelopment.
MostOERwerebasedonlecturematerialsdevelopedpriortoandduringtheAfricanHealthOERNetwork.
Started‘fromscratch’;OERcreationwasdisconnectedfrompolicydevelopment.
OERdevelopmentwasinformedbysignificantexistingexpertiseinmaterialsdevelopmentfordistanceeducation.
Productionprocess
Divisionoflabour:
academicsprovidethecontentandthescript;TechnicalandmediaspecialistscreatetheOER.
Divisionoflabour:
academicsprovidethecontentandthescript;TechnicalandmediaspecialistscreatetheOER.
Productionisundertakenbyacademics,withallprocesseskeptascloseaspossibletotheacademics,whohaveaccesstotechnicalsupport,asneeded.
Productionisself‐directedbyindividualacademics,withlittleornoinstitutionalsupport.
Productionisbyacademics(someoncontract),withlittleornoinstitutionalsupport;Teamworkisastrongfeature.
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Issue UG KNUST UCT UWCDentistry
UWCSOPH
Pedagogy AcademicsandamultimediaexpertdevelopandrevisetheOER.
Instructionaltechniquesarebasedonthe‘ADDIE’modelofinstructionaldesign.
Facultyhadmovedearliertoa‘structured’problem‐basedlearningpedagogy.
DeterminedbyindividualOERcreatorsworkingmainlyontheirown.
Sophisticatedcasestudyapproachwithstrongcontextualgrounding.
MonitoringofOERquality
Adepartment‐basedreviewmechanismfollowingliaisonandmonitoringwithintheproductionline.
Adepartment‐basedreviewmechanismfollowingliaisonandmonitoringwithintheproductionline.
'Prideofownership’principlewith“lightmoderation”(mainlyforcopyrightissues)attheCentreforEducationalTechnology(CET).
Undertakenbylinemanagement.
Quality‘inside’ratherthan‘ontop’;Teamwork:twoeducationspecialistswriteupallmaterials.
RoleoftheNetworkproject
Initiatedanewparadigm.
Initiated anewparadigm.
Complementedexistinginitiativesanddevelopments.
Initiatedanewparadigm.
Added anopenlicensingdimensiontoexistingresource‐basedteaching.
FacultystaffawarenessoftheNetwork
High–theNetworkisthedominant/soleforceinpromotingOER.
High– theNetworkisthedominant/soleforceinpromotingOER.
Low– manyprojectsonthego;Multiplesourcesoffunding.
High–theNetworkisthedominant/soleforceinpromotingOER.
High– theschoolisreliantonarangeoffundersforproductionofmaterials.
Aswillbeevidentintheglobalpicturethatfollows,institutions–withoneexception–haveprogressedstillfurtherinconsolidatingOERdevelopment.Appendix4providesupdatedlistsofOERproducedbytheAfricanHealthOERNetworkpartners.
ThepartialexceptiontoOERmovingtowardsnormativityinpartnerinstitutionsisUWC(Dentistry),whosewithdrawalfromtheprojectwasconfirmedon22June2011.1Whiletheexperienceofthisfacultyprovidesauseful‘counter’casefordeliberationonthenatureofeffectiveinfrastructureforOERdevelopment,thisdoesnotimplythatimpactontheFacultyofDentistryanditsstudentshasbeenlost.UWCDentistrystaffwhohadoriginallyengagedwithOERremainOERchampions,andcontinueworkonOERproduction.Moresignificantly,thefacultynowseesitselfasauser,ratherthanaproducer,ofOER.
1LetterfromU‐MseniorcontractadministratortotheSchoolofDentistry,22June2011.
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2. IMPACT STUDY: RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH DESIGN
2.1 FORMAL QUESTIONS FOR MEASURING IMPACT OF THE NETWORK
TermsofReference(ToR)fortheimpactstudy(Saide&U‐M2011:3)specifythefollowingresearchquestions:
1) IsthereclearevidencethatthepublishedOERarebeingusedbystudents?
2) IsthereanyevidencethatpartnerinstitutionsareproactivelystartingtouseOERproducedoutsideoftheNetworkintheirprogrammes?Canthisusebelinkedtowhatwehavedone?
3) IsthereanyevidencethatthequalityofteachingandlearningatpartnerinstitutionshasimprovedduetotheinvestmentsinproducingandusingOER?Canweestablishanylinktoimprovedlearningoutcomesatanyinstitutions?
4) WhathavebeentherelativefinancialimplicationsofOERcomparedtoproprietaryapproachesofpublishingandcontentdevelopment,bothintermsofdeliveringeducationinuniversitiesandintermsofproducingeducationalresources?
5) Isthereanyevidenceofanynon‐partnerinstitutionshavingfoundandusedtheproductsfromtheNetwork?
6) WhatistheimpactofOERonacademics’careerdevelopment?
7) WhatistheeffectivesocialandtechnicalinstitutionalinfrastructuretosupportOERproductionanduse?
8) Whatisaneffectivecross‐institutionalcollaborationmodelforOERproduction(Luo,Ng’ambi&Hanss2010)?
Withrespecttoresearchmethods,theToRfurtherspecifythecollectionofbothqualitativeandquantitativedatathroughavarietyofmethods,includingthefollowing:
1) In‐personsemi‐structuredinterviewswithfaculty,staffandstudentsatpartnerandotherinstitutions;
2) Onlinesurveysoffaculty,staffandstudentsatpartnerinstitutions;3) ApubliconlinesurveyavailableontheOERAwebsite;4) DocumentanalysisofcompletedOER,policies,meetingnotes,pressreleases,
websites,studentreflectionsonusingOERetc.;and5) WebanalyticsfromGoogle,YouTube,theOERAwebsite,andtheU‐Mwebsite.
Anannexuretitled‘Outcomesandassociatedtargets,audiencesanddatasources’formedanadditionalpartoftheToR.ThisdocumentappearsincompletedformwithnotesandoutcomesinSection3ofthecurrentdocument.
Aspartoftheprocessoftranslatingformalaimsintoproceduresandactionsteps,adraftversionoftheproposedresearchdesignwascirculatedamongprojectmanagementandparticipatinginstitutionsatthebeginningofFebruary2012.Afterminoramendments,thedraftwasfinalizedattheendofthatmonth.
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2.2 IMPACT RESEARCH DESIGN
TheToRcorrectlynotethat,withsomanydatasources,“wemustbemindfultocarefullyholdalloftheseactivitiesandoutcomestogetherintermsofdrawinginferencesandconclusionsfromdisparatekindsofdata”.Theresearchquestionscanbecondensedasfollows:
(a) Web‐basedandweb‐derivedstatisticsonOERproductionandusewithinandacrossNetworkinstitutions,andOER‘take‐up’atothersites:QuantitativedataintheprojectmetricstableinSection3reflecttheoutcomesofprojectoutputsandthescaleofprojectimpact.
(b) Interviewswithstaff,studentsanduniversitymanagement:Thelargelyqualitativedataderivedfrominterviewsprovideabasisforunderstandingthe‘what’,‘how’,and‘why’ofprojectimpactonteachingandlearningandontheindividualsinvolvedintheseprocesses.
Thesequantitativeandqualitativemethodologiescomplementeachotherwell.Intheformofmetrics,theformermakeprojectdevelopmentstransparentandaccountable.However,as“informationshouldnotbeconfusedwithjudgment”(Ebrahim&Rangan2010:9),thequalitativedataservetoovercomethelimitationsofpurelyquantitativemeasurementbyprovidinganexpanded,morenuancedbasisforjudgement.Itisherethatprojectparticipantsandotherswhomtheprojecthasreachedhavetheopportunitytospeakforthemselves.
Projectdocumentsandotherwebsitesprovideadditionaldatatosupportjudgements.Table2(below)alignssourcesofqualitativedatawitheachoftheeightresearchquestions/aspects.Thesequestions/aspectshavebeenresequencedtoalignthemwithOERimpactacrossdifferentdomains.
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Table2:Evaluationdesign:alignmentofqualitativeresearchquestionswithsourcesofdata
OERimpactin
Researchquestion/aspect
Sourcesofdata Thescaleofprojectimpact
Participatinginstitutions
1.StudentuseofOER Personalaccountsofstudentsandrecentgraduatesinthehealthsciencefaculties
Information(mainlyquantitative)fromdocumentanalysisandstatisticsfromoutcomeindicatorslistedinSection3.
2.Qualityofteachingandlearning
Impressionsandjudgementsofstudents,academicstaffanduniversitymanagement
3.ImpactofOERonacademics’careerdevelopment
Personalaccountsofacademicstaffanduniversitymanagement;institutionalpolicy
4.RelativefinancialimplicationsofOER
Informedestimatesbyacademicstaffanduniversitymanagement
5.UseofOERproducedoutsideoftheNetworkinprogrammes
Personalaccountsofacademicstaffandstudents
Cross‐institutionaldomain
6.Non‐partnerinstitutionsusingOERfromtheNetwork
OERAfricaandU‐Mwebsites;Googleanalytics;YouTube
Reflectiononalldatacollected
7.EffectivesocialandtechnicalinstitutionalinfrastructureforOERproductionanduse
Evaluator’sjudgementbasedonfindingsfromresearchquestions1–5
8.Effectivecross‐institutionalcollaborationmodelforOERproduction
Evaluator’sjudgementbasedonfindingsfromresearchquestions1–7
2.3 DATA COLLECTION
Datacollectionwasnecessarilyverywideranging.
2.3.1PROJECTMETRICS
Dataforprojectmetrics(Table4,Section3,below)weredrawnfromthefollowing:
TheOERAfricawebsite. TheU‐Mwebsite. GoogleAnalyticsorGroups. YouTube. Onlinesurveys.
Statisticsarereflectiveofthevarioussituationsasat31March2012.
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2.3.2INTERVIEWSANDQUESTIONNAIRES
Table3(below)presentstherangeofrespondentsinrelationtotheirnumberandthemethodsofdatacollection.
Table3:Categoriesofrespondents,datacollection,andnumberofresponses
Respondents Methodofdatacollection No.ofresponses
Interviews
Academicstaff,includingmanagement,atpartnerinstitutions*
Interviews:on‐site,telephonicandSkype
16
Students* On‐sitefocusgroupinterviews(UGandKNUSTonly;seeAppendix1)
11(2focusgroupsof6+5students)
Questionnaires
OERproducersinpartnerinstitutions
DistributedMSWordquestionnaires
10
Non‐OER‐producingfacultystaffinpartnerinstitutions
DistributedMSWordquestionnaires
Onlineresponsetoquestionnaires**
28
Studentsinthehealthsciencecolleges/faculties
DistributedMSWordquestionnaires
Onlineresponsetoquestionnaires**
369
BroaderpublicofhealthsciencesstaffandstudentsoutsideoftheNetwork
Onlineresponsetoquestionnaires**
52
*Fordetailofinterviewsandrespondents,seeAppendix1.
**OnlinesurveyswereavailableatSurveyMonkey(www.surveymonkey.com)duringthemonthofMarch2012.(Foradescriptionofthedistributionstrategy,seeAppendix2.)
2.3.3DOCUMENTSTUDY(INCLUDINGWEBSITES)
ThestudyofdocumentsfocusedonprojectdocumentationavailableonthewebsitesofOERAfrica,Open.MichiganandtheUniversityofMichigan(http://www.oerafrica.org/healthoer,http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetworkandhttp://ctools.umich.edu/respectively).Institutionshelpfullyprovidedpolicydocuments,strategicplansandlistsofupdatedOERdevelopmentsinadditiontootherdigitalresources.
ResearchpapersontheNetworkanditsfunctioningwereavailablefromboththeNetworkprojectmanagementandindividualinstitutions.
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2.4 ANALYZING, INTERPRETING AND PRESENTING DATA
TheSurveyMonkeyfacilitywasusedforcollectingandcapturingmuchofthedata.Althoughthemainbodyofthecurrentreportmakesjudicioususeofdatafromthesethreesurveys,thecompletedsurveyreportsarenotintegratedintothecurrentreportduetotheirlength.Becausetheseresearchreportsmaybeofinterestintheirownright,theyappearintheseparateaccompanyingdocumentAnnexure:SurveyResponses.ThereportsintheAnnexureappearinthesameformatasthatgeneratedbySurveyMonkey.Inthecaseofopen‐endedquestions,SurveyMonkeyreportsonlyonresponserates.Respondents’actualcommentswereaccordinglycapturedinspreadsheets.Selectedquotationsfromtheseopen‐endedcommentsareincludedinthemainreportbut,intheinterestsoflimitingthebulkofdocumentation,thespreadsheetsarenotincludedintheAnnexure.
WhilequantitativedataconvenientlyaggregatedbyafacilitysuchasSurveyMonkeyareasignificantasset,aggregatedstatisticsperitemdonotprovideinsightsintopatternsofresponseswithinindividualquestionnaires.Forthisreason,theevaluatorreadapproximately100individualresponsesseparatelysoasgetabetter‘feel’forthesurveydata.
Open‐endedresponsesfromquestionnairesandinterviewswereclassifiedandgroupedaccordingtoemergentthemes.Thepresentationofthemesalongsideillustrativequotesintabularformisintendedtoprovideanaccountablebasisforinferencesandconclusionsthataredrawn.Illustrativequotesarecitedverbatim.
ThedistinctivenessofOERdevelopmentsinthepartnerinstitutionshasbeenoutlined(1.3,above).Inpresentingconclusions,thefocusisondevelopingoveralljudgementsontheNetworkasawhole,andnuancingthisasnecessarywithmentionofindividualinstitutions.
2.5 STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE IMPACT STUDY
Itisatruismthatallresearchapproacheshavetheirownlimitations.‘Quasiscientific’methodswithcontrolandexperimentalgroupshavetheallureofappearing‘scientific’.However,inmatterssuchasmeasuringteachingandlearning,theexperimentalapproachisfraughtwithethicaldifficulties.GiventheexistenceofdigitalresourcesandOER,itisalsoquiteimpossibleforaresearchertomanagethedistinctionbetweencontrolandexperimentalgroups.Moreover,standardmethodologiesdonotprovideuniversallyaccepted,all‐encompassingindicatorsformeasuringimpactonteachingandlearning.
Nonetheless,therearereliableindicators,which,whenaggregated,canleadtotrustworthyjudgements.Thechiefstrengthofthecurrentstudyliesinthequantityanddiversityofinformationthathasbeengeneratedsincecommencementoftheproject.Thisbodyofinformationprovidesavaluablemeansoftriangulatingandconsolidatinginsightsfromtheimpactdata.TheNetwork’sseriesoflogicallyconceptualizedresearchandevaluationstudiesovertimehelpstomitigatelimitationsofthe‘snapshot’natureoftheimpactstudy.
Withrespecttolimitations,therearetwogapsinthedatacollected.ThevoicesoffacultystaffandstudentsatUWCaremissingbecausetherewasinsufficienttimeinwhichtofollowthatinstitution’sproceduresforethicalclearancetoauthorizeresearch;andtwoimportantinformantswereunavailableatthetimeofdatacollection.
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Attributingparticulareffectstoasinglecausecanbedangerousinanetworked,‘globalised’world.AtKNUSTandUGtherecanbefewworriesaboutattributionasitwastheNetworkthatfirstintroducedOERandsupporteditsdevelopmentinboth.Bycontrast,disaggregatingNetworkimpactonOERdevelopmentsatUCTandUWCSOPHfromthatofotherprojectsandprocessesinthoseinstitutionsisdifficult.ThisissueistakenupintheConclusion(Section12)but,forcurrentpurposes,attributionofeffectstotheNetworkcanbesufficientlyjustifiedbecausetheNetworkwasakeyplayerinOERdevelopmentsatboth.InthehealthsciencesatUCT,thedeanregardsOERAfricaasanimportantpartofabroadernetwork.Itisa“facilitator,inspiration,technicalsupportandmanagementcentre”.AtUWCSOPH,theNetworkhelpedto“focusthemind”andapplya“usefulbitofpressure–andfunds”.
Althoughtheprojectmetricstable(Section3,Table4)hasstatisticsbasedonasamplesizethatwouldberegardedasexcellentinmanystudies,definitiveanswerstosomeoftheitemsinthistablewouldrequirea100%sample.Forexample,twooftheacademicswhocompletedtheonlinequestionnaireindicatedthattheyhadvolunteeredtoreviewOER.Fromthis,thereisnowayofextrapolatinghowmanystaffhaveinrealityofferedtoreviewOER.Nonetheless,apercentageofthosewhohadsovolunteeredbasedonthenumberofonlinereturnsmightbeunderstoodasareasonableindicationoftherateofvolunteeringforreview.SeveralitemsinTable4(below)shouldbereadinthisway.
Theevaluatorbelievesthat,theimpactstudy,despitecertainlimitations,isbasedoncredibledatasetsthatallowforcredibleconclusions.Again,thechiefassetinthisstudyistheopportunityitprovidesforthetriangulationofmultipleindicatorsfromdiverserelevantsources.
3. PROJECT METRICS
3.1 INDICATORS AND ATTAINMENTS
Table4(below)providesanoverallquantitativepictureofimpactintheformofoutcomesandattainmentsstemmingfromprojectactivities.ThisprovidesageneralbackgroundtosubsequentcoverageofeachofthemorequalitativeresearchquestionsonOERuse.
The‘Outcomesandnotes’columninTable4includesbasicinformationreflectingthesituationasat31March2012.Detailtoolengthyforinclusioninthisextendedtableisincludedasfootnotesorappendices.
Table4:Projectmetrics
Indicator Outcomesandnotes
AfricanHealthOERNetworkmanagement:Visibleandaccessibleengagementprocessforcreating,using,discussingorpromotinghealthOER
#individualandorganizationalsignaturesonDeclarationofSupport(Target:150individualsand10organizationsbyDecember2011)
90individuals
19organizations
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Indicator Outcomesandnotes
#individualssubscribedtothequarterlynewsletter
935individuals
(Afurther40subscriberswereaddedinMay2012duetoinstitutionalengagementwithHaramayaUniversitySchoolofPublicHealth.Afurther237willbeaddedasaresultofrequestsmadebyonlinerespondentsintheirquestionnairereturns.)
#individual/organizationalcontentcontributors
(Target:300individualsbyDecember2011)
115authorsrepresenting12institutions(seeAppendix3,PartA)2
#people/institutionssubscribedtooer‐tech,oer‐dScribeandPartnersForummailinglists3
OER‐tech:21individualsfrom7organizations4
OER‐dScribe:25from11organizations5
PartnersForum:28individualsfrom16organizations6
#individuals/institutionsinperiodicoer‐tech,oer‐dScribeandPartnersForumaudioconferences
OER‐tech:Participationinmonthlycallvariesbutaverages6individuals.
OER‐dScribe:ThelastphonecallwasinMarch2011,sincemanypeoplearealsoinvolvedinOER‐tech.Thislistisstillusedforemaildiscussionseveryfewmonths.
#individuals/institutionsusingOERca(Open.Michigan2011b)7
Saide(6people)
KNUST(2people)
UCT(9people)
PontificalCatholicUniversityofPeru(17people)
#institutionswithlocalinstallsofOERca(Target:1byDecember2011)
UCT
2(a)ThelistincludesscholarlyproductionsaswellasOER.(b)DifferencesacrosstypesofOER(e.g.fromshortvideostofullmodulesandtextbooks)implythatOERdifferwidelyintermsofscaleandthenotionallearninghourstheyrepresent.3http://www.oerafrica.org/healthoer/Home/ConnectwithColleagues/tabid/1868/Default.aspx4Organizationsrepresentedintheoer‐techgroup:U‐M,Saide,UCT,UG,KNUST,FloridaDistanceLearningConsortium,FloridaStateUniversity.
5Organizationsrepresentedintheoer‐dScribegroup:U‐M,Saide,UCT,UG,KNUST,FloridaDistanceLearningConsortium,FloridaStateUniversity,UniversityofWisconsin–EauClaire,PontificalCatholicUniversityofPeru,StudentsforFreeCulture,CreativeCommons.
6OrganizationsrepresentedonthePartnersForum:U‐M,Saide,UCT,UG,KNUST,UWC,OpenUniversityUK,MuniUniversity,UniversityofMalawi,Primafamed,FloridaDistanceLearningConsortium,PeoplesUni,TuftsUniversity,GeorgeWashingtonUniversity,MakerereUniversity,AfricanCenterforGlobalHealthandSocialTransformation.7ThisrowdoesincludeusersfromU‐M,whodesignedthesoftware,andusersfrombeyondtheNetwork.
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Indicator Outcomesandnotes
#institutionscontributingtoOERcacodedevelopment
08
#institutionsrequestingexternaldScribeservices,andassociatedrevenue
3:PeoplesUni,MtSinaiSchoolofMedicine,MakerereUniversity
Thishasbeendonevoluntarily,sorevenueis$0.
#academicsvolunteeringtoreviewsubmittedcontent
5
(3outof10facultywhowereinterviewedreportedhavingreviewedOER,asdid2outof28intheFacultySurvey.)
AfricanHealthOERNetworkmanagement:Collectionofhigh‐qualityAfrican‐producedOERrepresentingadiverserangeofhealthdisciplines
Forthedistributionstrategy,seeAppendix2.
#andrangeofhealthdisciplinesrepresented
310healthresourcesrepresenting13disciplinesand20sub‐disciplines(seeAppendix4,PartB).
#resourcespublished,bymaterialtype,bydiscipline,andbyfiletype(e.g.PPT,Word,FlashVideo)
(Target:50byDecember2010,100byDecember2011)
Documents(includingWord,Excel,PPT,PDF) 312Interactive/multimedia 26Video 18Text/HTML 14Audio 11Webpage 4Graphics/photos2
#learninghoursrepresentedbycollectionofresources
Therearetoomanyvariablestoallowforaccuratequantification.Academicshavedifferentunderstandingsoftheconceptoflearninghours(seealsoitembelow:“total#notionallearninghoursproducedbyeachinstitution)”.9
AfricanHealthOERNetworkmanagement:VisibleandusedportfolioofOERhealtheducationlearningmaterials,whichaugmentsandhighlightsinstitutionalandglobalrepositories
amountofmoneysavedbyusingOERinsteadofpayinglicensingfeesforrelevantcopyright‐restricted
SeediscussionunderSection7ofthecurrentreport.
8ThisexcludesU‐M,whichisthecreatorofthesoftware.9WithOER,thenumberoflearninghoursisnotabsolute:itdependsonhowresourcesareintegratedandusedincurriculaindifferentsettingsandwithdifferentstudents.
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Indicator Outcomesandnotes
content
#views,downloadsandvisitsfromOERAfrica,U‐Mandinstitutionalrepositories
OERAfrica:19416downloads,10824visitors
Totalpageviews:80446
Internetarchive:856downloads
U‐M:1500viewspermonth
SlideShare:1591views
YouTubeVideos:110videos;totalviews1093831(seeAppendix3,PartC)
#visits,visitorsfromOERAfrica,U‐Mandinstitutionalrepositories,andtrendsovertime
OERAfrica:10824visitors
U‐M:766visitors
Totalpageviews:80446
Forthetop20searchtermsandtop20resourcedownloadsseeAppendix3,PartD.
#and%healthsciencefaculty,staffandstudentsawareoftheNetwork
68students–19.4%ofallrespondents
14staff–50%ofallrespondents
31ofthepublicresponses–64.6%ofallrespondents
#requestsforhealthOERthroughtheOERrequestfacility10
10
#requestsforhealthOERwithatleastoneresponse/result
10
#siteshostingNetwork‐producedcontent/metadata
11
(OERAfrica,U‐M,UCT,KNUST,SlideShare,Internetarchive,MERLOT,GLOBE,OERCommons,BlipTV,YouTube)
#websitereferrals 40.25%searchtraffic
14.43%referraltraffic(fortopwebsitereferrals,seeAppendix3,PartE)
45.32%directtraffic
userratingsandcommentsoncontent
YouTube:804individualratings;averageratingis4+starsoutof5(seeAppendix3,PartC)
Top20resourcedownloadsontheNetworkwebsite
1. AlcoholProblems:Ahealthpromotionapproachmoduleguide
2. OperarFistulasVesico‐Vaginais(FFV)
3. Ear,NoseandThroatTutorial
4. ManagingChangeinHealthcareIT
10Seehttp://www.oerafrica.org/healthoer/RequestOER/tabid/1865/Default.aspx.
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Indicator Outcomesandnotes
Implementations:Selectedreferences
5. SurgicalRepairofVesico‐VaginalFistulae(VVF)
(SeeAppendix3,PartDforthecompletelist.)
Top20searchtermsontheNetworkwebsite
1. heat
2. breast
3. clinical
4. promoting/mental/health
5. promoting/mental/health/scarce‐resource/contexts:oremerging/evidence/practice
(SeeAppendix4,PartFforthecompletelist.)
#resourcesinpeer‐reviewedrepositories(e.g.MedEdPORTAL,MERLOT)
UCThassubmittedtwo,whicharecurrentlyunderreview.
GeographicaldistributionofcontributorsandusersoftheOERAfricaandU‐Mwebsites
AfricanHealthOERNetwork(www.Oerafrica.org/healthoer):7000visits/month
Open.Michigan(Open.umich.edu):10000visits/month,1500ofwhichareforAfricanHealthOERNetworkcontent
AfricanHealthOERNetworkandOpen.Michiganaccessedinover190countries
ForOpen.Michigan/AfricanHealthOERNetwork,thetop10mostpopularcountriesare:
1. UnitedStates
2. India
3. UnitedKingdom
4. Malaysia
5. Canada
6. SouthAfrica
7. Australia
8. Ghana
9. SaudiArabia
10. Pakistan
AfricanHealthOERNetworkmanagement:Preliminarymodelforcross‐institutionalcollaborationmodelforOERproduction
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Indicator Outcomesandnotes
#conferencepresentations
#peer‐reviewedpaperspublished
12reportsandpapersonOpen.Michigan(reportsandpaperssub‐section)11
Inadditiontooneotherpeer‐reviewedpublication,achapteronOERdevelopmentatKNUSTandUGappearsinaCOL/UNESCObook,PerspectivesonOpenandDistanceLearning:OpenEducationalResourcesandChangeinHigherEducation:Reflectionsfrompractice(Glennie,Harley,Butcher&VanWyk2012).
Institutions:
IncreasedawarenessofOER
#and%healthsciencefaculty,staffandleadershipawareofOER
Students:214(61.1%)
Staff:23(82.1%)
Public:34(78.8%)
Institutions:
IncreasedaccesstoanduseofOER
#and%healthsciencefaculty,staffandleadershipwhohaveusedthelocallydevelopedOERfromcolleaguesattheirinstitution
Faculty:9(33.3%)
#and%healthsciencefaculty,staffandleadershipwhohaveusedthelocallydevelopedOERfromotherinstitutions
Students:58(16.6%)
Faculty:6(22.2%)
Ininterviews,UWC(DentistryandSOPH)describethemselvesas“users”ofOER.
Institutions:CommunityoftrainedhealthOERcreatorsandusers
#invitedpresentations 24
#trainingworkshopsheld 16
#advocacyworkshopsheld 10
#conferencepresentations 21
#individualstrainedinOERproduction(includesdScribes)12
(Target:AtleastonedScribetrained
200+
UCTandUWCSOPHeachhasatraineddScribeperson.
11Seehttp://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/reports.12dScribeisacopyrightclearanceandOERproductionprocesscreatedbyU‐M(seehttp://open.umich.edu/dScribe).
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Indicator Outcomesandnotes
perinstitutionbyDecember2011) UGandKNUSTOERmodelsrequireICTspecialistsasessentialcomponentsinproduction,andeachhasonesuchappointment.
Institutions:
LocaldevelopmentandsharingofcontextuallyappropriateOER
#resourcesproducedbyeachinstitution
(Target:15resourcesproducedannuallybyinstitutions)
UG,KNUST:Totalof25each(seeAppendix4)
UCThealthsciences(http://opencontent.uct.ac.za/Health‐Sciences)
houses41resources,whichoverlapwithwhatisavailableontheNetworkwebsite.Afurther6OERaremorethan50%complete;and10arescheduledforreleaseinthefirsthalfof2012.
UWCSOPH:Atotalof24,ofwhich17areinthefinalstagesofcompletion.
Note:NumberscannoteasilybeequatedastypesofOERvary,fromshortvideoproductionstofullmodulesandtextbooks.
total#ofnotionallearninghoursproducedbyeachinstitution
Severalacademicsnotedthedifficultyofassessingthenumberoflearninghours.Therangeoflearninghoursspecifiedinresponsesvariedfrom(inrankorder):24(atextbook);11;6;“about”6;3;2;1‐2;1.5and“15minutesofteachingtime”.Thelastoftheseresponses,qualifiedwiththeexplanationof“teachingtime”,isindicativeofverydifferentunderstandingsoftheconceptof‘learninghours’.Aggregatedquantificationwouldthuslackvalidity.
Institutions:
Newconnectionsacrossinstitutionsforsharingknowledgeofhealtheducation
#jointlydevelopedOERwithauthorsfromdifferentinstitutions
1. UG&U‐M
a. CaesareanSection
b. Episiotomy&Repair
c. SexuallyTransmittedDiseasesandPelvicInfections
d. TotalAbdominalHysterectomy
2. KNUST&U‐M
a. MentalStateExamination
b. AutomatedBloodCounts
c. BuruliUlcerDisease(MycobacteriumUlceransInfection)
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Indicator Outcomesandnotes
d. ClinicalChemistry(GlucoseToleranceTest)
e. CasesinClinicalMicrobiology
f. LaboratoryMethodsforClinicalMicrobiology
g. ExaminationofthePregnantWoman
3. SaideandtheUniversityofMalawi
a. UniversityCertificateinMidwifery
#jointlysubmittedpublicationswithauthorsfromdifferentinstitutions
1. LudewigOmolloK, RahmanA&YebuahC(2012)ProducingOERfromScratch:ThecaseofhealthsciencesattheUniversityofGhanaandtheKwameNkrumahUniversityofScienceandTechnology.InJGlennie,KHarley,NButcher&TvanWyk(eds)PerspectivesonOpenandDistanceLearning:OpenEducationalResourcesandChangeinHigherEducation:Reflectionsfrompractice.UNESCO/COL.From:www.col.org/psoer,accessedMay2012(U‐M,UG,KNUST)
2. TagoeN,DonkorP,AdanuR,Opare‐SemO&EnglebergNC(2010)BeyondtheFirstSteps:SustaininghealthOERinitiativesinGhana.From:http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/reports/health‐oer‐ghana/2010,accessedApril2012(KNUST,UG,U‐M)
3. LuoA,Ng'ambiD&HanssT(2010)FosteringCross‐institutionalCollaborationforOpenEducationalResourcesProduction.From:http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/reports/oer‐collab‐report/2010,accessedApril2010(U‐M,UCT)
4. LudewigOmolloK&MawoyoM(2011)ReflectionsonthePastTwoandaHalfYearsofaCollaborativeHealthOERProject.From:http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/reports/reflections‐collaboration/2011,accessedApril2012(U‐M,Saide)
5. HoosenS&LudewigOmolloK(2010)TheAfricanHealthOERNetwork:AdvancinghealtheducationinAfricathroughOpenEducationalResources.From:http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/reports/ajhpe‐article/2010,accessedApril2012(U‐M,Saide)
6. AdanuRMK,Adu‐SarkodieY,Opare‐SemO,NkyekyerK,DonkorP,LawsonA&EnglebergNC(2010)ElectronicLearningandOpenEducationalResourcesintheHealthSciencesinGhana.InGhanaMedicalJournal44(4).
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Indicator Outcomesandnotes
From:http://www.ghanamedj.org/pastjournal.php?JID=25,accessedApril2012(UG,KNUST,U‐M)
Patients:
NascentawarenessofOERthroughconsentprocessforclinicalrecordings
#patientsaccepting/decliningtoberecordedforOER,andexplanationofchoice
Patientsareknowntohavedeclinedconsent.Forexample:“AtKBTH[KorleBuTeachingHospital]atUG,severalpatientsoptedoutofrecordingaltogether”(LudewigOmolloetal.2012:63).However,althoughinstitutionsdonotkeeprecordsofsuchnumbers,OERproducedareevidenceofacceptanceonthepartofmanypatients.Universitiesarestillgrapplingwiththistrickyissue,whichtheyhaveapproachedindifferentways.13
3.2 SUMMARY: INDICATORS OF IMPACT
OnthebasisofevidenceinthelengthylistofmetricsinTable4(above),OERactivitiescanbecategorizedasbeingeitherhighimpactorlimitedimpact.
Table5:Networkimpactintermsofoutputsandattainments
Domainsofhighimpact Domainsoflimitedimpact
Atmanagementlevel:
Visibleandaccessibleengagementprocessforcreating,using,discussingorpromotinghealthOER.
Assemblyofhigh‐qualityAfrican‐producedOERrepresentingawiderangeofhealthdisciplines.
VisibleandusedportfolioofOERhealtheducationlearningmaterials,whichaugmentsandhighlightsinstitutionalandglobal
Atmanagementlevel:
ThenumberofindividualsignaturesontheDeclarationofSupportfallsshortofthetarget.However,thenumberofsignaturesfororganizationshasbeensurpassed.(Note:Inmid‐2011,projectmanagementceasedpromotingthesymbolicsigningofthedeclarationinfavourofthemoremeaningfulengagementmetrics.)
115authorsofOERcontentiswellshortofthe
13 For example: “No OER produced at UCT have yet involved patient recordings, as there is a concern
that, if OER include patients, the life of the OER depends on the patient’s continued cooperation and
consent. A patient may initially agree to be screened in a video for an OER, but circumstances in their
life may change, which could make them rethink this consent. Blocking off a patient’s face may also
affect extra‐linguistic features, such as facial expressions and body language, that are telling to the
diagnosis or treatment” (Mawoyo 2012: 14).
At KNUST and UG, formal patient consent documents have been met with suspicion and have been found to be ineffective in the case of patients who are illiterate. Both universities have successfully employed the strategy of using a graphic artist’s images for certain productions.
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Domainsofhighimpact Domainsoflimitedimpact
repositories.
ScholarlyoutputonOERatconferencesandinpublications.
targetof300.However,thenumberofpublishedresourcesfarexceedsthetarget.
Atinstitutionallevel:
CreatingawarenessofOER.
IncreasingaccesstoanduseofOER.
DevelopingacommunityoftrainedhealthOERcreatorsandusers.
LocaldevelopmentandsharingofcontextuallyappropriateOER.
Atinstitutionallevel:
Newconnectionsacrossinstitutionsforsharingknowledgeofhealtheducation.
Table5(above)providessubstantiveevidencethattheactivitiesandoutputsofNetworkmanagementandpartnerinstitutionshaveexceededexpectationsintermsofthenumberoflocallyproducedhealthOERproductspostedinthepublicdomain.TheseOERhavebeenwellreceived.Theonlymeaningfulareainwhichimpacthasbeenlimitedisinthefurtherconsolidationofconnectionsacrosspartnerinstitutions.Viewedincontext,thislimitationisunderstandable.WithinpartnerinstitutionstherehasbeenastrongfocusondevelopingtheirownsystemsforOERpractices.InstancesofjointlydevelopedOERwithauthorsacrossinstitutionsarelikelytoincreaseasnewOERusersemerge.Thistrendisalreadyevident(seeSection8).
Againstthislargelyquantitativebackdrop,weturntothemorequalitativedata.
4. STUDENT USE OF OER Formanystudents,issuesoflicensingandcopyrightareoflittleinterest:theissueofrealimportancewhenresourcesarebeingconsideredisthatofusefulness.AnalysisofstudentresponsestoquestionsaboutOERiscomplicatedbythefactthattheydonotthusalwaysdistinguishbetweenOERand‘nonOER’.14Forcurrentpurposes,however,interpretationofstudents’responsesassumesthat,whenstudentsrefertoOER,itisindeedOERthattheyaretalkingorwritingabout.
4.1 RESPONSES FROM THE ONLINE STUDENT SURVEY
ResponsestotheonlineStudentSurveyweresubmittedby369students(seeTable6,below).ThishealthysamplecomprisedstudentswhoexperiencedOERasaformalpartoftheircurriculum,aswellasthosewhohadnot.GiventhedifferencesacrosstheNetworkpartners(seeSection1.3,above),thedistributionofrespondentsacrossinstitutionsisofinterest.
14Therewereanumberofclearindicationsofthislackofdistinctioninfocusgroupinterviews,duringwhichtheinterviewerwasabletoprovideclarification.
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Table6:ProfileofresponsestotheonlineStudentSurvey
Institution Studentresponses
Respondents’programmeofstudy
Yeargroupofrespondent
KNUST 276 Concentratedinthreelargegroups:humanbiology,medicineandsurgery(MBChB),pharmacy
Years1–4
UCT 87 Widerangeofprogrammese.g.MBChB,physiotherapy,MScnursing,occupationaltherapy,MPhil,disabilitystudies
Years1–6,andaPhD
UG15 6 MBChB Years2–3(clinical)
UWC 0 Questionnairesnotdistributed(seeSection2.5)
ThefollowinginferencesaredrawnfromananalysisofdataintheAnnexure,PartA.
(a) StudentknowledgeoftheAfricanHealthOERNetworkislimitedandlocalized.TherewasfargreaterawarenessoftheconceptofOER(61%ofrespondents)thanoftheNetwork(19%ofrespondents).AwarenessoftheNetworkwasalsoveryrecent:64%ofthe68studentswhohadheardoftheNetworkhaddonesoonlyintheprevioussixmonths.KnowledgeoftheNetworkcamefromlocalsources:72%hadheardaboutitthroughfacultyandstudents;43%hadbecomeawareofitthroughtheirowninstitutionalwebsites.
(b) WhileuseoftheOERAfricawebsiteislimited,thosewhohavedownloadedresourceshavefoundtheseuseful.Only43students(13%)reportedbeingawareoftheOERAfricawebsite.Again,thisknowledgewasfoundtoberecent:ofthese43students,23hadbecomeawareofthewebsiteintheprevioussixmonths.16
(c) ThetypeofOERusedbystudentsislargelydeterminedbythetypeofresourcesmadeavailablebytheirowninstitutions.Atotalof170ofallstudents(49%)hadusedresources(onDVDorwebsite‐derived)producedbyacademicsintheirownuniversity.ResponsesshowastrongcorrelationbetweenthetypeofOERproducedbyaninstitution,andthetypeofresourcemostusedbystudents.StudentsfromKNUSTandUG,forexample,areusersofOERvideoproductions,whilestudentsfromUCTaccessamorediverserangeofOER.
Overall,therankorderoftypesofOERusedis:
o Videos:85%.o Lecturepresentations:79%.o Teachingcasestudies/labexercises:77%.o Teacherguides/textbooks:59%.o Teachernotes:59%.o Researcharticles:54%.
15Unfortunately,asetofcompletedquestionnairessentbyUGdidnotreachitsdestination.16Afurther78reportedhavingfounduseful/relevantresourcesonthewebsite.SomestudentsmaynotdistinguishbetweeninstitutionalwebsitesandtheOERAfricawebsite.
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(d) ThenumberofstudentsaccessingOERfromotheruniversitiesisverylimited.Only58(17%)ofallstudentsreportedhavingusedOERfromotheruniversities.However,itisnotablethatthesestudents’ownventuresintotheuniverseofOERwerealmostentirelyconfinedtoinstitutionswithintheNetwork.TheOER‐producinguniversitiesandthenumberofstudentsaccessingOERfromthemare:
o KNUSTOER(31students).o Open.Michigan(9students).o UCTOpenContent(5students).o UWCFreeCourseware(3students).
TheonlyothersourceofOERmentioned–by5students–wasKaplanUniversity.
(e) Althoughlimitedinnumber,open‐endedcommentsontheAfricanHealthOERNetworkwereoverwhelminglyfavourable.StudentsappeareagertolearnmoreaboutOER.Thefinaliteminthequestionnaire,anopen‐endedinvitationforcommentonNetwork,drewaresponsefrom37students.Commentsfallintotwointerlinkedcategories:favourablecommentsontheNetwork(24students)andsuggestionsthattheNetworkshouldbemorewidelypublicized(13students).
Examplesoffavourablecommentsare:
o “Ithinkit’saverybrilliantinitiative.”o “Itisexcellent!”o “Itprovidesrelevantinformation.”o “Veryinnovative.”o “Itisquitearesourcefulmovementthatwillcertainlyenhanceeffective
learning.”o “Veryuseful/resourcefulwebsite.Expandtheterritoryandkeepupthe
goodwork.”o “Ithinkitisaniceideaandshouldbemadeknowntoeverystudent.”o “Reallygoodavenueforstudentsinresearch.”o “Alaudableproject,keepthegoodworkup.”o “Anexcitingproject,wouldbeinterestedinbeingacontributor.”
ExamplesoftheviewthattheNetworkshouldbemorewidelypublicizedinclude:
o “Publicityaboutthenetworkshouldbeincreased.”o “PleasetrytoincreasethepublicityontheOERnetwork.”o “AfricanHealthOERNetworkneedsmorepublicity;becauseitismyfirst
timehearingaboutitandIusetheInternetalot.”o “Publicityshouldbeintensified.”o “Wanttoknowmoreaboutit.”o “Onlyjustheardaboutit(asaresultofthissurvey)–looksinteresting,
though.”
EagernesstoknowmoreabouttheNetworkisalsoevidentinthefactthat,whilefewerthan4%ofallstudentsweresubscribedtotheNetworknewsletter,77%expressedthewishtobecomesubscribersandprovidedtheiremailaddressestomakethispossible.
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4.2 VIEWERS’ COMMENTS ON YOUTUBE
Atotalof804individualratingsonthequalityofvideoproductionswerepostedonYouTube,providinganaverageratingof4+starsoutofapossible5.Actualcomments17leavelittledoubtthattheauthorsareoverwhelminglystudents.Forexample:
“Thanksforhelpingmepassmedschool.”
“Havealabonthistomorrowandthelabmanualislongwindedanddidn'tmakesense…nowit'scrystalclear,thanks.”
“ToobadIdidn'twatchthisvideoamonthago!”
“Fabulous!It'sfinallymakingsense!Desperatelyneededthisfora
presentationonEbola.I'vebeenreadingupfordaysandwatchedafewvideosthatdidn'treallyexplainindetailwhatwasgoingon.GREATvideo!Now,doyouhappentohaveoneonRT‐PCR?”
“Thanksalot.Finallyunderstoodjustwatchingonceafterreadingitforhours!”
Themostcommonlyrecurringwordsinviewers’commentsare“thanks”,“thankyou”and“understand”.
4.3 CONCLUSION: THE BROADER STUDENT POPULATION’S USE OF OER
AlthoughtheNetworkhasnotyetreachedthemajorityofstudentsinparticipatinginstitutions,thoseithasreachedhavefounditsOERworthwhile.AsecondsignificantfeatureofstudentresponseisthattheNetworkappearstoberesponsibleforwhatmeaningfulknowledgestudentshaveofOER;andtheyareeagerformore.This,combinedwiththefactthatknowledgeoftheNetworkisrecent,suggeststhattheNetworkandOERimpactonstudentswillsoongrowinscale.
YouTubeviewers’commentssuggestthattheNetworkresourcesarebeingusedbyasignificantnumberofstudentsbeyondtheNetworkinstitutions.ViewersexpressgreatappreciationfortheeffectivenessoftheOERvideomaterials.
5. QUALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING BeforeoutliningviewsonthequalityofOERteachingandlearningfromtheperspectiveofstudents,academicsandmanagement,attentionisdrawntotwoissuesaffectingthewayinwhich‘quality’willbeunderstood.
First,thereisnoabsolutebenchmarkagainstwhichtomeasurethequalityofateachingandlearningepisode.Judgementsaboutqualityarecontextspecific.Thenatureofthe
17SeethefollowingURL,whereloginisrequiredforaccessingthecontent:https://ctools.umich.edu/access/content/group/5766a067‐a84e‐43c8‐94c0‐43add93f6407/13_Evaluation%20and%20Impact%20Analysis/Web%20Analytics/2012_03_21%20‐%20AHON‐YouTube‐Videos.csv,accessedMay2012.
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studentpopulationandthewayOERareintegratedintothecurriculumareonlytwoofthecontextualfactorsthatwillaffectjudgementsonquality.
Second,theconceptofOERreferstoaformoflicensing,nottothetypeofresource.Thedifferenttypesofresourcescreatedwithinpartnerinstitutionshavedifferentimplicationsforpedagogyandcurriculum.Briefly:
AtKNUSTandUG,theOERthathavebeendevelopedsupportthewell‐establishedpatternofcontactteaching.Increasingclasssizesconstraintheamountofinteractionthatispossiblebetweenlecturersandtheirstudents.Inordertosupplementthelimitedtimetheyhavewithstudentsforclassroomandclinicaltraining,“severalCHSfacultyareinterestedincreatinginteractive,self‐guidedlearningmaterialsthatstudentscanworkthroughontheirownandintheirowntime”(KNUSTnd).OERarethusdescribedas“enhancements”(provost).
AtUWCSOPH,bycontrast,OERintheformoffullydevelopeddistancelearningmaterialsdomorethan‘enhance’teaching:theOERmaterialsaretheteacher.
AtUCT,curriculumimpulsesfromwithinthefacultyhaveplayedalargepartindeterminingthetypeofOERdevelopedandused.AnewMBChBcurriculumwasintroducedin2002inresponsenotonlytonewnationalemphasisonprimaryhealthcare,butalsototheburgeoningofnewknowledgestudentsandpractitionersmustmaster.Thecurriculummodelisoneofastructured,problem‐orientedratherthanproblem‐based,learningapproach(Breier&Wildschut2006).Thistranslatesintoacombinationoflecturesandproblem‐basedsessionsusinglearningresources.ItwasthiscurriculummodelthatcreatedtheneedforOERandtheopencollaborationofacademics.
Inshort,judgementsonqualityarenotbasedonahomogeneousoruniform‘thing’calledOER.TheyarejudgementsaboutthequalityofdifferenttypesofOERdesignedtomeetinstitution‐specificneeds.
5.1 STUDENTS’ VIEWS ON THEIR OER EXPERIENCES
Theanalysisbelowisbasedontwoextendedfocusgroupinterviews,atUGandKNUST.Bothinterviewswererecordedandtranscribed(fordetails,seeAppendix1).WhileitisunfortunatethatstudentscouldnotbeinterviewedatUCTandUWCSOPH,commonalityacrossthetwogroupsatUGandKNUSTmeansthatbothwerecommentingonsimilartypesofOER.‘Apples’werethusbeingcomparedwith‘apples’,anddatafromthetwositescouldbetriangulated.StudentsinbothgroupswereuniformlyoftheviewthattheirlearningwasenhancedwhenitwassupportedbyOER.In‐principleapprovaloftheconceptofOERwasalsoapowerfuloverridingthemeinstudents’comments.TypicalresponsestothequestionofwhethertheOERhadbeenusefulincluded:
“Oh,yeah.Mostofusfounditveryuseful.”
“They[OER]havebeenveryhelpful.Sotheyaregoodworks.Ithinkitwillgoalongwaytohelpallofusandthenextgeneration[laughs]–generationstocome.”
“Yeah,it’sbeensohelpfulandgoodandquite–Ithinkit’squite
better…there’sasayingthat‘itcanonlygetbetter’.”
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WhenstudentswereaskediftheycouldquantifytheefficacyofanOERapproachcomparedtoconventionalteachingapproachesnotusingOER,onethoughtfulresponsewas:“Ithinkitdependsonthetopic…Yeah,forsuchatopic[Obstetrics],OERwillbeataclasslectureby300%.”Forothertopics,theextentofimprovementwasratedatbetween50%and90%.
TheadvantagesofOERarelistedinTable7(below).
Table7:Students’judgementsontheadvantagesoflearningwiththeuseofOER
AdvantagesofOER Illustrativeexampleinstudents’ownwords
Byprovidingimagesaswellastextand‘voiceover’,OERaremoreeffectivethantextbookcoverageofcertaintopics.
“IwasstudyingformyexamandIneededmoreexamplesbecausethetextbookwasjusttextandIwantedsomethingvisual,andthiswassohelpfultome.”
“Butyoulookatanaspectofphysiologyandmicrobiologyandit’ssoabstractbecauseyouarejustreading.Butwiththevisualsandallthosethings,itmakesiteasierforyoutoappreciatethetopic.”
“Onceyouwatchit[theOER],justpractiseanditbecomesapartofyou.“
‘’Ithinkwiththevideosyoutendtounderstanditmore.Becauseformepersonally,Iunderstandlike,whenintermsofstudies,Igetabetterunderstandingwithvideosthanjustevenaudios.”
Comparedtocrowdedsituationsinwhichmanystudentsviewclinicalprocedures,OERaffordaclose‐upviewthatisoftenbetterthanthe‘real‐life’situation.
“Forthisprocedure,thelecturerwantedyouguystohaveafeelofwhatheactuallyisdoingwhenheisexaminingapatientandthewayhishandispositioned,whichyoudon’tnormallyseewhenyouarestandingbytheside.”
“Yeah,formyselfIthinkit’sreallyhelpedwiththeCaesareansectionaspect.Becauseinthetheatreyouarenotreallyallowedtogettooclosetothepatientandsoyoudon’treallyappreciatewhatisgoingonintheoperatingroom.ButwhenyouwatchtheCD,youhave–youareabletojustseewhatisgoingonandyouappreciatethestructuresanddifferentthingsthat’sgoingon.Forexample,someoftheproceduresthataredone,maybeIUDinsertion…,ifyouwerenotabletoseeitduringtheprocedureaspect,youcanwatchthevideoandknowexactlyhowitisdone.”
“Thesurgicalaspect.Ithinkitwashelpfulbutreally,reallyhelpfulinthat…Someofus,weendupstandingatthebackandsowedon’treallyappreciatewhat’sgoingononthetable.”
“[Theward]–issmall!Andtheyareleadingusandyouareallintheward.Youdon’tallow20studentstoenteraroomwhichaccommodatesonlyfourorfive.
OERarenot‘on‐off’experiences;theycanbe
“Soifyouarejustgoinganywhere,youcanjust–youareinataxi,youcanslowlybereadingyournotes…Soit’seasier.Youjustdownloaditandaspeoplelistentomusicanddo
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AdvantagesofOER Illustrativeexampleinstudents’ownwords
accessedanywhere,anytime.18
whatevertheyaredoing,inthesamewayyoucanbewatchingordoinganOERasthoughyouarelearning.”
“Soitbecomessoeasylikeifthat’showhediscussessicklecelldisease,thenanyoneatanypointcanjustpickitandjustlistentoitforaquickrevisionofit.”
OERarerelevanttothelocalcontextandconditionsunderwhichGhanaiandoctorspractise.
“IthinkOERisagoodthing.AsIsaidearlier,weusuallyjustreadthebooks.AndmostofthesebooksarewrittenbypeoplefromtheUSA.Onlyafewfromourcountry.Andsoyoureadthethingsthattheyaredoingandtheadvancedthingsbut…inGhana,inKorleBu,wedon’tdothat.SoIthinkthatforthefactthatthevideoactuallyinvolvesourlecturerswhoaretellinguswhattheydohereinKorleBu.”
OERprovidetheopportunityofexperiencingcasesthatmaynotpresentinreallife.
Student1 [whohadfoundanObstetrics/gynaecologyvideoonYouTube]:“Anditwasreallygood.Itwas–even–yeah,youdon’talwaysgettheopportunitytoseebreechontheward…“
Student2:“Yeah.”
Student3:“Ihaveneverseenit.”
OERprovidetheopportunityofamoredispassionateviewingofeventsthatmightotherwisenotbeadequatelyfollowedbecauseoftrauma.
[StudentcommentingonOERondeliveryofababy]:“AndalsothatthevideoonithasbeengoodbecausemaybethefirstdayI…wasso[laughs]traumatized[somestudentslaughing]…Yeah.SoafterthatIwentbacktothevideotogoandwatch…andhey,Imeanafterwatchingforsometime,ithas–ithashelpedmerealizeandgobacktothelabour,watchandseetherealthingproperly.”
OERprovideagoodformofrevision/preparationforclinicalpractice.
“…forabout5or10minuteshavealookatit[theOER]andgotothepatientsanddotheexamination.”
“Soifyouonlywanttowatchgoingintotheabdomen,youjustgothereandyouwatchitandyougoback.”
OERareagoodformofrevisionforexaminations.
“…theoneonthewebsiteObstetrics[inaudiblecoupleofwords]itwasreallyhelpfulgettingtothefinalfifth‐yearexams.Thestepsoftheexaminationofthepatientwerereallyhelpfulpreparingyourselffortheexams.”
OERprovidethereassuranceofformativeevaluation.
“AndIthinkanothergoodthingaboutthewholestudymaterialisthefactthatafterdemonstrationhowthevariousproceduresaredoneandallthat,theyaskquestions.”
“There’sasectionyoucanask–justtoconfirmyou’velearnedandunderstood–testquiz.AndIthinkthat’saplus.It’sverygood.Itmakesyouknowthatyoureallyunderstoodthisprocedure.”
OERcanhelpregularize “Ifounditquitedifficultbecauseeachlecturerhasawayof
18Thispointwasalsomadeinthe‘StudentPerspectiveonusinganOERModule(2009)’videoonhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2Fm5Grp7sU&feature=relmfu,accessedApril2012.
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AdvantagesofOER Illustrativeexampleinstudents’ownwords
standardsbyobviatinglecturerstancesthatstudentsperceiveasidiosyncratic.
examiningsomething…Theyarealldifferent…It’s–hehasthesepeculiarities…Andyougoanddothiswithanotherexaminerandyouarefailed.Attheendoftheday,there’sastandard…Soattheendoftheday,letusgetastandard,putitinasystemandweallgobythatstandard.”
AccessingOERfromothersourcescontributestoricherunderstandingoftopics.
“Yeah,andanotherpointisI think,liketocontinuewithwhatyouaresaying,italsoallowsexchangeofknowledgebetweenthedifferentinstitutions.BecausefirstitwaswhenIwatchedtheLegonvideos,itgavemeanewperspectiveonsomeofthoseexaminationsbecausetherewerethingstheysaidwhichourpeopledidn’tsay…andsoIthinkit’shelpfultoputthevideosinsuchawayordistributetheminsuchawaythatthestudentsfromdifferentuniversitiescanhaveavideofromtheotheruniversitiesaswell.”
OERcanplayanimportantroleincontinuingprofessionaleducation.
[Whenwe’reinpracticeonedaywe’llbeableto]“lookbackovervideoslater:Yeah[somestudentslaughing],verytrue,verytrue.”
Inadditiontothesewide‐rangingadvantagesidentifiedbystudents,threefurtherpointsemergefromtheirutterances.
First,studentsappearedtohavelittleconcernforthecopyrightstatusofresources.Forexample:
…IrememberwhenwestartedOby/gynandweweretaught
mechanismoflabour,andactuallyIwaslostthatday[somestudentslaugh].Icouldn’tunderstandathing.ButIwassokeenthat…IfoundavideoonYouTubeandIdon’tknowifit’sOER.Butitwassogood.WhenIsawit,ImeanI–itwasverydifficultformetoeverforgetit.
Second,studentsarecriticalofOERthattheyperceivetobeof‘lowquality’.OneOERwassaidtohavetoofewillustrations;anotherwas“unnecessarilylong”,andthelightingwasnotgoodeither.Inthecaseofanother:“They–itwasasiftheywerenotorganizedbeforetheyvideoed.Asiftheywerenotorganized,oritwasimpromptu.Theyweren’texpectingit…Thesoundqualitywaspoor.”
Third,andperhapsmostimportantly,students’exposuretoOERhasledtoclearexpectationsofchangedpracticesinteachingandassessment,aswellasininstitutionalpolicyandprovisioning.Commentssuchas“…familyplanningshouldalsobeincludedinthevideos”reflectwaysinwhichtherepertoireofOERshouldbeextended.Similarly,OERshouldbedevelopedtocoversituationsinwhich
…youareconfrontedwithsuchacasethatyouhavenoideaabout.SoIthinkthisstudymaterialshouldtryandcaptureallthese
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things,theserarethings…someonemightcall[you]incompetent,butthereisnovideoonit.
When,duringinterviews,itwasmentionedthatsomeuniversitiesmadevideosoflecturesavailableasOER,itwasasked:
Isitpossiblewecangetthat?Iknowourlecturerswillrejectthisbecausetheysaywewon’tcometoclassbutImeanI’mlookingatthelong‐term.Isitpossiblewe’llgetthere?
Studentsfeltthatanewteachingparadigmwascalledfor:
Student1:Yeah!It[OER]willhelpallofus.Andme,Ithinktheobjectiontheymightraiseisthatstudentswillbelazy.AndIdon’t
thinkthat’sthepoint.Thewholeideaisthatifastudentcanunderstandinandoutoftheclassroom,then–
Student2:Understandit,yeah.
Student1:thatistheessence.Andyouwillbeabletoeducatethepersonwell.Inthatcase,youwill–youaregoingtospend–youcouldhavemadeitlikeaproject.“Beforeyoucometoclass,everybodyshouldwatchthisvideo.”
StudentsmadereferencetoinstitutionalresponsibilityformakingOERincreasinglyavailable:
IthinkthattheyshouldsetitasapolicyoftheuniversitythenandIamthinkingandprobablyallofthelecturersaresupposedtohaveproducedvideosorsomething.Probablyitshouldbe
somethingthattheuniversityshouldinsiston,thateverylecturerdoessomevideosforthenumberoftopicsthatheteachesinasemesterorsomething.
Technologicalinfrastructureisnecessary:
Havetheserviceavailableinyourhostelsandyougo,youaccessit.BecausewhenIgothere,thelasttimeIwenttocheckmyemail,I
wassomad;therearesomesitesIcan’tevengoto.AndI’mlike,“SowhyamIpayingfortechnology?”
Overall,studentscitedcompellingreasonsforthedevelopmentofOERtosupplement–andindeedtochange–normalclassteaching.Criticismstherewere,butthesewereofthequality,accessibilityandlimitedOERcoverageinrelationtotheoverallcurriculum.Inthissense,criticismsaffirmedthevalueofOERfromthestudentperspective.
ImpactofOERonstudentswhowereinterviewedhasbeensuchthattheirexpectationsofOER‐basedteachingandlearninghavebecomenormative.StudentexpectationscouldbecomeapowerfuldriverofOERdevelopment.
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5.2 ACADEMIC STAFF JUDGEMENTS ON QUALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING
OneoftheUWCDentistryOERstalwarts,whocontinuestoworktowardscompletingherOERafterthewithdrawalofthisfacultyfromtheNetwork,observed:
Theexperienceofdevelopingit[theOER]wasextremelytime‐
consumingandlengthyasitwasreviewed,changesweremade,andthefullbenefitofusingitinteachinghasnotyetbeenexperienced.
Withthisexception,academicsspokewithonevoiceonthebenefitsOERbroughttoteachingandlearning.Intheviewofone,“Gradsarenowmorereadytofacetheworksituation.”Thefollowingthreepointsmadebyacademicsareverysimilartothosemadebystudents:
(a) Videosofclinicalproceduresallowforbetterviewing.Inadditiontothestandardargumentaboutanunviablenumberofstudentsclusteredaroundapatient,itwasnoted:“Insomeinstancesanimationsandillustrationswithnarrationaremuchmoreeffectivethantheliveperformancealthoughtheylacktheatmosphereofthetheatre.”
(b) ‘Anywhere,anytime’accessibilitytolearningresources:
WecanmakeOERavailableindifferentformats.Therefore,bythisapproachitispossibletomakelecturematerialsaccessibletoallstudentsirrespectiveoftheireconomicbackgroundandsomakingtheresourcesstudent‐oriented.Theyarealsoaccessibleeveninsituationswhenstudentshavetemporarydifficultyinaccessing
theInternet.
(c) OERpromotemoreindependentlearning:
o “Studentsareexpectedtodomoreindependentstudy,butlecturersareaccessibletothemshouldtheyhavequeriesregardingthematerials”(Mawoyo2012:8).
o “Iprovideadequatebackgroundtothetopicforstudentstofetchoutmoreinformationbythemselves.”
OtherpointsmadebyacademicsreferredmoretoOERbenefitsforteachingthanforlearning:
(a) OERbroadenstaffperspectivesonnewvariantsofteachingapproaches:
o “…[OER]…forcedfacultytoconfronte‐learning.”o [Wenow]“focusonimagesmuchmoreinourteaching.”
(b) Thebenefitsofstaffcollaboration:
o “Thedepartmentcomestogetherfora‘peer‐reviewapplication’.Inthemediumterm,thisimprovesquality.Inthelongerterm,[itimproves]thewayacademicsworktogether.”
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o WithOER,thereis“consultationwithothercolleaguesbeforeproduction…[leadingto]…muchmorethoroughnessandthought.OERmakesusmorecertainaboutstepsofprocedurebeingdemonstrated.”
5.3 MANAGEMENT’S JUDGEMENTS ON QUALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING
Seniorinstitutionalmanagersechoedseveralofthepointsraisedbyacademics.CommentingontheOERproducedbytheDepartmentofAnatomy,aprovostnotedthevalueofOERinpreparingstudentsforaparticularprocedurethatinducesanxietyinmanystudents:dissections.TheOERmaterialwas“goodfordemonstratinghowtocomposethemselvesandconducttheoperation”.AnotherprovostreportedthattheeffectivenessofOERhadraisedstudents’expectations;theywerebeginningtoexpectthatteachingwouldbesupportedwithmedia‐basedresources.
Seniormanagersidentifiedthreeadditionalbenefits:
(a) OERenableteachingthatwouldnototherwisebepossible.Theexampleofpathologywascitedbecausemanyinstitutionsdonothavethenecessary“pathlaborgansinbottles”.AtUCT,workhascommencedondigitizingapproximately3500specimens–plusdescriptivetext,videoclips,andlinkstorelevantsitesandresearch.Withthefirst1500havingbeencompleted,manyrequestshavebeenreceivedfromfacultiesthatdonothavethenecessaryspecimens.AfteracquiringtheOER,thesefacultiesthenneedonlyadataprojectororcomputertodemonstratetheresourcetostudents.
(b) OERhelptoovercomemanychallenges,viz.thefollowing:
o Facultyfacetheeducationalchallengeofteachingclinicalskillsinwaysthatareminimallyinvasiveinrespectofpatients’privacyandrights.
o Studentshavetobetaughtanindigenouslanguagetogetherwithclinicalskills.
o Ifstudentenrolmentistoreachthenumberswantedbythestate,thecreationofvirtuallearningenvironmentsisessential.
o Studentshavetolearntopractiseinthedistricts,awayfromthe‘ivorytower’.Whiletheyareatsuchsites,theirlearningissupportedbyOER.
o Tobefullyfunctional,doctorsneedanunderstandingofalliedpracticessuchasoccupationaltherapyandspeechtherapy.AnOERapproachisthebestwayofofferingthisadditionalknowledgeandunderstanding.
o OERraiseawarenessofopenaccessjournalsnecessarytoimprovecurrentlearningandtopromotelifelonglearninginafieldwithaknowledgebasethatisexpandingexponentially.
(c) AdoptionofanOERapproachhasgeneratednewinternalpeer‐reviewmechanisms.Inoneinstitution,forexample,collaborativeworkonOERmaterialisfollowedbypeerreviewmanagedbyaheadofdepartment,afterwhichthedeanbecomesinvolved,and“theprovostfinallygivesthego‐ahead”.Thedevelopmentofcollaborativeworkingrelationsthroughpeer‐reviewprocessesmaywellbringmorelong‐lastingbenefitstooverallqualitythantoasingleOER.
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Amoreindirectimpactonqualityiswhatoneheadofdepartmentdescribedas“heightenedawarenessofwhatmaybeusedlegitimatelybystaffandstudents”.Othersalsocommentedonthefactthatmanyacademics“aren’tbeingcarefulaboutcopyright”.Thesameappliedtostudents,whowerecharacterizedasbeing“cavalieraboutcopying”.
5.4 CONCLUSION: IMPACT ON TEACHING AND LEARNING
Asmightbeexpected,thethreesetsofintervieweesjudgedOERfromthestandpointoftheirownparticularinterestsandconcerns.
StudentsmainlyaddressedthequestionofwhetherOERpresentedwhathadtobelearntinamoreaccessibleform,andinawaythatmadeforbetterunderstandinganduseofknowledge.Inthissense,learningwascloselyconnectedwithassessment.Successin‘theexams’wasapowerfulconsideration.Theirswasnotapurelyinstrumentalposition,however.TheywerekeenlyawareofhowOERcanleadtomoreindependentstudentlearning;andtheywerealsoattunedtothepotentialofOERintheirongoingprofessionaldevelopment.
Whileacademicsalsofocusedonlearning,theteachingsideoftheequationwasmorestronglyevidentintheirjudgements.ThereallyimportantissuesforacademicsweretheroleofOERinbroadeningtheirrepertoireofteachingskills,creatingopportunitiesforfruitfulcollaborationwiththeircolleaguesandregularizingunderstandingsabouthowtoteachparticularclinicalprocedures.
SeniormanagerswereequallyinterestedintheroleofOERinpromotingbetterlearningandstudentperformance.Atthesametime,theirjudgementonOERimpacthadadistinctivebreadthintermsofoverallqualityassuranceandthekindoflearningthatisnecessaryandpossibleinthefaceofchangingcontextsandnationalpolicyrequirements.
Therespectiverolesofstudents,academicsandseniormanagerscancarrypotentialfortheassertionofdifferinginterests.InjudgingtheimpactofOERonteachingandlearning,however,thoseintheNetworkwereunited.Theimportantconclusionisthatfromthedistinctiveperspectivesofthesethreesetsofkeyrole‐players,OERhadachievedhighimpact.OERexperienceshadcreateda‘win‐win’situationintermsofbeliefin,andcommitmentto,OERpracticesthatmetcoreneeds.
6. IMPACT OF OER ON ACADEMICS’ CAREER DEVELOPMENT
6.1 PERSONAL ACCOUNTS OF ACADEMIC STAFF
Beingrootedinpersonalandprofessionalidentities,pathsofcareerdevelopmentwillobviouslyvaryacrosscontexts.ThethemesinTable8(below)arisefromtheaccountsofindividualswhohaveventuredintoOERproduction.
Table8:ImpactofOERonindividualacademics’careerdevelopment
Theme Illustrativecase/s
TheadoptionofOERhasreinforceda
UWCSOPHreliedonteamworkpriortotheAfricanHealthOERNetwork:researchersconductcasestudies,theneducationexpertswriteupthecases.TheNetworkbroughttwochanges:(a)
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Theme Illustrativecase/s
teachingidentitybasedonteamwork.
Academicshavebecomeusers ofOER.dScribingisanintegralpartofassemblingdataforcasestudiesandlearningmaterials.(b)Openlicensingofresources(butonacautiouslyselectivebasis–seebelow).
WorkingwithOERaddsanewdimensionandimpetustoteaching.
“IthasspurredmeontopublishmoreOER.Ihavetwomoreprojectssoontogoopen.”
“Yes.IthasaffordedmeanapproachtoteachonlineandIamalreadygettingresponses.”
“PracticalaspectsofteachingareeasierthroughOER,andlessstressful.”
“OERproductionhasallowedmetoemphasizegraphicaldemonstrationandevaluationinmyteaching.”
OERpromoteamorelearner‐centredapproachwithmoreindependentstudentwork.
“Yes,OERallowonetogetstudentstopractiseindependently.”
“InowlovetoreferstudentstotheOERAfricawebsiteformoreinformationtheycanseekoutforthemselves.”
“Yes.Iamnowincorporatingmoreofdemonstrationandcoachinginmyteachingingeneral.”
OERmakeformoreroundedacademics;teachingisresearchled.
‘’OERproductionhasgivenmeaccesstoanotherwayofbeingahighereducationpractitioner.Thereissomuchemphasisongettingtheresearchright,andontheotherhandthereisalsosomuchsignificanceattachedtobeingateacher.So,theOERwritingcombinesthetwodimensionsofbeingateacherandaresearcher.Publicationinajournalonlyallowsyoutoshowyourcredentialsasaresearcher,butOERallowmetoprojectmyresearcherandteacheridentitiesatthesametime”(Mawoyo2012:17).
OERhavegivenpersonalrecognition/affirmationasateacher.
“…acceptanceofourfirstonlineproductionofalecturetitled‘DevelopmentofOro‐facialStructuresanditsClinicalCorrelations’.IthasalreadyappearedontheKNUSTOERwebsite.”
“MyOERpublicationhasgivenmemorecredibilityasapreviouslyunpublishedacademic.Ithasassistedtobuildmyconfidenceasacontributorinhighereducation.”
“Ithasbeenrewardinggettingpositivefeedbackfromothers.Iparticularlyenjoywatchingtheclicksgrow.Evenastudent,whosereflectivetaskisincludedinmywebsite,hasbeenexcitedatthepublication.”
“Myworkreachesaninternationalaudience.”
AdoptionofanOERapproachhasbroughtasenseofloss–andfears.
“Therewerenodifferences[between‘normal’teachingandusingOER]…onehoweverlostthepersonaltouch.”
“Ididtheresearchforthemoduleandamfearfulthatpeoplewillgrabit…lecturersdon’twantpeopletoseewhatthey’redoing.”
“AsamarketingpersonforOERatouruniversity,I’mableto
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Theme Illustrativecase/s
talkfrompersonalexperienceusingmyresourceasanexample.Shiftingfromaclassroomprojecttoonethatgoespublictakesalotofcourageandneedsasenseof‘lettinggo’.Oneistakingariskwonderinghowotherswillviewyourmaterial.”
ThistablecapturesboththerewardsandthethreatsassociatedwithproducingandusingOER.Tounderstandthenatureandthebalanceofthesetwoforceswouldrequireafollow‐upstudy.However,threepointsareevidentfromtheavailabledata.
First,onewouldexpectsomepossiblesenseoflosstoaccompanyaswitchtoOER‐basedteaching,whichbringswithitsomelossofcontrolovercontent.Asituationinwhichstudentshaveindependentaccesstolearningmaterials,whichtheycanuseintheirownwayandintheirowntime,representsasignificantdeparturefromthehistoricalparadigm,whichholdsthat:theindividualteacherisresponsibleforonegroupofstudentsforafixedperiodoftime;teachingisasoloperformance;theteacheristheonlyormainsourceofinformation;andtheteacherdecidesonwhatcountsasknowledgeandhowitshouldbesequenced,andhowlearningshouldbepaced.Themoresurprisingaspectofasenseof‘loss’isthatonlyasingleacademicreportedit.
Second,fearscanbelinkedtobothpersonalandinstitutionalfactors.Makingone’steaching‘public’mayindeedtake“alotofcourage”(asabove),butthewidespreadprobleminrespondents’commentswasoffearslinkedtoinstitutionalfactors.Thesearisemostclearlyinaunitinwhichlearningmaterialsarebasedonstaffresearchandinwhichasignificantproportionofstaffareoncontract;andallofthisinauniversitythatplacesapremiumonscholarlyresearchoutput.19
Third,themuchmoregeneralpicturewasoneinwhichfearswereverymuchoutweighedbyexamplesofpositiveeffectsinteachingandlearningandbyhowOERhadinfluencedthewayacademicswereredefiningthemselvesasteachers.Oneonlineresponseprovidedthemosteloquentexpressionofidentityasateacher:
OERalignswithmyphilosophyofteaching–shiftingawayfromthelecturerapproachtowardsamoredemocraticclassroominwhichstudentsbringtheirknowledgeandunderstandingswhich
arevaluedandprobed.OERempowersandenablesascaffoldingconstructivistapproachtoteachingandlearning.Iastheeducatoramabletodevelopmyresourcesusingthoseofothersinthefield,andmystudentsarebetterequippedtoprepareforclassesby
doingtheirownresearchonopenaccessmaterial.Itbroadenstheirscopeforlearning.
AdoptinganOERapproachhasbeenacatalystinacademics’rethinkingthecoreaspectsoftheirpractice:howknowledgeisdefined,howonerelatestoone’sstudentsaroundknowledge,andhowonerelatestofellowacademicsinthecourseofdailywork.
19OneanecdotalaccountsuggestedthatanOERofimmensepotentialvaluetothebroaderteachingcommunityhadnotseenthelightofdaybecauseofitspotentialasaresearchpublicationinaproprietaryjournal.
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6.2 CONCLUSION: OER IMPACT ON ACADEMICS’ CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Fearsaboutmakingtheirworkpublicwereevidentinsomeacademics’responses.However,suchfearswerefaroutweighedbypositivewaysinwhichOERproductionandusehadaffectedtheircareerdevelopment.Approachestoteachinghadbeenconsolidatedorredefinedinthecoreareasofeducationpractice.Insomecases,thetwopillarsofacademicwork–teachingandresearch–hadbeenbroughtintoamoreproductiverelationship.SomeacademicshadachievedpersonalrecognitioninwaysthataffirmedtheirroleasOERpractitioners.Seniormanagersconfirmedthisviewofcareerdevelopment.Oneprovostobservedthatacademicshad“embracedOER”,butaddedthattherewerestill“pocketsofmisunderstanding(notquitethesameasresistance)”.
Overall,thenumberofacademicswhoarepositiveabouttheirOERworkfaroutnumbersthosewhoarewaryaboutputtingtheirworkintothepublicdomain.Forthemajorityofacademics,workingwithOERhasnotremainedamarginal‘addon’activity.TheOERapproachhasbecomeintegraltothewayinwhichtheydefinetheirsenseofprofessionalidentity.
7. RELATIVE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF OER ThequestionnaireforOERproducersaskedthequestion:“Hasthisresource,asanOER,inanywayreducedthecostsofstudyforyourstudents?Ifso,whatdoyouestimatethesavingtobe?”
Typicalresponseswere:“Don’tknow”;“Estimateofcostquitedifficult”;“Ican’ttellnow”;“Notsure”;“Notcertainyet,hasn’tbeenquantified.”Atonelevel,suchresponsessuggestthatinstitutionshavenotyetgrappledseriouslywiththisquestion.Indeed,itisadifficultquestionassavingsassociatedwithOERproductionandusewilldifferwidelyfromsavingsaccruedfromOERadoption,useandreuse.Forexample,theviewofUWCDentistryisthat,intheircircumstances,therewardofOERcreation“isjustnotproportionaltotheeffort”.Nonetheless,evenintheUWCFacultyofDentistry,asavinghasbeenachievedbymaking“extensiveuse”,inthe‘extended’programmeforfirst‐yearstudents,oftheOERoriginallydevelopedforseniorstudents.20
FromthreeotherpartnerinstitutionstherewasevidenceofdirectsavingsachievedthroughuseofOER.Ofthese,anacademicatKNUSTwassomewhatspeculativeintone:
WhatIcanonlysayfornowisthatitmaylikelyreducethecostsof
studybyremovingtheneedtophotocopylecturenotesandtopurchasebooks.ManylecturenotescanbedownloadedontooneCDwhichis0.5GhanaCediscomparedwiththecostofphotocopying.TheInternetlinksareprovidedforeverylecture
andmeantforstudents’self‐learninganddevelopmentthroughsourcingofmoreinformationpertainingtothelecturetitles.Thismaybeagoodsubstitutefortheneedtopurchasebooksthatmaynotevenbeaffordable.
20ThelegacyofDentistry’sinvolvementintheNetworkisthattheynowdefinethemselvesasOERusers.
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UWCSOPHincursaper‐pagelicensingfeeforuseofcopyrightmaterial.Thisamountstoa“heavycommitment”.Unfortunately,actualsavingscannotbequantifiedbecausecostsarebuiltintostudentfees,andvaryinproportiontostudentnumbers.AdampeneroncostsavingachievedbyOERuseisthattheinstitutionis“rathertextbookbound”,andamoveawayfromthatwouldbenecessaryforimpactofsavingstobefeltbystudents.Nonetheless,UWCSOPHseestheadvantageofusingOERinitsownlearningmaterials,andadScriberischargedwithresponsibilityforlocatingOERforexactlythatpurpose.
Inasinglebluntstatement,theUCTeditorofanOERtextbookprovidedthemostcompellingexampleofdirectcostsaving:“AvoidshavingtopayR8000foratextbook.”
Moreover,therewereseveralindicationsthatOERachievesignificantindirectformsofsavingsthroughinterrelatedcombinationsofthefollowing:
a) Savingsintime.
b) Improvedquality/effectivenessoflearning.
c) Enablingteachingontopicsthatmightotherwisenotbecovered.
d) Fosteringcollaborationbetweenacademics.
Illustrativequotesincludethefollowing:
“Student[OER]learningisricherfortheencounter.” “...makesworkeasierinthelongrun,youdon’thavetoacquirematerialsfor
demonstrationandsetupapparatus.”21 “Thenationalpictureanddevelopmentsreducestheamountoftimeavailablefor
clinicalteaching…withOERyoudon’thavetorepeattheperformance.” “Gainsareindirectordiffuse:(a)thequalityofgraduates;(b)fewerstudentsfail.” “…scientists,cliniciansandpublichealthpractitioners–whopreviouslyoperated
veryindependentlyofeachother–havebeenbroughttogetherbytheinterdisciplinaryprocess…”
“Savingintimelookingforactualpatientstoexamine.Sometimesthepatientoneneedsdoesn’tpresent[him/herself].”
7.1 CONCLUSION: RELATIVE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF OER
ItisnotpossibletociteconclusivestatisticalevidencetoshowthatfinancialsavingsarebeingachievedthroughtheuseofOER.However,thecumulativeweightofevidencefromtheaccountsandexperiencesofacademicsstronglysuggeststhatdirectandindirectformsoffinancialsavingsarebeingrealized.Evidenceofdirectsavingsisstrongestinthecaseofcompletesetsoflearningmaterialsortextbooksthatstudentswouldotherwiseberequiredtobuy.OERvideoproductionsthatare‘enhancements’orsupplementarytothenormallectureprogrammeareself‐evidentlylesslikelytoresultindirectfinancialsavings.
AcrossalltypesofOER,thereisstrongevidenceofmoreindirectformsoffinancialsavingsbroughtaboutthroughreducedstafftimeneededforteaching,qualitygainsinlearning,andincreasedstaffcollaboration.Moreover,thereareexamplesofOERenablingteachingontopicsthatwouldotherwisenotbecovered.Althoughindirectand
21ThiswasstatedbyaprolificOERproducer.
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verydifficulttomeasureinprecisefinancialterms,thesesavingsrepresentsignificantformsofimpact.
IndicationsofashiftfromOERproductiontogreateruseofexistingOERwilldoubtlessincreasethelevelofbothdirectandindirectfinancialsavingsbeingachieved.
8. USE OF OER PRODUCED OUTSIDE OF THE NETWORK TheformalresearchquestionfromtheToR(Section2.1)isphrasedinthisway:
“IsthereanyevidencethatpartnerinstitutionsareproactivelystartingtouseOERproducedoutsideoftheNetworkintheirprogrammes?Canthisusebelinkedtowhatwehavedone?”
Theitalicizedwordsinthisquotation(writer’semphasis)formanimportantpartofthebackgroundrelevanttothisquestion.Frominception,theprojecthasfocusedstronglyontheproductionratherthanuseofOER.Institutionshaveconcentratedon–andachievedconsiderablesuccessin–developingtheirownOERandsystemsforembeddingappropriatepoliciesandpracticesintheirowninstitutions.Nevertheless,theaccountbelowshowsthatthegazeisbeginningtoshiftfromOERwithintheNetwork,toavailableOERbeyond.EvidenceisdrawnfromOERproducersand‘non‐OERproducers’alikeinthepartnerinstitutionstoillustratethistrend.
8.1 OER PRODUCERS’ USE OF OER FROM OUTSIDE OF THE NETWORK
Inanswertothequestion“HaveyouusedOERfromoutsideoftheNetwork?”intheOERProducers’Questionnaire,sevenoftheninerespondentsindicatedthattheyhad.OERinspecializedfieldssuchas“advancedtraumaoperativemanagement”and“laparoscopicsurgery”hadbeenfoundandused.Eventhoughthesampleissmall,if78%ofOERproducershaveusedOERfromoutsideoftheNetwork,itisafirmindicationthatOERproducersareexpandingtheiractivitiestoincludeOERuseandreuse.
Supportforthisviewisfoundindatafromstaffinterviews.AcademicsfromallpartnerinstitutionsreportedincreasedawarenessanduseofOERfromelsewhere.EvenUWCDentistryreporteda“surgeinuseofOER…wedefineourselvesasusers,notproducers,ofOER”.
AcademicsatKNUSTandUGofferedcommentssuchas“We’rebeginningtoknowwhat’soutthere”and“I’minterestedtoseehowotherpeoplehavedonethings”,whendescribinghowtheirworkasOERproducerswasleadingtogreaterawarenessofthepotentialforOERuseandreuse.TypicalstatementsweresimilartothatoftheUCTacademicreportedbyMawoyo(2012):
NowIamabitmoreawarethatthematerialsIamusinginmylecturesarenotnecessarilynew;itisnotthefirsttimeithasbeen
done.IammoreinterestedinusingtheInternettochecktoseewhathasbeendonesoitsavesmetimeespeciallywithnewmodules;forexample,intheHealthPromotiononewherewearetryingtocomeupwithnewwaysofdoingthings.Itgivesmeanideaofhowothersaredoingitintherestoftheworld.Itmakes
memoreconscious.(Mawoyo2012:7)
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UseofOERfromelsewhereisalsoamatterofinstitutionalchoice.UCTandUWCSOPHhaveeachhadtheservicesofa‘dScriber’sincecommencementoftheproject.dScribersdomorethanassistfacultywithconvertingexistingmaterialsintoOER;theyalsoconductsearchesforOERthatareneededtosupportnewmaterials.Thus,whileUWCSOPHhasusedand“sharedback”learningmaterialswiththeUniversityofWashington(Seattle),majoreffortisbeingputintothesearchforOERfromothersourcesthatcanbebuiltintolearningmaterials.Moreover,theuseandsharingofresearchforOERhasbeensystematizedwiththeestablishmentofagroupknownas‘PublicHealthCaseStudies’.Thisgroupcurrentlyhas34membersanditsfunctionisdescribedasfollows:
Groupestablished2011bySchoolofPublicHealth,UniversityoftheWesternCape,SA.Thecontentsareintendedforthe
developmentofcasesforteachinginPublicHealth.Theyaredrawnfromthewww,andfromSOPH'sownwork.Youarefreetore‐purposeSOPH'scaseswhichareofferedwithaCreativeCommonsShareAlikelicenceandtogiveusfeedbackonthem.You
areencouragedtoaddcasestudiesorlinkstocasesfromyourownsettingtothissite.(Mendeley2012)
StatisticsonOERuseofthe219papershousedonthesitearenotyetavailable.However,withadScriberinpost,andanSOPHresearcherdescribingherselfsimplyasan“OERuser”,researchpapersforuseinOERmaterialsarecertainlybeingaccessedandused.22
8.2 NON-OER PRODUCERS’ USE OF OER FROM OUTSIDE OF THE NETWORK
Ofthe28respondentstotheonlinesurveyfornon‐OERproducers,9hadusedOERfromotheruniversities.However,themostsignificantfeatureoftheseresponsesisthattheyprovidegoodreasonforbelievingthatawarenessanduseofOERcanbeattributedtotheNetwork.EightofthenineusersofOERfromotherinstitutionshadinfactdrawntheseOERfromotherNetworkpartners,namelyUCTOpenContent,KNUSTOERandOpen.Michigan.OnlytwohadusedOERfromnon‐Networkpartners(MedEdPORTALandMERLOT).KnowledgeofOERisrecent(30%ofrespondentshavingbecomefamiliarwithitinthepastsixmonths),and41%and19%respectivelyhadattendedOERpresentationsanddemonstrations.ThesefiguresstronglysuggestthatknowledgeofOERcanindeedbeattributedtotheNetwork.Certainly,thereislittleevidenceofknowledgeofOERfromoutsideoftheNetwork.
8.3 CONCLUSION: USE OF OER PRODUCED OUTSIDE OF THE NETWORK
ThePhase2EvaluationoftheNetwork(OERAfrica2011)reportedapparentreluctanceonthepartofOERdeveloperstouseOERfromelsewhere,andprovidedanumberofcogentreasonsforthis.Thatevaluationalsocitedotherresearchreporting“overwhelminghesitancy”ofOERcreatorstoadaptorreuseothers’content(OERAfrica2011:38).
22TheSOPHfindsthesharingofresearchpaperslessproblematicthanthesharingoflearningmaterials.
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Incontrast,thecurrentimpactstudyfindsevidenceofgrowinguseofOERdrawnfromwidersourcesandrepositories.Thistrendisevidentattwolevels:
a) Attheindividuallevel,forbothpersonalandprofessionalreasons,OERproducersarebeginningtoshowgreaterinterestinusingOERfromelsewhere.
b) Attheinstitutionallevel,incaseswheremodulesandfullsetsoflearningmaterialsarebeingdeveloped,thereareincreasinglysystematiceffortstolocateanduseOERoropenresearchmaterialtoincorporateintonewOERthatarebeingcreated.
AwarenessofOERfromelsewhere,andtheuseofsuchOER,canbeattributedtotheNetwork.ThisraisestheinterestingpossibilitythatinductionintoOERandsuccessfulOERproductionmightbecreatingitsownmomentum,resultingingreaterinterestinOERfromelsewhere.
9. NON-PARTNER INSTITUTIONS USING OER FROM THE NETWORK
ThissectionmovesfromthebigpictureofrawstatisticsdrawnfromSection3toanaccountofindividualresponsestotheonlinePublicSurvey.ThreeverybriefcameosprovideamorequalitativeindicationofthekindsofOERtake‐upthathaveoccurred.
9.1 AWARENESS AND USE OF THE NETWORK
9.1.1OVERALLSTATISTICSONVISITORSANDDOWNLOADS
TherelevantsectionfromtheearlierTable4isreproducedinTable9(below).
Table9:Downloadsandvisits
Indicator Notes
#views,downloadsandvisitsfromOERAfrica,U‐Mandinstitutionalrepositories
OERAfrica: 19416downloads,10824visitors
Totalpageviews80446
Internetarchive: 856downloads
U‐M: 1500viewspermonth
SlideShare: 1591views
YouTubeVideos:110videos;totalviews1093831(seeAppendix3,PartC)
#visits,visitorsfromOERAfrica,U‐Mandinstitutionalrepositories,andtrendsovertime
OERAfrica: 10824visitors
U‐M: 766visitors
Totalpageviews: 80446
Forthetop20searchtermsandtop20resourcedownloads,seeAppendix3,PartD.
Derivedfromwebanalytics,theseimpressivestatisticsarecertainlyreliable.However,itcannotnecessarilybeassumedthatOERweredownloadedforthepurposeforwhichtheyhadbeenmadeavailable.Thequestionmustbeaskedwhethertheyarevalidmarkersofprojectimpact.AcomparisonofstatisticsonOERtopicsviewedonYouTubeandtheAfricanHealthOERNetwork(Appendix3,PartsCandD)hasthepotentialfor
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speculation.Curiouscasualwebsurfersandpossiblyevenvoyeursmay,forexample,haveinflatedthenumberofYouTubeviewers.Wehavenowayofknowing.Bycontrast,theprofileofdownloadsfromtheOERAfricaandU‐Mwebsitescreatestheimpressionofusersrepresentingawiderrangeoflegitimatemedicalinterests.
Overall,onthebasisofprojectmetrics,therearegoodgroundsforinferringthattheNetworkisbeginningtomeetgenuineneedsinhealthscienceseducationinthedevelopingworld.Table10(below)reinforcesthisassertion.
9.1.2INDIVIDUALRESPONSESTOTHEONLINEPUBLICSURVEY
AwarenessanduseoftheNetworkwasalsogaugedbymeansofaPublicSurveyQuestionnaire(forthedistributionstrategy,seeAppendix2).Thesampleof52respondentscomprised35academics,5studentsand9in‘other’occupationalcategories.23Assuch,itissuitablyreflectiveofinstitutionalratherthanpurelyindividualperspectives.Table10(below)providesarankorderlistofcountriesfromwhichresponseswerereceived.
Table10:CountriesfromwhichonlineresponsestothePublicSurveywerereceived
♯responses Countriesinwhichrespondentsreside
18 SouthAfrica(ofwhichonlytwowerefromaNetworkpartnerinstitutionviz.UCT)
9 Ghana(ofwhichsixwerefromthetwoNetworkpartnerinstitutions)
3 Kenya
8 India,Malawi,Nigeria,Sudan(tworesponsesfromeachofthesecountries)
14 Burundi,Canada,Denmark,Ethiopia,Gambia,Guyana,Israel,NewZealand,thePhilippines,Switzerland,Tanzania,Uganda,UnitedArabEmirates,Zimbabwe(oneresponsefromeachofthesecountries)
Allbutthreerespondentsarefromdevelopingcountries.Withonly8ofthe52respondentsbeingNetworkpartners,itcanbeinferredthattheNetworkhasaprofilebeyondpartnerinstitutions.
Table11(below)listsindicatorsofimpactoutsideofthepartnerinstitutionsalongsideinferencesaboutimpactthatmaybedrawnfromresponses.
Table11:Inferencesdrawnfromindicatorsofimpact
Indicatorofimpact % Possibleinferenceswithrespecttoimpact
Thosefamiliarwith 71 TheassociationoffamiliaritywithOERandtheNetworkraisestwopossibilities,bothofwhich
23‘Other’includesdiversecategoriessuchas‘independentconsultant’;‘regionaladvisor,WorldHealthOrganization’;‘ICTdirector’).Threerespondentsdidnotspecifyanoccupationalcategory.
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Indicatorofimpact % Possibleinferenceswithrespecttoimpact
theconceptofOER
ThoseawareoftheAfricanHealthOERNetwork
65
reflectwellonNetworkimpact:
(a) ThoseinthehealthscienceswhoknowaboutOERalsoknowabouttheNetwork.
(b) TheNetworkhasraisedawarenessofOER.
Respondentswhoalsoaccessotherwebsites
38 ItappearsasifrespondentsusetheAfricanHealthOERNetworkastheirprimarysourceofOER.
Respondentswhofoundrelevant/usefulresourcesontheOERAfricawebsite
63 Giventhenumberofspecialistfieldsinthehealthsciences,thisfigurereflectsveryfavourablyontherangeofOERintherepositoryaswellasontheirquality.Thisinferenceisreinforcedbythefactthat15%reportedvisitingthesite“frequently”,39%“sometimes”and46%“occasionally”.
Typesofresourcesdownloaded
AllOERtypesareusedbyatleast
50%ofrespondents.
TherepositoryhasafullrangeoftypesofOER.Typesofresourcesdownloadedare:lecturepresentations(by93%ofrespondents);teachingcasestudies/labexercises(by83%);textbooks/learningguides(by82%);researcharticles(by80%);teachernotes(by75%);datasets(by50%).
Respondentswhoare“verylikely”torecommendtheAfricanHealthOERNetworkwebsitetotheircolleagues
80 Thisreinforcesalloftheaboveinferencesoffavourableimpact.Only11%reportedbeing“veryunlikely”torecommendthewebsite.
RespondentswhoarenotsubscribedtotheNetworknewsletter
46 71%ofthe54%notsubscribedwouldliketosubscribe.Thisreflectspositivelyontheirinteractionwiththewebsite.
Note:Figuresaboveareroundedofftothenearestwholenumber.
Respondents’open‐endedcommentsfellintotwocategories:
(a) Appreciationforthesite:
o “Agreatresource.”o “Itisagreatconcept.IhaveaccesstotheUSlibraryandhavethereforenot
accessedtheOER.Ihaveatightworkandstudyscheduleandsimplyhavenotmadetimetolookattheavailableresources.”
o “Excellentwebsite,itgivesmemoreconfidenceinmyworkIdo.”
(b) SuggestionsforwaysofextendingOERbenefits:
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o “Thisinstitutionshouldbeabletolookforfundingtoassistthepeopleoflow‐incomecountriestoparticipateinsomanyworkshopstogainknowledgeaboutresearch.”
o “Goodinitiative,butIdidn'tknowaboutit.”o “Pleaseseehowyourcoursesandprogramscanbeaccreditedorcanbe
transferredfordegreeseekinglearners.”
Onenegativeorplaintivecommentwasoffered:
Encourageinterestedcontributorswhoputinpersonaltimeandresources.Thereshouldbemoreofinclusionratherthanexclusion,beyondinstitutionalorterritorialboundaries.Idevelopedtheideaofaresourcefrominceptiontocompletion.Itwasputonlineandthentakenoff.Whathappenedtomy
resource?24
9.1.3THREECAMEOSOFOER‘TAKE‐UP’
Threeverybriefcameoscomplementthebiggerstatisticalpictureofimpact.
(a) Take‐upofasingleDVD
AmultilingualClinicalSkillsDVDwasdevelopedinlinewithUCT’sfocusonprimaryhealthcarewiththeaccompanyingneedfordoctorswithconversationalcompetenceinindigenouslanguages.
ProfessorHellenberghadoriginallyintendedtoreleasetheDVDforsale.However,throughtheHealthOERinitiative,heandthe
otherauthorswereexposedtotheconceptoftheCreativeCommonslicensingframeworkanditsrelevancetotheFHS[FacultyofHealthSciences]mission.TheythereforeagreedtolicensetheDVDasOER.TheUniversityofStellenbosch–also
locatedintheCaperegion–isnowusingtheseresourcesinitsowntrainingprogrammes.(Mawoyo2012:9)
(b) Downloadingoftextbookchapters
ChaptersofatextbooktitledOpenAccessAtlasofOtolaryngology,HeadandNeckOperativeSurgery(Fagan2012)arehostedontheUCTVULAserver(theUCTvirtuallearningenvironment),aswellasonOERAfrica.Contributorstothetextbookincludethe“topsinussurgeonintheworld,aswellasthetopotologist”onrhinologyandotology.25InthelastweekofFebruary2012theeditorofthetextbookwrotethatchaptershadbeen“downloaded>1400timesfromallovertheworld,principallyIndia”.26ThedeanaddedthatthistextbookhadplayedakeyroleinthequalificationofthefirstENTspecialistinMalawi.
24Becausethisrespondentdidnotreplyanonymously,itwaspossibletofindtheanswertoherquestion.Theresourcehadbeenremovedattherequestofherinstitution.25Personalemailtodeanofhealthsciences,UCT,28February2012.26Personalemailtodeanofhealthsciences,UCT,28February2012.
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(c) Take‐upatnationallevel
TheOERdevelopedbyUGandKNUSThasbeenusedinotherAfricancountries.InApril2011,U‐MdemonstratedtheCaesarean
sectionmoduleco‐developedbyUGandU‐MtotheMinisterofHealthofEthiopia,whoimmediatelydistributedittoseveralcommunityhealthcareworkersuponhisreturn.Themoduleco‐authorfromUGisnowadvisingonhowtointegrateOERinto
clinicalmaternalhealtheducationatanewmedicalschoolinEthiopia.Additionally,twoUGalumnihappenedacrossthetotalabdominalhysterectomyandCaesareansectionmodulesfromUGwhiledoingonlinesearches,andhavesinceusedthemwithfellow
residentsinNigeria.(LudewigOmolloetal.2012:69)
9.2 CONCLUSION: NON-PARTNER USE OF OER FROM THE NETWORK
Despitelimitationsonhowonemightinterpretprojectmetricsinrespectofvisitsanddownloads,projectmetricsindicatethattheNetworkismeetinggenuineneedsintheteachingandlearningofthehealthsciencesinAfricainparticular.ThisconclusionisstronglysupportedbytheviewsofrespondentsintheonlinePublicSurveyaswellasbyaccountsoftake‐upfromothersources.InadditiontotherelevanceoftheOERbeingmadeavailable,datafromdifferentsourcespointtothequalityoftheOER.
10. EFFECTIVE SOCIAL AND TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR OER PRODUCTION AND USE
ThedifferentapproachestoOERdevelopment–allsuccessfulexceptforthesingleunitthathaltedOERproductionbecauseofcompetingpressuresonhumanresources–providearichdatabaseforextrapolationswithrespecttofactorsthatcontributetothetypeofsocialandtechnicalinfrastructurewithinwhichOERflourish.27
TheoverarchingpointarisingfromexperienceoftheNetworkisthatremarkablysuccessfulOERdevelopmenthastakenplaceindiverseNetworkpartnerinstitutions–butinwaysthatareconsistentwiththedistinctiveethos,contextualrealities,strategiesandresourcesthatcharacteriseeachofthem.Asaresult,institutionshavedevelopedtheirowncreativeproceduresformakingthemostofOER,withappropriatesupportfromtheproject.WhilenoreadytemplateorchecklistforOERdevelopmentemerges,issuesofsignificancedo.Webeginwiththemostobviousissue.
10.1 TECHNICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
ThepromiseofmakingteachingresourcesdefactoOERcanbefulfilledonlyifthereareadequateICTplatforms.Whileprojectmanagementhassucceededadmirablyinmakingresourcesavailable(seeSection9inparticular),challengesinpartnerinstitutionsremain.AswellashavingbeenreportedintheNetwork’scasestudyresearch(Ludewig
27OneoftheproblemsforUWCDentistrywasthatalthoughtherewasaneedforOER,production“justdidn’tworkforus”.
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Omollo2011:11),technologyinfrastructurechallengeswerementionedbymanystudentsandseveralacademicsininterviewsandsurveys.Acaseofstudentexasperationwithcampustechnologywascitedin5.1above,andtherewereseveralothers,suchasonestudent’sdescriptionofhisattemptstousezippedfiles:
Andthenwhenyouunpackthem–Idon’tknow–Ihavetriedittwice.Itriedgettingthe…oralglucosetolerancetest.Idownloaded
itbutthenwhenIunpacked,Icouldn’tgetit.Idon’tknowwhatformattheyputitin.
AcademicsdonotappeartohaveuniformlybetteraccesstoICTeither.OnerespondenttotheonlinePublicSurveywrote:
It[OER]isagoodthing–butIworry.Howopenisopenaccess,whenaccesstotheInternetinCapeTownisstillsouneven?ThestaffinourlocalCapeTownCommunityHealthCentres,westillcannotconnectthemtoVULA.WecannotcommunicateandsharedocsviaVULA.Westilldeliverdocsbycar!
ThenatureofthechallengewasdrivenhomeinthecurrentstudywhenanumberofresponsesfromOERproducershadtobehandwrittenonprintedversionsofthequestionnaire,thenscannedandreturnedfromacentraloffice.Anumberofonlineresponsesdispatchedfromtheappointedofficedidnotreachtheirdestination.
WithouttheinfrastructuralsupportofOERAfrica,itseemspossiblethatmanygoodresourcesproducedonpartnercampuseswilllanguishonDVDsissuedtostudentsinahome‐grownandhome‐boundmanner.AfunctionalInternetconnectionisasinequanonforOERtoflourish.
10.2 OER CHAMPIONS – AND THE BIG CHAMPION
EarlierprojectevaluationscommentedontheexistenceinallinstitutionsofacoreofOER‘champions’fromdifferentbackgrounds.Ofallchampions,themostimportantistheonewhotakestheleadandwhohasthenecessaryinstitutionalpowerandstandingtomanagechange.AtUGandKNUST,thetwoprovostshaveledsuccessfulinstitutionalOERpolicydevelopmentinadditiontocreatingsystemstoinstitutionalizeOERproduction.InnovationsatUGincludedtheinvolvementofretiredprofessorstoeasetheadditionalworkloadthatcomeswithOERproduction,andtheemploymentofafull‐timemediaspecialisttofilmandpackageOER.AtKNUST,thetaskofOERproductionhasbeenharmonizedwiththeworkoftheDepartmentofCommunicationDesign(DeCoDe),tothemutualbenefitofboththeprojectandtheDeCoDeanditsstudents.SenioruniversitymanagementatUCTreliesonthedeanofhealthsciencestocomplementitsowneffortstomakeOERnormativeacrossallfaculties.28
UWCpresentsacontrast.InstitutionalOERpolicyhaslongbeeninplace:
28ThedeanalsoplaysanadvocacyroleonthecontinentthroughherpositionaschairoftheAfricanMedicalSchoolsAssociationandherinvolvementinotherAfricanorganizations.
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UWChasalonghistoryofsupportingtheuse,developmentand
diffusionoffree/opensourcesoftwareandeducationalresources.In2005UWC'sSenatepassedanambitiousFreeContent,Free/OpenCoursewarePolicy,whichremovedinstitutional
obstaclestopublicationofopeneducationalresources.TheFreeCoursewareprojectispartofabroadermovetowardsimplementationofthisstrategy.(FreeCoursewareProject,UWCnd)
Nonetheless,oneintervieweenotedthattheuniversity’s“strategicfive‐yearplanforteachingandlearning”makesnomentionofOER,andanotherremarkedthattheFreeCoursewarewebsite“lookssadandneglected”.Aheadofdepartmentaddedthatthereseemedtohavebeen“nodevelopmentsinceDerek[theacademicwhochampionedthepassageoftheFreeCoursewarethroughthesenate]left.Butithasn’tcloseddownasfarasI’maware.”Twokeyfactorshereappearrelated:(a)thechampionwhoshepherdedtheOERthroughtheUWCsenatesubsequentlylefttheuniversity,and(b)bothUWCSOPHandDentistrypilotedOERwithoutinstitutionalsupport.TheformerhassustaineditsrolelargelybecausethereisnaturalsynergybetweenOERanditsownmodusoperandiofproducingresearch‐basedlearningmaterialsfordistanceeducation.Thelatter,asmentionedabove,haltedOERproductionandhavebecome“OERusers”.
Ahigh‐levelchampionisanassetofcriticalimportance.
10.3 A STRUCTURAL HOME FOR OER
AlooselyknitpoolofchampionsworkingasindividualsisnotthekindofarrangementthatwillcreatesustainableOERmomentuminahighlybureaucraticenvironmentlikeauniversity.OERhastobecomepartoftheformalorganizationalstructure.ProjectexperienceshowsthatanestablishedunitthattakesontheroleofsupportingOERisadecidedasset.ThisisespeciallytrueifthatunitisabletoplaytheadditionalroleofaligningOERpracticesandneedswithuniversityregulationsandblanketissuessuchascopyright.Theacademiccitedbelowcaptureswhatmanyacademicshaveexpressedindifferentways:
WeneedabiggerteamsupportingOER,withfull‐timeemployees.OneofthechallengesIfoundwasthatpeoplewerebusywithotherthingsand,becausetheyarepart‐time,theyhaveotherthingstodo.Ifyouhaveafull‐timepersonthingskeepgoing–itwillnotslowprogress.OERactivitiesneedtohaveafocalpointinthe
faculty–itmakesitmorerealifthereisanOERareaasopposedtoitbeingpartofIT.(Mawoyo2012:13;17)
WiththeexceptionofUWC,NetworkpartnerinstitutionshavepowerfulinstitutionalchampionsandstructuralhomesforOER,staffedbyanindividual,orindividuals,whobecomethepublicfaceofOER.
10.4 AN INTELLECTUAL HOME FOR OER
PartnerinstitutionshavebeenmindfulofthefactthatOER,beingresourcesforteachingandlearning,mustbecoherentlyintegratedintoexistingprogrammes.This
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callsforcurriculumexpertise.KNUST,forexamplehasaninstructionalmodel;andUWCSOPHemploystwofull‐timeacademicswithqualificationsineducation.UCTprovidesanexampleofthesignificantbenefitsofanestablishedintellectualhomeforOER.TheCentreforEducationalTechnology(CET)is“ahybridcentrewithanexpertteamoflearningtechnologists,designers,teachingandresearchstaffandcurriculumsupportspecialists”(Mawoyo2012:3).Inadditiontomanagingtheuniversity’sopenaccessprojectsandsupportingtheNetwork,CETisanextremelypowerfulintellectualhomeforOER.ThetwoearlierevaluationsnotedthenumberofUCTacademicswhobelievedthattheirworkinproducingOERhadbenefitedimmeasurablyfromtheirstudiesinteachingandlearninginhighereducationofferedthroughCET.Theirstudieshadnotonlyenhancedtheirknowledgeofcurriculumandpedagogy.Theyhadalsocometogripswith“pedagogiccontentknowledge”(Shulman1987)–thewayinwhichthecontentofuniquedisciplinesisrecontextualisedintoprocedurestoenablesystematiclearning.
10.5 ‘RECULTURING’ THE CORE: TEACHING AND RESEARCH
Thecoreofacademicworkcomprisesteachingandresearch,butitisthelatterthatcarriesgreaterrewardandprestige.Academicswhowereinterviewedshowedkeenawarenessofthis,expressedintermssuchas:“We’repressurizedforhigherdegrees,forscholarlywork,”and“Researchiswhatcountshere.”
ParityintheincentivesstructureforresearchandOERproductionhasbeenachievedinapprovedinstitutionalpolicyatKNUST,andispendingatUG.Thisisamajoradvance.InthelongertermtherecouldbeadditionalmeritinbuildingonthewayinwhichsomeOERproductionhasbroughtteachingandlearningintoaclosermutualrelation.ThishasoccurredininstanceswheredScribershavebeeninvolvedinlocatingresearchtobebuiltintoOER;and,inthecaseofUWCSOPH,‘own’casestudyresearchisintegraltolearningmaterials.Encouragementforthefusionofresearchandteachingratherthanseeingthemasoppositionalactivitieshasthepotentialfor‘reculturing’(Fullan1998).Althoughwrittenwithschoolinginmind,Fullan’sargumentonthelimitationsofrestructuringhasequalrelevancetohighereducation:
Restructuringreferstochangesintheformalstructureofschoolingintermsoforganization,timetables,roles,andthelike.Restructuringbearsnodirectrelationshiptoimprovementsinteachingandlearning.Reculturing,bycontrast,involveschangingthenorms,values,incentives,skills,andrelationshipsinthe
organizationtofosteradifferentwayofworkingtogether.Reculturingmakesadifferenceinteachingandlearning.(Fullan1998:4)
10.6 PEER REVIEW AND QUALITY
Withoutvisiblepeer‐reviewprocesses,OERwillremainvulnerabletoaccusationsofsuspectquality.(Traditionalcontactteachingremainsstrangelyimmunetosuchsuspicioneventhoughmanystudentsandformerstudentsaresceptical.)PeerreviewisbuiltintoallOERproductionprocessesintheNetwork,atbothfacultyandNetworklevels,andthisisclearlyanessentialpartoftherequiredOERinfrastructure.Itisalsoanecessaryformofreassuranceforproducers,someofwhomhaveanxietyabouttheir
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work–whichwaspreviouslycompletelyprivate–suddenlybeingopentopublicscrutiny.
Atabroaderinstitutionallevel,however,considerationofqualityissueswouldbemostmeaningfuliflinkedwiththe‘bottomline’–thatis,cost.Section7alludedtodirectsavingsachievedthroughuseofOER.Nevertheless,thereappearedtobenoreadymechanismforquantifyingsavingsorcostbenefits.Asdifferentsectorsoftheuniversityplaytheirownrolesintheflowoffinances,thedevelopmentofamechanismforanalyzingcosts,savingsandbenefitswouldhavetobeaninstitutionalundertaking.
10.7 USE OF OPEN ACCESS SOURCES IN ALL TEACHING AND RESEARCH
Thispointfollowsdirectlyontheissueofcostsavings.dScribingprocessescanbeveryslowwhenexistingmaterialsarebeingconvertedintoOER.Copyrightclearanceitselfisslow.Muchofthisdifficultyandexpensecouldbeobviatedifinstitutionswerepreparedtomakeacommitmenttousingasmanyopensourcematerialsaspossibleand,inturn,topublishingtheirownproductsinopenaccessforums.
Thereareusefulprecedents.ArecentmemofromHarvard'sfacultyadvisorycouncildeclaresthatmajorscientificpublishershadmadescholarlycommunication“fiscallyunsustainable”.
Exasperatedbyrisingsubscriptioncostschargedbyacademicpublishers,HarvardUniversityhasencourageditsfacultymemberstomaketheirresearchfreelyavailablethroughopenaccessjournalsandtoresignfrompublicationsthatkeeparticlesbehindpaywalls.29
10.8 STUDENT EXPECTATIONS
Theexpectationsofstudentsarealltooeasilyneglectedwhenuniversitysystemsareunderconsideration.Studentsinthisstudyemergedashavingstrong,clearlyexpressedviewsandexpectations.Theirviews(Section5.1)onhowteachingcanoptimizelearningopportunitiescreatedbyOERwereasincisiveasthoseofacademics.Studentsexpectgoodresource‐basedteachingaswellasfunctionalICTsystemsforaccessingresources;andtheymadeaclearcallformorepublicityaboutsiteslikeOERAfricaandprojectsliketheAfricanHealthOERNetwork.
StudentviewsanddemandscanbeastrongassettothecauseofOERuseandreuse.Responsetotheseviewscouldprovideausefulwayforacademicstocombinereflectiveteachingwithresearchforpublication.
10.9 EXTERNAL SUPPORT
Anintriguingpossibilitywasraisedearlier:DothosewhoareintroducedtoOERandsupportedinOERproductionprogressnaturallyfrombeingproducersoforiginalOER
29ISample,“HarvardUniversitysaysitcan’taffordjournalpublishers’prices”,Guardian,24April2012.From:http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/apr/24/harvard‐university‐journal‐publishers‐prices,accessedApril2012.
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tobecomingusersofOER?Thecurrentstudyfoundsomeevidenceofthis,butuntilthereismoresystematicresearchthispossibilityremainsthekindofhunchthatsometimesguidesresearch.Aschangetakeshold,changescertainlydooccur.Forexample,atUGitwasnotedthatOERcameasa“newidea”.Withmuchprogresshavingbeenmade,“byandlarge,theobstacleisnolongerfearasmuchastimeinwhichtoworkonOER”.
LeavingasidethequestionofwhethertheOERprocessacquiresitsownmomentum,externalsupportforOERremainsimportantatanumberoflevels.Atatechnicallevel,theOERAfricawebsiteisofkeysignificance,andfromuniversitymanagersthereisappreciationforNetworksupportacrossissuesrangingfrompolicydevelopmenttosimplykeepingabreastoffast‐movingdevelopments.ThedeanatUCTwasquotedearlierassayingthatOERAfricaisa“facilitator,inspiration,technicalsupportandmanagementcentre”.
SimilarneedforprojectsupportisevidentonthepartofindividualacademicsinvolvedinOERproductionanduse.AnacademicatUGputitthisway:“Fundingornofunding,wewillcontinuewithOER.Butweneedanoccasional‘brushup’fromOERAfrica.Weneednewideastomaintainthepassion.”
11. EFFECTIVE CROSS-INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION MODEL FOR OER PRODUCTION
11.1 CROSS-INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION ACHIEVED THUS FAR
Cross‐institutionalcollaborationonOERproductionwithintheNetworkhasnotyetdevelopedmuchbeyondtheindividualnetworksinexistencepriortotheinceptionoftheAfricanHealthOERNetwork.TherelativelackofnetworkingthatisevidentconfirmsthefindingsoftheLuoetal.(2010)studyoncollaboration:
Mostoftheintervieweesstatedthateventhoughtheysawthebenefitsofcross‐institutionalcollaboration,theydidnotknowhowtoinitiatecollaboration.Inparticular,participantsdidnotknow“whattheperson[fromotherinstitutions]does,theskillhe
has,theinterestoftheperson,andproductionsthathe’sdone”.(Luoetal.2010:17)
Intervieweesintheearlier,Phase2evaluation(OERAfrica2011)readilyacknowledgedtheneedforcollaboration,aswellasshortcomingsinthisregard.Atthecurrentstageoftheproject,however,theseshortcomingsarenotperceivedbyprojectparticipantsasanykindoffailure.Aspartofgeneralrecognitionthatchangeisslowandincremental,initialeffortshavebeenstronglyfocusedonthefirst,essentialstep:OERproductionwithintheinstitution.Partnerinstitutionshavefocusedon“gettingthingsrightathomefirst”,asonerespondentputit.
Atthelevelofprojectmanagement,thepictureofcollaborationisverydifferent.“[M]embersoftheAfricanHealthOERNetworkareactiveparticipantsandnetworkersontheinternationalfront,andenjoyahighprofile”(OERAfrica2011:28–29).ThemoststrikingsingleexampleofimpactistobeseeninagreementsforcollaborationwiththeHigherEducationAllianceforLeadershipThroughHealth(referredtoastheHEALTHAlliance),“alegalorganisationthatimplementsregionalactivitiesandcoordinates
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curricula”.30Thealliancecomprisessevenschoolsofpublichealth,atthefollowinginstitutions:
MakerereUniversity,Uganda. JimmaUniversity,Ethiopia. MuhimbiliUniversity,Tanzania. KinshasaUniversity,DemocraticRepublicofCongo. NationalUniversityofRwandaSchoolofPublicHealth. NairobiUniversity,Kenya. MoiUniversity,Kenya.
TheimpactoftheAfricanHealthOERNetworkisbestcapturedinthefollowingstatementfromaHEALTHAllianceproposal:“ThedevelopmentofstandardizedcurriculaandmaterialsfortheMaster’sProgrammesinPublicHealthwillbedonewithinanOERframework”31(writer’semphasis).
IthasbeenconsistentlyarguedthatOERsuccesswithinpartnerinstitutionswaslargelyattributabletoOERdevelopmenthavingtakenplaceinlogically‘grounded’waysalignedwithinstitutionalneedsandpriorities.ItisnotablethattheNetworkarrangementwiththeHEALTHAlliancehaditsoriginsininstitutionalneeds.Inthisinstance,Networkmanagementwasabletorespondappropriatelytothealliance’swishtoincreaseaccesstopublichealtheducationintheregion,aswellastosynchronizethecoursesinthemastersprogramme(MPH)soastofacilitatecredittransferandstudentexchangeacrossregionalschoolsofpublichealth.
Therecansurelybenobetterstimulusforcross‐institutionalcollaborationonOERproductionthanthecommoncurriculumofanallianceofinstitutionsworkingtogetherwithinanOERframework.
11.2 POSSIBLE MEASURES TO PROMOTE COLLABORATION
ProjectexperiencessuggestanumberofpurposefulmeasuresthatmightbeconsideredaswaysofstimulatingcollaborationsonOERproduction.
(a) VisitingprofessorshipscanbringvaluableOERexpertisetocontextsofneed.Thetwoearlierprojectevaluationsdrawattentiontotheimmensevalueoftheyear‐longsabbatical(August2008–August2009)thatU‐M’sProfessorCaryEnglebergspentatKNUSTduringwhichhealsoworkedwithacademicsatUG.Thiswasnotonlykeyin‘kickstarting’OERprocesses.AfterasubsequentreturnvisitbyProfessorEngleberg,alecturerfromtheDeCoDeatKNUSTundertookasix‐monthresearchfellowshipatU‐Mtostudyinstructionalandinteractivedesignprinciples(LudewigOmolloetal.2012).AfricanacademicswithrecentlyacquiredOERexpertisecouldtakethistootherinteresteduniversitiesaspartofroutinevisitingprofessor/sabbaticalarrangements.
(b) Judgingbytheinterestshownbyrespondentstotheonlinequestionnaires,theAfricanHealthOERNetworknewsletterhasmuchpotentialforgeneratingthekind
30http://halliance.org/31Fromthedraftdocument“Proposalforthedevelopmentofstudent‐centredOERtosupportregionalMPHprogrammesinEastAfricathroughtheHEALTHAlliance”(23February2012).
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ofpublicityfortheNetworkthatmanystudentandacademicrespondentsurged.Amongotherservices,thenewslettercouldbetheconduitbetweeninstitutionsofferingvisitingprofessorshipsandOERexpertseligibleforsabbaticals.SuchaservicemighthelpovercomethekindofdifficultyexperiencedbyUWCDentistry.Duringtheirearlyinvolvementintheproject,thefaculty’seffortstofindsomeoneexperiencedtoworkwithinprostheticshadbeenunsuccessful,ashadtheireffortsat‘twinning’withanotheruniversity.
(c) TheintellectualhomeforOER–referredtoin10.4above–hasfinancialimplications.Analternativethatcouldalsocontributetointer‐institutionalcollaborationwouldbethedevelopmentofOERcoursesforacademics.ModulesorhigherdegreeprogrammescouldcovervarioustopicsacrosstheproductionanduseofOERinhighereducationteaching.
(d) Research‐productiveacademicshavetheirownpersonalnetworks.ExamplesofactiveresearchbeingcombinedwithmaterialsproductionintheproductionofthemoreextendedtypesofOERwerementionedabove.AsmoreOERofthistypeareproduced,thereisincreasedlikelihoodofexistingresearchnetworksbroadeningintoresearchandOERproductionandusernetworks.Similarly,ifinstitutionsencouragedacademicstouseopenlylicensedteachingmaterialsandtopublishresearchinopenaccessjournals,thiswouldfosterincreasedOERawarenesswithinspecializedcommunitiesofpractice.Peer‐reviewprocessescouldalsoraisesuchawareness,leadingtonewcollaborations.
11.3 CONCLUSION: PROMOTING CROSS-INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION
TheoverallpicturestronglysuggeststhatiftheNetworkmodelthathasunderpinnedsuccessfulOERproductionandextensionissustained,cross‐institutionalcollaborationwillfolloworganically,alongthelinesoftheagreementwiththeHEALTHAlliance.
ThemostimportantprinciplewithrespecttoextendingcollaborationwouldseemtobeexactlywhattheNetworkhasbeendoing:identifyinglocallyrootedcurriculumneeds,andthenrespondingwithappropriatesupport.Withitssensitivitytodemand,thismodelovercomeswhatElmore(1999)identifiesasthekeyreasonwhyeducationalinnovationtakesholdinonlyafractionofinstitutions:“Theproblem…liesnotinthesupplyofnewideas,butinthedemandforthem”(1999:256).12. CONCLUSION Thisoverallconclusionnowdrawstogethertheconclusionsreachedattheendofeachofthesub‐sectionsonprojectimpact.Keyfindingsandstatisticsarehighlighted.
12.1 IMPACT WITHIN NETWORK PARTNER INSTITUTIONS
(a) ImpactacrosspartnerinstitutionsTheprojecthashadhighimpactacrossthepartnerinstitutions.ThecommittedpoolofOERchampionscontinuestoincrease,albeitslowly.OERproductioncontinuesapace,accompaniedbytherecenttrendofmuchincreasedinterestandactivityintheuseandadaptationofexistingOER.Theonlynon‐OERproducer,UWCDentistry,nowfocusesonOERuse.
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(b) ImpactonteachingandlearningAcademicsandstudentsstronglyaffirmthebenefitsofOERinteachingandlearning.Academicsreportimpactintermsofwaysinwhichtheyareredefiningtheirgeneralapproachtoteaching.Multimediaresource‐basedteachingmovesnaturallyinthedirectionofmoreactivelearner‐centredmethodsthatpromotegreaterstudentindependenceandresponsibilityformanagingtheirownlearning.Insomecases,researchandteachingwerebeingbroughtintoamoreproductiverelationship.StudentswerekeenlyawareofchangesinteachingapproachesandofhowacademicscouldfurtherexploitthepotentialofOER.TheyexpressedclearexpectationsthatOER‐basedteachingshouldbecomenormativeandthatcampusinfrastructureshouldallowthemreadyandindependentaccesstoweb‐basedresources.
(c) ExtendingfromOERproductiontoincreasinguseofOERWhilepartnerinstitutionshavefocusedstronglyonproducingOER,bothOER‐producingandnon‐OER‐producingacademicshavebeguntouseOER.TheirknowledgeofOERcanbeattributedtotheNetwork,andindeeditisprincipallyOERfrompartnerinstitutionsthatarebeingused.
(d) MovingfromOERproductiontoOpenEducationalPracticesFacultiesinpartnerinstitutionshavemovedbeyondmeetingtheoriginalNetworkcontractualobligationofOERproduction.Withtake‐uphavingextendedtothehostinstitutionsthemselves,theNetworkisatthethresholdofachievingashiftfromOpenEducationalResourcestoOpenEducationalPractices(OEP).NetworkimpactcomesclosetothisdefinitionofOEP:
OpenEducationalPractices(OEP)aredefinedaspractices
whichsupporttheproduction,useandreuseofhighqualityopeneducationalresources(OER)throughinstitutionalpolicies,whichpromoteinnovativepedagogicalmodels,andrespectandempowerlearnersas
co‐producersontheirlifelonglearningpath.OEPaddressthewholeOERgovernancecommunity:policymakers,managersandadministratorsoforganizations,educationalprofessionalsandlearners.(ICDEnd)
WithOERhavingarrivedatUGandKNUSTasanewconcept,theshiftininstitutionalidentitytowardsOEPisamajordevelopment.Likewise,UCTnowhasanexplicitpositionwithregardtoOEP(seeOER@UCT2011).ThisdevelopmentcannotbeattributedsolelytotheNetwork,whichhasaugmentedotherOERmovementsalreadyinprogressatUCT.However,theNetworkhasclearlymadeanimportantcontribution.Moreover,whenitcomestooverallimpact,itissurelythecauseofOERorOEPthatismoreimportantthanthebrandingthatpromotesit.Theopenaccesscauseislikelytobebestservedwhendifferentforcesandprojectscontributeindifferentwaysbutwithunityofpurpose.
(e) SignificantOERpolicydevelopmentImpactextendsbeyondthepartnerfacultiesthathavepioneeredOERintheirinstitutions.PolicydevelopmentsinthreeofthefourNetworkinstitutionshavemovedtowardsOER‐amenableopenaccessmodesofoperationatinstitutionallevel.Changingidentitiesareevidentatbothinstitutionalandindividuallevels.
(f) NewNetworkconnectionsacrosshighereducationinstitutions
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Theabovepointalsohasrelevancetotheonlysignificantmetricsindicatornotfullyachieved:“newconnectionsacrossinstitutionsforsharingknowledgeofhealtheducation”.ConnectionsacrossarangeofinstitutionsbeyondtheNetworkpartnersarearguablyamoreimportantdevelopment.Moreover,collaborationandnetworksaretoopersonaltobeengineered–theyemergethroughpracticebasedoncommoninterestsandthedevelopmentoftrust.ProspectsfornewOERconnectionsandcollaborationarecertainlyenhancedbythemorewidespreadavailabilityanduseofNetworkOER.Inthisregard,Networkmanagementhaslaidthenecessarygroundwork.ManagementhasbroughtnewinstitutionsintotheOERframework.ThisformalagreementwiththeHEALTHAlliancebringsthestandardizedcurriculumacrosssevenconstituentuniversitiesintoanOERframework.
12.2 IMPACT ACROSS BROADER COMMUNITIES AND NETWORKS
Inadditiontoinitiatingandsupportingprojectpartnersincontextuallysuitableways,theNetworkhasbeensuccessfulinachievingthefollowing:
Avisibleandaccessibleengagementprocessforcreating,using,discussingorpromotinghealthOER.
Theassemblyofhigh‐qualityAfrican‐producedOERrepresentingawiderangeofhealthdisciplines(310healthresourcesrepresenting13disciplinesand20sub‐disciplines).
AvisibleandusedportfolioofOERhealtheducationlearningmaterials,whichaugmentsandhighlightsinstitutionalandglobalrepositories(OERAfricahasatotalof10824visitors,whileU‐Maverages1500viewspermonth).
ScholarlyoutputonOERinconferencesandpublications.
ImpactoftheNetworkisbeingexperiencedinthedevelopingworld,andinAfricainparticular.Resourcesacrossarangeofdisciplineshavebeendownloadedandused;andjudgedtobeusefulandofhighquality.YouTubevideoOERhavegenerated804individualratingsonquality,withanaverageratingof4+starsoutof5.Themostcommonlyrecurringwordsinviewers’commentsare“thanks”,“thankyou”and“understand”.
IntheonlinePublicSurvey,63%ofrespondentsreportedhavingfoundusefulresourcesontheOERAfricawebsite;and80%were“verylikely”torecommendthesitetocolleagues.
12.3 NETWORK RATIONALE AND PROVISION OF TRAINING IN THE HEALTH SCIENCES
Inconclusion,werelateNetworkimpacttoitsrationale.Theplightofuniversitiesiswellrepresentedinthemedia.Increasingly,inthejargonthathasbecomepopular,theyareexpected‘todomorewithless’.ThefollowinggloomyviewintheSouthAfricanBusinessDayreflectsthisdiscourse.Undertheheading“Excellencehasbecomealuxuryuniversitiescannolongerafford”,anacademic(writinginhisprivatecapacity)argues:
Fromauniversitymanagementperspective,lowpassratesmeanlessmoneyinthepocketandthespectreofundesirable
outcomes…Sohowdoesauniversityrespondtothissituation?In
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realityitallbecomesanumbersgame–managementbyspreadsheet…Withthepresentfundingformulaforhighereducationinplace,universitiestalkexcellencebuttheysimply
cannotaffordit.Universitiescanaffordonlymediocrity.32
Constraintsarereal,butthiskindofargumentwouldbemorepersuasivehadtherebeennotechnologicaldevelopmentandsocialchangesinceJohannesGutenberg.TheAfricanHealthOERNetworkhasshownthatqualityandcost‐effectivenessareneithermutuallyexclusivenorunattainable.ThecurrentimpactstudyfindsexamplesofdirectandsignificantindirectsavingsthroughOER;andenhancedqualityisevidencedintheaccountsofacademicsandstudentsaswellasinnewqualityassurancepeer‐reviewmechanisms.
ThefoundingprojectrationalefortheAfricanHealthOERNetworkisthatpoorhealthoutcomesinAfrica’sdevelopingcountriesarepartlyattributabletotoofewhealthproviders,staffandresources;andtotoomanystudents.OERdevelopedthroughcollaborativenetworkscanleadtomoreproductiveteachingandlearning,andultimatelytomoreandbetterhealthcareproviders(Open.Michigan2011a;OERAfrica&U‐M2010).
ImpactoftheNetworkfullyjustifiesthetheoryofchangeonwhichtheprojectisbased.HighimpacthasbeenachievedinawaythatservesalsoasamodelforOERadoptioninotherdisciplinesinotherAfricanuniversities.
32CBoshoff,“Excellencehasbecomealuxuryuniversitiescannolongerafford”,BusinessDay,23January2012.
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13. REFERENCES AdanuRMK,Adu‐SarkodieY,Opare‐SemO,NkyekyerK,DonkorP,LawsonA&EnglebergNC(2010)ElectroniclearningandOpenEducationalResourcesinthehealthsciencesinGhana.InGhanaMedicalJournal44(4).From:http://www.ghanamedj.org/pastjournal.php?JID=25,accessedApril2012
AfricanHealthOERNetwork(2011)AfricanHealthOERNetwork.From:http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/grants/african‐health‐oer‐network/2010,accessedJuly2010
BreierM&WildschutA(2006)Doctorsinadividedsociety:TheprofessionandeducationofmedicalpractitionersinSouthAfrica.From:http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/product.php?productid=2146&freedownload=1,accessedApril2012
EbrahimE&RanganVK(2010)Thelimitsofnonprofitimpact:Acontingencyframeworkformeasuringsocialperformance.WorkingPaper.SocialEnterpriseInitiative,HarvardBusinessSchool
ElmoreRF(1999)Gettingtoscalewithgoodeducationalpractice.InBMoon&PMurphy(eds)Curriculumincontext.London:PaulChapman
FaganJ(2012)Openaccessatlasofotolaryngology,headandneckoperativesurgery.From:http://www.oerafrica.org/ResourceResults/tabid/1562/mctl/Details/id/39086/Default.aspx,accessedMay2012
FreeCoursewareProject,UWC(UniversityoftheWesternCape)(nd)FreeCoursewareatUWC.From:http://freecourseware.uwc.ac.za,accessedMarch2012
FullanM(1998)Leadershipforthe21stcentury:Breakingthebondsofdependency.EducationalLeadership55(7).From:http://michaelfullan.ca/Articles_98‐99/04_98.pdf,accessedApril2012
GlennieJ,HarleyK,ButcherN&VanWykT(eds)(2012)Perspectivesonopenanddistancelearning:Openeducationalresourcesandchangeinhighereducation:Reflectionsfrompractice.CommonwealthofLearning/UNESCO.From:www.col.org/psoer,accessedMay2012
HoosenS&LudewigOmolloK(2010)TheAfricanHealthOERNetwork:AdvancinghealtheducationinAfricathroughopeneducationalresources.From:http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/reports/ajhpe‐article/2010,accessedApril2012
ICDE(InternationalCouncilforOpenandDistanceEducation)(nd)Definitionofopeneducationalpractices.From:http://www.icde.org/en/resources/open_educational_quality_inititiative/definition_of_open_educational_practices,accessedMarch2012
KNUST(nd)KNUSTOpeneducationalresources.Strategicpriorities.From:http://web.knust.edu.gh/oer/pages/sections.php?siteid=knustoer&mid=23&sid=120,accessedApril2012
LudewigOmolloK(2011)GrowinganinstitutionalhealthOERinitiative:AcasestudyoftheUniversityofGhana.From:
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http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/reports/case‐study‐ug/2011,accessedMay2012
LudewigOmolloK&MawoyoM(2011)ReflectionsonthepasttwoandahalfyearsofacollaborativehealthOERproject.From:http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/reports/reflections‐collaboration/2011,accessedApril2012
LudewigOmolloK,RahmanA&YebuahC(2012)ProducingOERfromscratch:ThecaseofhealthsciencesattheUniversityofGhanaandtheKwameNkrumahUniversityofScienceandTechnology.InJGlennie,KHarley,NButcher&TvanWyk(eds)Perspectivesonopenanddistancelearning:Openeducationalresourcesandchangeinhighereducation:Reflectionsfrompractice.UNESCO/COL.From:www.col.org/psoer,accessedMay2012
LuoA,Ng’ambiD&HanssT(2010)Fosteringcross‐institutionalcollaborationforopeneducationalresourcesproduction.From:http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/reports/oer‐collab‐report/2010,accessedApril2012
MawoyoM(2012)GrowinganinstitutionalhealthOERinitiative:AcasestudyoftheUniversityofCapeTown.From:http://www.oerafrica.org/ResourceResults/tabid/1562/mctl/Details/id/39105/Default.aspx,accessedMay2012
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ShulmanLS(1987)Knowledgeandteaching:Foundationsofthenewreform.InDHartley&MWhitehead(eds)Teachereducation.Majorthemesineducation.Vol.IIICurriculumandchange.London&NewYork:Routledge
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14. APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1: INTERVIEWEES (PERSONAL, TELEPHONIC AND SKYPE)
UniversityofGhana
Academicstaff:ProfessorAaronLawson(provost),ProfessorRichardAdanu,Rev.DrThomasNdanu,MrChrisYebuah(alltelephonic,29March,4April,2April,30March,respectively)
Students(focusgroupofsixthird‐yearclinicalstudentswhooptedforanonymity)(November2011,interviewconductedbyMsKathleenLudewigOmollo)
KwameNkrumahUniversityofScienceandTechnology
Academicstaff:ProfessorPeterDonkor(provost),MrGeorgeKoffour,MsNadiaTagoe(telephonicandSkype,30March,3April,30March,respectively)
Students(focusgroupinterviewwithfive2011graduates):DrEmmanuelAdomako,DrJocelineAfrane,DrMillicentAmankwah,DrPhilipOppong‐Twene,DrRonaldWilliams(November2011,interviewconductedbyMsKathleenLudewigOmollo)
UniversityofCapeTown
ProfessorMarianJacobs(dean),ProfessorGregDoyle(personalinterviewandSkype,28March,5April,respectively)
UniversityoftheWesternCape
SchoolofPublicHealth,FacultyofCommunityandHealthSciences:
MsLucyAlexander,MsLisaBelle,MsAllisonFullard,ProfessorUtaLehman,MsNikkiSchaay,ProfessorThandiPuoane(personalinterviews,26March)
FacultyofDentistry:
ProfessorWendyMcMillan(personalinterview,27March)
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APPENDIX 2: DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY FOR QUESTIONNAIRES
TherearethreesurveysintotalfortheAfricanHealthOERNetworkimpactresearch:
1. Studentsurvey
2. Facultysurvey
3. PublicSurveyAllthreesurveyswillbemadeavailableinbothaneditableWorddocumentversionforpeoplewhoprefertocompleteitofflineandemailtheirresponseandanonlinesurveyatwww.surveymonkey.com.
FacultyStaffandStudentSurveys
Bothsurveyswillbesharedwiththeprojectcoordinatorsatpartnerinstitutionstodistributeandpublicizetohealthsciencesdepartment/facultytoensurethatasmanypeopleaspossiblecompletethesurvey.
Theconsultantwillcommunicateviaemailwiththeprojectcoordinatorsatthevariousinstitutions.
PublicSurvey
Thissurveyisaddressedtothebroaderpublicofhealthsciencesfacultystaffandstudentsoutsideofthepartnerinstitutionslistedabove.Facultystafforstudentsfromourpartnerinstitutions(UCT,UWC,KNUSTandUG)neednotcompletethisquestionnaire.
ThePublicSurveywillbepublicizedanddistributedasfollows:
Websites
OERAfricawebsite–www.oerafrica.org AfricanHealthOERNetworkwebsite–www.oerafrica.org/healthoer SaidewebsiteandBlog–www.saide.org.za,http://blog.saide.org.za
NewsletterandMailingLists
SentbySaideviatheSaideMarch2012newslettermailinglist AnnouncementontheAfricanHealthOERNetworkmailinglist
PartnerInstitutions
Thefollowingpartnerinstitutionswillbetargetedandaskedtoshare/distributeandpublicizethesurveyontheirwebsites,mailinglist,intranets,librariesetc.:
UniversityofMichigan,UCT,UWC,KNUSTandUG HIBBs,GlobalHealthInformaticsPartnership(GHI)andAmericanMedical
InformaticsAssociation(AMIA) MedEdPORTAL MEPI HEALTHAlliance UniversityofMalawi,HaramayaUniversity,MakerereUniversity
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SocialNetworkingSite
DistributedopenlyviaOERAfricaFacebookpage,otherrelevantFacebookpages,discussionlists,blogs,Twitteretc.,withanopeninvitationforinstitutionsandindividualstocompletethequestionnaireonline.
SurveyDistributionandReport
Allsurveyswillbeavailablefrom1March–31March2012. ResultcompilationinApril,2012
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APPENDIX 3: ADDITIONAL DETAIL ON PROJECT METRICS
PARTA:#INDIVIDUAL/ORGANIZATIONALCONTENTCONTRIBUTORS
Table12:Listof115authorsrepresenting12institutions,andnumberofresources
Creators/authors #resources
1. DaveWood11533
2. YashikSingh20
3. DianeAwerbuck15
4. JWelbeck,JOOliver‐Comey,BGoka,ORodrigues,EBadoe,CEnweronu‐Laryea,COduro‐Boatey,LRenner,RichardMKAdanu,ChrisAndrewYebuah
13
5. JessicaCote,PeteHanke11
6. BeverlyMusick8
7. DesmondTutuTuberculosisCentre7
8. NiiArmahAdu‐Aryee,EQArchampong,EDYeboah,Baako,MichaelSegbefia,RichardMKAdanu,ChrisAndrewYebuah
6
9. CallieArchibald,KristenZwick5
10. AtinkutAlamirrew,DesalegnTegabu4
11. CaryEngleberg4
12. JaneYeats4
13. GeorgeKoffour,SamuelOwusuAgyeman‐Duah,BenjaminPrempeh,EllaKasanga
4
14. TimNoakes4
15. RAKwame‐Aryee,RichardMKAdanu,DorothyAdelinaDaisyMensah,MadamHammond,ChrisAndrewYebuah
4
16. JohanFagan3
17. ParvatiDev,PatriciaYoungblood3
18. DesalegnTegabu3
19. RichardAdanu,CaryEngleberg3
20. SarahHoosen3
21. JohnESidle3
22. SherrilynneFuller3
23. JonnyMyers2
24. KathleenLudewigOmollo2
33Correspondenceofthisnumberwiththetotalnumberofauthorsispurelycoincidental!
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Creators/authors #resources
25. GeorgeKoffour,SamuelOwusuAgyeman‐Duah,BenjaminPrempeh2
26. Unknown2
27. AldoMarchesini2
28. MatumoRamafikeng,LanavanNiekerk1
29. DiMcIntyre1
30. MignonneBreier,AngeliqueWildschut1
31. NadiaTagoe,PeterDonkor,RichardAdanu,OheneOpare‐Sem,CaryEngleberg
1
32. NeilMyburgh,DebraJackson1
33. People'sOpenAccessEducationInitiative1
34. PeterDonkor1
35. OheneOpare‐Sem,CaryEngleberg1
36. OpenUniversity,UK1
37. TimNoakes1
38. RolandEastman1
39. RebeccaNgalande,ElizabethChodzaza,ChrissiePhiri,EphraimBanda,LignetChepuka,MaryKamphindaBanda,WynessGondwe,AndrewMoore,ChristineRandell
1
40. ResearchEthicsProgramWebsite1
41. USAgencyforInternationalDevelopment1
42. UtaLehmann1
43. WendyVenter,KirstieRendall‐Mkosi,LucyAlexander1
44. VeronicaMitchell1
45. WorldMedicalAssociation1
46. YawAdu‐Sarkodie,CaryEngleberg,CharlesAgyeiOsei1
47. TYoung,TTucker,MGalloway,PManyike,AChapman,JMyers1
48. RichardPhillips,StephenSarfo,EmmanuelAdu,CaryEngleberg,VeronicaOkyere‐Afriyie
1
49. RupeshDaya,MauriceKibel,StaceyStent1
50. SarahHoosen,KathleenLudewigOmollo1
51. UniversityofMichigan,OERAfrica1
52. StephenJeffery1
53. StephenJeffery,PeterdeJong1
54. GeorgeKoffour,SamuelOwusuAgyeman‐Duah,BenjaminPrempeh,AnneAcquaah
1
55. GraemeCopley1
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Creators/authors #resources
56. IngePetersen,ArvinBhana,AlanJFlisher,LeslieSwartz,LindaRichter(eds)
1
57. InternationalJournalofEpidemiology1
58. MohamedJeebhay,RodneyEhrlich1
59. KathleenLudewigOmollo,MonicaMawoyo1
60. KenHarley1
61. MKibel,LLake,PPendlebury,CSmith(eds)1
62. KirstieRendall‐Mkosi,LucyAlexander,NandiphaMatshanda1
63. KwabenaDanso,CaryEngleberg1
64. KNUST1
65. LaurelBaldwin‐Ragaven,LeslieLondon1
66. LeadershipInitiativeforPublicHealthinAfrica1
67. LearningNetworkforHealthandHumanRights,SchoolofPublicHealthandFamilyMedicine
1
68. LeslieLondon1
69. FrancisAYeboah,CaryEngleberg1
70. DiMcIntyre,LucyGilson1
71. BrianWatermeyer,LeslieSwartz,TheresaLorenzo,MargueriteSchneider,MarkPriestley(eds)
1
72. BritishJournalofSurgery1
73. DepartmentofMedicine,UCT1
74. CaryEngleberg,YawAdu‐Sarkodie1
75. CeliceMcDermott,NanaOsem,OseiTutu,AkuaNketiahAdjapong,KojoTwumNimak,OppongVictorBarnor,CaryEngleberg,VeronicaBoatemaa,Owusu‐Afriyie
1
76. MickeyChopra,JohnCoveney1
77. AirongLuo,DickNg’ambi,TedHanss1
78. AkyeEssuman,CaryEngleberg1
PARTB:OERACROSSDISCIPLINES
Table13:310healthOERresourcesacrossdisciplines
Discipline Numberofresources
BehaviouralSciences 4
Psychology 2
Ethics 54
ClinicalEthics 7
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Discipline Numberofresources
CodesofEthics 7
EthicalAnalysis 13
ResearchEthics 11
HealthServicesAdministration 3
OrganizationandAdministration 3
Informatics 35
PublicHealthInformatics 8
Medicine 42
FamilyMedicine 1
InternalMedicine 3
Microbiology 6
Obstetrics&Gynaecology 14
Otolaryngology 2
Surgery 9
Paediatrics 15
SportsMedicine 5
TravelMedicine 1
Nursing 1
Midwifery 1
Pathology 1
Pharmacology 7
Biopharmaceutics 7
PublicandCommunityHealth 150
CommunityMentalHealthServices 1
Epidemiology 1
OccupationalHealth 6
MedicalSociology 5
Neurology 1
Researchdesign 5
PARTC:YOUTUBEVIDEOS
110videos 560minutes 1093831(909365,U‐Mand184466,OERAfrica,totalviews) 855favourites
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804individualshaveratedthevideos,withaverageratingofover4starsoutof5. 183comments
Table14:OERwiththehighestnumberofviews
Title Views
1. EpisiotomyRepair:Infiltrationanaesthesiaatthetimeofcrowning 190311
2. ExaminationofthePregnantWoman:Examinationofthechest 93873
3. Real‐timePolymeraseChainReaction(PCR) 75025
4. Enzyme‐LinkedImmunosorbentAssay(ELISA) 64726
5. ExaminationofthePregnantWoman:Examinationofthepregnantabdomen
64394
6. IntrotoPolymeraseChainReaction(PCR) 39719
7. ExaminationofthePregnantWoman:ReportingtheObstetricAbdominalExamination
38031
8. EpisiotomyRepair:Suturingofthemusclelayer 27292
9. TotalAbdominalHysterectomy:Catheterisation 23948
10. EpisiotomyRepair:Placementofaswabandinfiltrationoflocalanaestheticfortherepair
22765
PARTD:TOP20RESOURCEDOWNLOADSFROMTHENETWORK
Table15:Top20resourcedownloadsfromtheAfricanHealthOERNetworkwebsite
Title Views
1. AlcoholProblems:Ahealthpromotionapproachmoduleguide 810
2. OperarFistulasVesico‐Vaginais(FFV) 512
3. Ear,NoseandThroatTutorial 510
4. ManagingChangeinHealthcareITImplementations:Selectedreferences 509
5. SurgicalRepairofVesico‐VaginalFistulae(VVF) 490
6. MeasuringHealthandDiseaseI:Introductiontoepidemiologymoduleguide 489
7. DataQuality:Missingdata[PPTslides] 430
8. GrowinganInstitutionalHealthOERInitiative:AcasestudyoftheUniversityofGhana 414
9. ManagingHumanResourcesforHealthModuleGuide 404
10. PolicyfordevelopmentanduseofOpenEducationalResources(OER)–KNUST 380
11. AdultHIV:Antiretroviraldrugs 355
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Title Views
12. AdultHIV:HIVinfection 328
13. GuidetogainingethicalconsentfrompatientsforcontentreleasedasOER 323
14. 2010‐2011AfricanHealthOERNetworkPhase2Evaluation:Consolidationandsustainability 320
15. AdultHIV:HIV‐associatedinfections 303
16. CaesareanSection 300
17. AdultHIV:ManagingpeoplewithHIVinfection 274
18. TotalAbdominalHysterectomy 256
19. ClinicalChemistry(GlucoseToleranceTest) 243
20. AdultHIV:Introduction 232
PARTE:SOURCEOFTOPWEBSITEREFERRALS
youtube.com saide.org.za facebook.com rainbownation.co oercommons.org ocwconsortium.org ku.ac.ke creativecommons.org university‐directory.eu web.knust.edu.gh open.umich.edu collegeopentextbooks.org google.com library.stanford.edu unam.na openeducationweek.org elearn.uniswa.sz search.mywebsearch.com ajol.info vuma.ac.za ariadne‐eu.org
PARTF:TOP20SEARCHTERMSONHEALTHOERNETWORKWEBSITE
Searchterm
Heat Breast Clinical promoting/mental/health
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promoting/mental/health/scarce‐resource/contexts:oremerging/evidence/practice
postgraduate/diploma/occupational/health measuring/health/disease vaginal/delivery doctors/a/divided/society:or
profession/education/medical/practitioners/South/Africa alcohol/problems biological/monitoring/workers gastric/lavage/procedure/animation health/human/rights/pamphlets heart/exam Africaoer Genetics Ghana examination/nervous/system/video/tutorial Human/rights/key Managing/change/healthcare/information/technology
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APPENDIX 4: OER PRODUCTION IN EACH INSTITUTION
UNIVERSITYOFGHANA
ClinicalExaminationsinSurgery
This is a series designed for medical students, to assist in preparation for clinicalexaminations in surgery. It contains over 1.5 hours of video and 21multiple choicequestions.Theindividualmultimedia‐basedmodulesthatmakeupthisseriesare:
1. SurgicalHistoryTaking – DrNiiArmahAdu‐Aryee
2. BreastExamination –
3. ExaminationoftheLump – ProfessorEQArchampong
4. ExaminationoftheGoitre – ProfessorEQArchampong
5. ExaminationoftheAbdomen – ProfessorEQArchampong
6. ExaminationofHernia – DrNiiArmahAdu‐Aryee
Theseresourcescanbeaccessedonlineathttp://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/med/surgery/clinical‐exam
ClinicalExaminationsinGynaecology
This is a series designed for medical students, to assist in preparation for clinicalexaminations in gynaecology. It contains 51minutesof video and11multiple choicequestions.Theindividualmodulesthatmakeupthisseriesare:
1. BasicGuidelinesandHistoryTaking – DrRAKwame‐Aryee
2. GeneralPhysicalExamination – DrRAKwame‐Aryee
3. ExaminationoftheAbdomen – DrRAKwame‐Aryee
4. PelvicExamination – DrRAKwame‐Aryee
Theseresourcescanbeaccessedonlineat:http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/med/ob‐gyn/clinical‐exam
ClinicalExaminationsinPaediatrics
Thisisaseriesdesignedformedicalstudents,toassistinpreparationforclinicalexaminationsinpaediatrics.Itcontainsnearly3hoursofvideoand38multiplechoicequestions.Theindividualmodulesthatmakeupthisseriesare:
1. GeneralPhysicalExamination – ProfessorORodrigues
2. ExaminationoftheRespiratorySystem – ProfessorJOOliver‐Comey
3. ExaminationoftheCardiovascularSystem – DrCOduro‐Boatey
4. ExaminationoftheAbdomen – DrLRenner
5. OverviewoftheCentralNervousSystem(CNS)– DrEBadoe
6. CNSExaminationofSmellandSight – DrEBadoe
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7. CNSExaminationofFacialNerveandHearing – DrEBadoe
8. ExaminationofthePeripheralNervousSystem(PNS)– DrEBadoe
9. CNSExaminationoftheLegs – DrEBadoe
10. ExaminationoftheMusculoskeletalSystem – ProfessorPGoka
11. ExaminationoftheNewBorn:Part1 – DrEnweronuLaryea
12. ExaminationoftheNewBorn:Part2 – DrEnweronuLaryea
13. ExaminationoftheEar,Nose,andThroatSystems – ProfessorJWelbeck
Theseresourcescanbeaccessedonlineat:http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/med/paediatrics/clinical‐exam
OtherResources
1. CaesareanSection – ProfessorsRichardAdanuandCaryEnglebergThisprogrammeincludesnarratedsurgicalvideooftheprocedureaswellasinteractivecaseexercisesandabriefself‐assessment.Theseresourcescanbeaccessedonlineat:http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/med/ob‐gyn/caesarean‐section/2009
2. EpisiotomyandRepair – ProfessorsRichardAdanuandCaryEnglebergThisprogrammeincludesnarratedsurgicalvideooftheprocedureaswellasinteractivecaseexercisesandabriefself‐assessment.Theseresourcescanbeaccessedonlineat:http://open.umich.edu/education/med/oernetwork/med/ob‐gyn/episiotomy/2009.
KWAMENKRUMAHUNIVERSITYOFSCIENCEANDTECHNOLOGY
OER:2009–11–allhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by‐nc‐sa/3.0/
Projecttitle Department
1. MentalStateExamination BehaviouralSciences
2. LaboratoryMethodsforClinicalMicrobiology Microbiology
3. Microbiology
4. ClinicalChemistry(GluocoseToleranceTest) MolecularMedicine
5. AutomatedBloodCounts
6. BuruliUlcer InternalMedicine
7. ExaminationofthePregnantWoman Ob/Gyn
8. FrogHeartPreparation PharmacologyLabProcedures
9. RespiratoryDepressantEffectofMorphineonRabbits PharmacologyLabProcedures
10. RespiratoryDepressantEffectofPentobarbitoneonRabbits PharmacologyLabProcedures
11. Settingupthekymograph PharmacologyLabProcedures
12. Setupanisolatedtissue‐organbathexperiment PharmacologyLab
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Projecttitle Department
Procedures
13. Strychninepoisoningintoads PharmacologyLabProcedures
14. Muscariniceffectinrats PharmacologyLabProcedures
15. Conditionsnecessaryforthemaintenanceofanisolatedsmoothmusclepreparationinvitro
PharmacologyLabProcedures
KNUSTOERweblinkshttp://er.knust.edu.gh
Department Projecttitle Description
1. ChildHealth CaseScenariosinPaediatricPractices
Thismoduleconsistsofasetofcaseswithmultiplechoicequestionsandself‐answeredquestions.Themodulealsocontainsimagestoaidintheexplanationoftheclinicalcases.
2. Pharmacology BloodGlucoseMonitoring Thisprogrammecontainsasetofvideostodemonstratepharmacologicallabprocedureonbloodglucosemonitoring.
3. Pharmacology EstimationofHaemoglobinConcentration
Thisprogrammecontainsasetofvideostodemonstratepharmacologicallabprocedureontheestimationofhaemoglobinconcentration.
4. Pharmacology
Haematology–TheRedBloodCellCount
Thisprogrammecontainsasetofvideostodemonstratepharmacologicallabprocedureonhaematology–theredbloodcellcount.
5. Pharmacology Haematology–TheWhiteBloodCellCount
Thisprogrammecontainsasetofvideostodemonstratepharmacologicallabprocedureonhaematology–thewhitebloodcellcount.
6. Pharmacology HIVAntibodyTestUsingaRapidHIVCard
ThisprogrammecontainsasetofvideostodemonstratepharmacologicallabprocedureonHIVantibodytestusingarapidHIVcard.
7. Pharmacology MalariaAntigenRapidTest Thisprogrammecontainsasetofvideostodemonstratepharmacologicallabprocedureonthemalariaantigenrapidtest.
8. PharmacologyOne‐stepPregnancyDipstickTest
Thisprogrammecontainsasetofvideostodemonstratepharmacologicallabprocedureontheone‐steppregnancydipsticktest.
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Department Projecttitle Description
9. ClinicalandSocialPharmacy
AnOverviewontheTherapeuticsofHypertension
Thiscontainsa2Danimationonanoverviewoftherapeuticsonhypertension.
10. Maxillo‐FacialSciences‐Dentalschool
DevelopmentofOro‐facialStructuresandItsClinicalCorrelations
Partofthecourse:OralAnatomy.Thisisavideopresentationofthedevelopmentoforo‐facialstructuresanditsclinicalcorrelations.
UNIVERSITYOFCAPETOWN
Title Department Progresstowardscompletion
1. ICFCaseStudies Physiotherapy 50%
2. TheAbuseProject DivisionofPublicHealth 70%
3. DOHMod4‐5(CD2) SchoolofPublicHealthandFamilyMedicine
60%
4. DOHMod6‐8(CD2) SchoolofPublicHealthandFamilyMedicine
60%
5. Clinicalskillsvideo(bloodcultureprocedure)
ClinicalSkills 95%
6. Inguinalcanal(PowerPoint)
HumanBiology 80%
7. OTCurriculumSeminar(videoclipsincludingDrGalheigo,Brazil,andDrSaha,India)
OccupationalTherapy
8. PHCtreeinfographic PrimaryHealthCare
FourteenfurtherOERareunderconsideration.Thesearein:PrimaryHealthCare,HumanBiology,theChildren’sHealthUnit,theEducationDevelopmentUnit,andHealthandRehabilitationSciences.
UCTOpenContenthas41resourcesvaryingfromlectures,videoproductions,andauniversitycertificateinmidwifery,toatextbook.TheseareallavailableontheOERAfricawebsite.
Thefacultyiscurrentlyworkingon10newresourcesaimedforpublicationinthefirsthalfof2012.
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UNIVERSITYOFTHEWESTERNCAPE
SchoolofPublicHealth2009projects(All:http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by‐sa/3.0)
Deliverables Statusupdate Type
SOPHmoduleguides
1) 2009 ManagingHumanResourcesforHealth(MPH)
CompleteandonOERAfricasite
DistancelearningcourseinPDFandMSWord
2) 2009 MeasuringHealthandDisease1:Introductiontoepidemiology(PGCertificateinPublicHealth)
CompleteandonOERAfricasite
DistancelearningcourseinPDFandMSWord
3) 2009 AlcoholProblems:Ahealthpromotionapproach(MPH)
CompleteandonOERAfricasite
DistancelearningcourseinPDFandMSWord
Slideswith‘voiceover’
4) 2009 MakinggraphswithExcel (linkedtoitem2)
MinorcorrectioneditunderwaybyLucyAlexander
PowerPointtutorialwithrecordedvoice
5) 2009 WritingaLiteratureReview Stilltorecordvoice:80%done;LucyAlexander
PowerPointtutorialwithrecordedvoice
Casestudies
6) 2009 TheRevolvingDoor:ChildmalnutritioninMountFrere,EasternCapeProvinceofSouthAfrica(severechildhoodmalnutritionandmortalityintheEasternCapeProvince1998–2004)
99%done;needsfinalcheckbyLucyAlexander
CasestudygeneratedbySOPHforthisproject,presentedinMSWordandPDF
7) 2009 NoOne'sListeningtoEachOther:ThechallengeofurbansanitationinaninformalsettlementinSub‐SaharanAfrica(titleprovisional)
85%done;dScribedone;layoutandfinalchecktobedonebyLucyAlexanderandRuthStern
CasestudygeneratedbySOPHforthisproject,presentedinMSWordandPDF
8) 2009 WalkingtheTalk:Theroleofcommunityhealthworkersinreducingtheburdenofnon‐communicablediseasesinKhayelitsha,CapeTown
85%done;dScribedone;layoutandfinalchecktobedonebyLucyAlexander
CasestudygeneratedbySOPHforthisproject,presentedinMSWordandPDF
9) 2009–12 Developapublichealthcasestudyrepositoryforthepostgraduateprogramme
100casestudiescapturedonMendeley/ZoteroandRefworks;LisaBelleinprocessofaddingPDFs
RepositoryofOERpublichealthcasestudiesfromtheInternetandSOPH'scases
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2010–12projects
Deliverables Statusupdate Type
SOPHmoduleguides
1) 2010–12 HealthManagementIModuleGuide(PGCertificateinPublicHealth)
CompleteandonOERAfricasite
DistancelearningcourseinPDFandMSWord
2) 2010–12 HealthManagementIIModuleGuide(MPH)
CompleteandonOERAfricasite
DistancelearningcourseinPDFandMSWord
3) 2010–12 HealthSystemsResearchIModuleGuide(PGCertificateinPublicHealth)
CompleteandonOERAfricasite
DistancelearningcourseinPDFandMSWord
4) 2010–12 HealthPromotionIModuleGuide (PGCertificateinPublicHealth)
MSWordinprocessof"cleanup";tobesentwithin10days
DistancelearningcourseinPDFandMSWord
5) 2010–12 HealthPromotionIIModuleGuide(MPH)
WithOERAfrica DistancelearningcourseinPDFandMSWord
6) 2010–12 HealthPromotingSchools (MPH) MSWordinprocessof"cleanup";tobesentwithin10days
DistancelearningcourseinPDFandMSWord
7) 2010–12 MicronutrientMalnutritionModuleGuide(MPH)
MSWordinprocessof"cleanup”;tobesentwithin10days
DistancelearningcourseinPDFandMSWord
8) 2010–12 PublicHealthNutrition:PolicyandProgrammingModuleGuide(MPH)
MSWordinprocessof"cleanup";tobesentwithin10days
DistancelearningcourseinPDFandMSWord
9) 2010–12 GlobalisationandHealth– Introductorysession(MPH)
ContenttobeeditedforOERbyLucyAlexanderorNandiphaMatshanda
DistancelearningsessioninPDFandMSWord
Casestudies
10) 2010–12 AddressingAvoidableDeathsfromGastrothroughPublicHealthAction
Writingcomplete;finaleditbyLucyAlexanderneeded;layoutCherylOntong.Checkauthorshipissue(LucyAlexander)
CasestudygeneratedbySOPHforthisproject,presentedinMSWordandPDF
11) 2010–12 WormsOpenDoors:Wormsasanentrypointtohealthpromotioninschools
FirstdraftcompletebyWendyWalton;
CasestudygeneratedbySOPHforthis
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Deliverables Statusupdate Type
contenteditorRuthSternwillcheckitby5April;thenrevise,layout
project,presentedinMSWordandPDF
12) 2010–12 CausalFactorsofaChild'sMalnutrition:NikkiSchaayinterviewsEmeritusProfessorDavidSanders,SOPH,UWC,2011
Complete;checkingpermissionwithDSandNS
Podcast
Slideswith‘voiceover’
13) 2010–12 Plagiarism:Don'tdoit 50%complete Tutorials(voiceoverPPT)
14) 2010–12 AnIntroductiontoResearch Slidesdeveloped;recordingon12April
Tutorials(voiceoverPPT)
15) 2010–12 WhatDoWeMeanby"ScholarlyLiterature"foryourLiteratureReview?
Tobeconfirmed Tutorials(voiceoverPPT)
Openresourcesonqualitativeresearchmethods
16) 2010–12 MendeleyQualitativeResearchMethodsGroup
CompleteexceptforatechnicalproblemwithdownloadingPDFs
MendeleyGroupcontainingopenresourcesonqualitativeresearchmethods
Unlessotherwisenoted,thisworkispublishedunderthetermsoftheCreativeCommonsAttribution3.0License(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
Copyright©2012bySaideandRegentsoftheUniversityofMichigan
NairobiOfficeCatherineNgugiOERAfricaProjectDirector
[email protected]:+254(0)202403836
POBox66093–00800Nairobi,Kenya
www.oerafrica.org