:sync: Impact of National Level OER Sensitization Programme for Educators and its prospects

Authors: Deepa Verma, Sandeep Patil, Rohan Gavankar
Institutions: VIVA College of Arts, Commerce & Science, Virar, Maharashtra, Azad College of Education, Satara, Maharashtra, VIVA COLLEGE, VIRAR WEST
Country: India

Topic: Connecting Open Education to Primary and Secondary (K-12) Education
Sector: K-12
UNESCO Area of Focus: Building capacity
Session Format: Presentation

Abstract

Open educational resources (OER) are an extremely crucial means of massification of education and open education in particular. OER are peculiarly vital for developing countries like India where the educational system needs to be more n more open for addressing the needs and aspirations of billions of learners. OER can prove truly instrumental in promoting open education to all as a large section of the society is still out of the education system. OER can also support the education system towards ensuring quality assurance and sustenance. There is a need to sensitize all the stakeholders in education regarding OER. Educators across all levels of education need to be educated towards 5 Rs of OER namely ‘Retain’, ‘Reuse’, ‘Revise’, ‘Remix’, and ‘Redistribute’. Capacity building of teachers of primary education, as well as secondary education, needs particular emphasis as they are still not that familiar to OER from the Indian perspective. This study aims at launching a ‘National Level OER Sensitization Programme’ for educators of primary education and secondary education across India. This program is focused on empowering these educators across to perceive the concept, significance, and types of OER. It also enables them to effectively create, use, and integrate OER in the teaching-learning process to make it highly efficient and learner-centered. This program will promote the value of OER as a vital means of education. The study also involves forming a professional network of educators and creating awareness and empowering them about Open Educational Resources (OER). This network will gradually expand to involve more n more educators of primary and secondary education in particular to prefer OER. It will offer the much-needed push to the teachers for developing their own quality content and reaching out to a larger audience and gain popularity. This goes with UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) which lays emphasis on quality education for all. At the same time, it also supports other SDGs as well directly as well as indirectly as once quality open educational resources are developed and made available it breaks all the barriers and empowers individuals and nations for capacity building, giving equal opportunities.

Keywords

Open Educational Resources, professional network of educators, SDG 4, capacity building, equal opportunities