Tag Archives: Open education resources

Welcome to Digital Literacies and Open Practice 2024-5

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I can’t believe we are about to start this module again for the sixth time as the module was first created in 2018. How time flies! We have a new cohort of students, and I’ve just completed some research on the impact of teaching on this module. The findings about what staff think of their own and their students’ digital literacies are really interesting and going to be the subject of a LEaD Learning Circle event in November. We also collected data on their attitudes towards open educational practices. Watch this space as I have also just submitted the first of a few planned journal articles on this research.

Definitions and terminology are both topics for discussion in next week’s first teaching day. I am really looking forward to meeting the new cohort, as this continues to be a really fascinating area to teach (and do research) in. We’ve got some introductory reading on what are digital literacies (from AdvanceHE) and a similar short piece on what open educational practices are from University of Edinburgh. A key part of the day is also going to be learning about where understanding copyright fits in this whole process and we have a link to last year’s guest lecture from Chris Morrison as he sadly can’t join us next week. But, it’s going to be a great term and good luck to everyone taking the module!

Experiences of using Open Educational Resources in journalism teaching and research

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This blog post was written by Carolyne Lunga as part of the final assignment for the module EDM122 at City, University of London

In this essay, I reflect on using OERs in my teaching and research of journalism and media studies and discuss the challenges I have encountered and strategies I have adopted to improve my knowledge on OERs and indicate plans for improving my practice.

Open Education Resources (OERs) have been defined in various ways. Literature shows that a discussion on OERs generates mixed understandings since scholars do not agree on copyright, openness, cost, and universal access among others. While some definitions celebrate OER benefits to higher education and those who previously did not have access (UNESCO, 2002; Mishra, 2017a, Mishra, 2017b), others interrogate the notion of whether OERs are ‘free’ or ‘not free’ (Downes, 2012) considering that access to the internet itself requires financial and time resources and that there are some societies who lack access to electricity. In terms of definitions, Mishra (2017), notes that OERs, are understood by many as referring to any resources available free of cost on the internet. This is supported by UNESCO’s definition of open access as referring to “free access to information and unrestricted use of electronic resources for everyone (UNESCO website). As Mishra (2017: 371), further notes, the basic premise of OERs is that “they can be reused and adapted in various contexts without seeking further the permission from the original copyright holder”. This is advantageous to educators who can reuse OERs for teaching and research. Mishra (2017a: 371) further notes that without a discussion on copyright, the discussion on OERs is incomplete since “information available on the internet can be shared for personal use, its reuse, revision, remixing and redistribution require the permission of the copyright holder”. In relation to cost and access, Olivier and Rambow (2023) are more positive about the value of OERs, noting that they are beneficial for those who cannot afford to purchase paid for content, specifically in contexts where higher education is expensive and inaccessible to many. D’Antoni (2008: 8) also provides an optimistic view when he contends that they can “assist in achieving educational justice across the world”. Meanwhile Richter and McPherson (2012) criticise the notion that OERs can bring about justice when they argue that unless they are fully adaptable or reusable in various contexts, their mere existence cannot bring out justice. Furthermore, there is no discussion of what this justice may entail.

As a journalism lecturer, a discussion on OERs is significant for bringing to the fore issues that are central to discussions of how digital journalism/communication is practiced. This includes access and participation online, the prevalence of disinformation and misinformation on online platforms and how it affects access to credible news/information, the digital divide, how credible journalism is hidden behind paywalls and the rise of hate speech, and propaganda. In digital journalism, I teach students to adopt a critical stance and question how big tech platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have the power to influence and control how and what we consume online, the dominance of advertisements online and algorithms among others can divert our attention towards entertainment. For these topics, I rely on journal articles and books from journalism scholars who publish with Routledge, Elsevier, and other big publishers criticised for commercialising education (Paywall movie, 2018). Journalism is concerned about democracy and my students, and I discuss how ‘democratic’ the internet is. I believe that a conversation about the internet itself, how it structured and its development in a capitalist era is important if we are to explore fully the value of OERs for education and society in general. For instance, Papacharissi (2002; 2004) argues that while the internet has potential to revive the public sphere, by enabling the participation of various social groups, it is inaccessible to some due to high data costs, lack of digital and media literacy skills, and censorship of information. Carson (2020) supports this by arguing that the commercialisation of the internet and inequalities online make it inaccessible. The quick spread of fake information through digital technologies also hinders the internet from being truly democratic (ibid). These issues resonate with the debates around OERs.

I teach Digital Media Communication and Introduction to Visual Communication which combine the theoretical and practical components of design where students work with images to manipulate, combine them, and edit them using Photoshop software. I teach students to develop content for social media platforms and analyse various news websites in various parts of the globe. I teach how disinformation, and misinformation have become prevalent online, particularly on social media platforms and how this threatens the normative role of journalism in providing citizens with accurate and truthful information (Carson and Farhall, 2018). In delivering journalism courses, I mostly use books, journals, newspapers, and other materials which are paid for and accessible through the university library. These are readily available, and I make use of the subject librarians if I require assistance accessing a particular resource. I have used OERs to complement library materials. However sometimes I struggle with questions of whether I have properly repurposed and reused these resources to avoid plagiarism? I mitigate this challenge by checking several times if I have fully referenced the source. For instance, the UNESCO website provides access to OERs on media and democracy. Informed by Mishra (2017) that OERs can be reused, I have been able to reuse the materials and make them relevant for the diverse group of students that I teach by including examples of journalism practice in other contexts. I also use Hybrid Investigative Journalism, an open access textbook by Konow-Lund et al (2024) which considers how reporters, citizens, bloggers, community coordinators and others undertake investigative journalism for teaching and research. My research students use it for their dissertation research and say that they find it useful in that it incorporates empirical evidence and experiences of scholars researching diverse contexts. Adopting OERs in my teaching and research supervision has enabled me to enhance the learning experience of students and provide them with access to information that they may not have access to (Mishra, 2017a, 2017b).

I make students aware of the vast OERs that are available on the UNESCO website. Apart from information on media, the OER resources on the UNESCO website include those on the Creative Commons (cc) licences, education and technology and artificial intelligence. Before taking the EDM122 Digital Literacies and Open Practices (in Higher Education), I was not aware of the meaning of cc licenses and how they work, and I did not have a full understanding of OERs. After learning about them in the course and being exposed to literature on OERs including links to where to find them (e.g. the OERs guide from Edinburgh), I feel more confident guiding students on what the different licenses mean and how content can be reused, knowledge which they can use when researching for their essays or writing news stories on place and in their professional lives as journalists. I am also able to use the UNESCO materials and attribute them accordingly. For instance, some of the UNESCO publications I have accessed are licensed using the Creative Commons-Attribution 3.0 IGO license which means I can “download, copy, translate any of these publications and use it free of charge, as long as the original author is given credit for the original creation. No prior permission is required to do so” (UNESCO website, 2024).

In a context in which journalism is practiced differently in various parts of the world and some credible newspapers are found behind paywalls, discussing about OERs with my students has enabled me to help them understand what they are, and why it’s important to acknowledge work which is originally created by another person and made available for reuse and how they can add on to the knowledge by incorporating their own examples. The advantages of using OERs in teaching and learning supports Olivier and Rambow (2023: v)’s point that “OERs bring fresh air to the higher education ecosystem when higher education is not accessible to millions, is not affordable, and is plagued with issues of poor quality in many countries”. However, problems of quality and discoverability of OERs remains a challenge for most educators and students (Kortemeyer, 2013).

In teaching Introduction to Visual Communication and Digital Media Communication courses, I can talk about OERs, copyright and good professional journalistic practice. In the former course, students are required to find images which they can transform using Photoshop software and I have observed how some students come into the course with no in-depth understanding of copyright and licensing. Various journalism student guides at City and in other universities include information on copyright for students benefit in ethics classes which they mostly take at first year. Informed by knowledge gained from the EDM 122 course, I have had the opportunity to discuss copyright law and licensing of images in more detail to make students aware of the ethical and legal implications of violating regulation by manipulating images that belong to others and are not for repurposing. I have included additional copyright readings on the module handbook including Ekstrand and Silver (2014) which explores theories of the image to inform discussions about copyright reform in the digital age and the university’s Copyright guide. During lectures and practical sessions, I made the students aware of images that they could use and corrected the assumptions that they had, about images on the internet being widely accessible and free to use for all.

Another problem of downloading and reusing images and videos without checking the licensing restrictions is that students can become victims of propagating disinformation. Kirchengast (2020) argues that deepfake technology requires strong regulation due to the harm they can cause to individuals and society. I assign students practical assignments to take their own photographs to use in the course. In some instances, students develop their own photos by making use of generative AI software such as Adobe Firefly which enables one to create their own images and use without having to worry about violating copyright or licensing regulations. But still it raises questions about how to acknowledge information developed by generative AI platforms. The university’s generative AI policy states that students should indicate when materials are generated by AI including the prompts used (City Generative AI policy, 2024). I emphasise why students should always exercise integrity when conducting research and acknowledging sources. The result has been the creation of high-quality essays with thorough in-text citations and bibliography creation.

I use the UNESCO digital library to access various materials on topics that are relevant for my teaching. For example, during the pandemic UNESCO published a lot of information on the Covid-19 pandemic, and disinformation and I found their open access library very useful considering that very little was known and published at the time about the Covid-19 pandemic. I was careful in how I used other materials on the pandemic as not all information available online is open access, though this was a challenging process which took time.

During this time when artificial intelligence is topical and conversations around generative AI tools impact in higher education and society at large, I am constantly referring to the UNESCO website to access information and understand more about generative AI. For example, the open access UNESCO document titled “Generative AI in education and research” has helped me to understand potential risks that generative AI could pose to human agency, inclusion, equity, and gender equality. Furthermore, the document provides information and recommendations to government agencies, and policy makers on how Generative AI can be used for society’s benefit (UNESCO, 2023). To improve my practice, I plan to continue learning about OERs, including talking to librarians who specialise in these resources to acquire expert guidance on using them and how to publish my own work. I am organising student workshops with OER experts so that my students can also benefit.

In conclusion, the essay demonstrated how I use OERs in teaching and research of journalism. While OERs provide advantages of access particularly to those without access. Scholars acknowledge problems associated with internet access, lack of digital and media literacy skills and lack of internet infrastructure to some sectors of society which means that they cannot fully benefit from OERs. I have shown how issues discussed when talking about OERs are directly linked to the conversations discussed on digital journalism which has enabled me to discuss disinformation, access, copyright, and licensing. By taking the EDM 122 course, I have had the opportunity to enhance my knowledge and support my students better.

I plan to publish this essay on the course blog “EDM 122: Digital Literacies and Open Practice” blog under the Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC-SA. This licence allows for distribution, adaptation, remixing and building on the materials as long as the creator is given credit and adaptations are shared under the same licencing terms, not allowing for commercial use (Creative Commons, 2019) This licence protects authoring rights and allows for build-up of knowledge and ideas in a fair way to future users as it needs to be shared under the same terms and in a non-commercial way (ibid).

References

Carson, A. (2020) Investigative Journalism, Democracy, and the Digital Age. New York: Routledge.

City, University of London. (2024) Using generative artificial intelligence (AI) for learning https://studenthub.city.ac.uk/help-and-support/studying-online/using-ai-for-learning (Accessed 30 January 2024).

Creative Commons (2019) “About CC licenses” https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/ (Accessed 31 January 2023).

D’Antoni, S. (2008) Open educational resources: The way forward (Deliberations of an International Community of Interest). Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning, UNESCO Creative commons http://learn.creativecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/ 2008/03/oer-way-forward-final-version.pdf (Accessed 27 January 2023).

Downes, S. (2012) Free and not free [Blog post]. Half an Hour. Retrieved from https://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2012/11/free-and-not-free.html (Accessed 27 January 2023).

Ekstrand, V.S. and Silver, D. (2014) “Remixing, Reposting, and Reblogging: Digital Media, Theories of the Image, and Copyright Law”, Visual communication quarterly, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 96-105.

Kirchengast, T. (2020) Deepfakes and image manipulation: Criminalisation and control. Information & Communications Technology Law, 29(3), 308-323. https://doi.org/10.1080/13600834.2020.1794615 (Accessed 30 January 2024).

Konow-Lund M., Park M., and Bebawi S. (Eds.) (2024) Hybrid investigative journalism. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41939-3 (Accessed 30 January 2024).

Kortemeyer, G. (2013). Ten Years Later: Why Open Educational Resources Have Not Noticeably Affected Higher Education, and Why We Should Care. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2013/2/ten-years-later-why-open-educational-resources-have-not-noticeably-affected-higher-education-and-why-we-should-care (Accessed 29 January 2024).

Mishra, S. (2017a) Open educational resources: removing barriers from within, Distance Education, 38:3, 369-380, DOI: 10.1080/01587919.2017.1369350 (Accessed 25 January 2024).

Mishra, S. (2017b) Promoting use and contribution of open educational resources. New Delhi: Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia. http://oasis.col.org/ handle/11599/2659

Olivier, J. and Rambow, A. (2023). Open Educational Resources in Higher Education: A Global Perspective (2023) Springer Nature Singapore, Singapore.

Papacharissi, Z. (2004) “Democracy online: civility, politeness, and the democratic potential of online political discussion groups”, New media & society, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 259-283.

Papacharissi, Z. (2002) The virtual sphere: the internet as a public sphere. New Media and Society. Vol 4. 9 (9-27)
Paywall the business of scholarship: the movie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAzTR8eq20k (Accessed 24 November 2023).

Richter, T. and McPherson, M. (2012) “Open educational resources: education for the world?”, Distance education, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 201-219.

UNESCO Digital Library https://unesdoc.unesco.org/search/72a71bb0-74c9-4ef5-a26b-934dd8b90ab8/N-e90ced73-7869-4795-a37f-56423ebf1cde (Accessed on 30 January 2024).

UNESCO OER platform https://www.unesco.org/en/open-educational-resources Accessed on the 23 January 2024

UNESCO The Creative Commons licenses https://www.unesco.org/en/open-access/creative-commons (Accessed on 30 January 2024).

UNESCO (2002) Forum on the impact of Open Courseware for higher education in developing countries: Final report. Paris: Author. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001285/128515e
(Accessed on 30 January 2024).

UNESCO (2023) Guidance for generative AI in education and research https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000386693 (Accessed on 30 January 2024).

Impact of open education resources in nursing education

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This post is written by Filipa Da Silva Miranda who is a nurse educator who recently completed the module EDM122. The essay is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA. She writes…. 

For the purpose of assessment on the module EDM 122 (Digital Literacies and Open practices), I will be reflecting on the importance of open education practices. Because of my role as a practice development educator in nursing, I will focus more specifically in the use of open education resources and their impact on nursing education and consequently, on better provision of care.

Open education as a term had its origins in the 1960s, as part of an effort to make education universally available through the creation of open universities, sharing of educational materials and democratizing access to educational opportunities (Blessinger and Bliss, 2016). In the following essay I will define open education and open educational resources; reflect and critically analyze the use of open educational resources and factors that might prevent this, while linking it to education in the healthcare sector.

The Open Education Consortium (cited by Cronin, 2017) defined open education as the resources, tools and practices employed in a context of open sharing in order to positively improve educational effectiveness and educational access around the world.

Open education resources (OERs) are defined as teaching and learning materials presented in a medium or digital format that can be used, re-used or repurposed by others with no cost (Hersh, 2020). The use of such resources is rooted in the will to democratize and make education universal. Ossiannilsson (2019) supports this view by highlighting the fact that OERs expand access to learning opportunities, increasing quality in education and promoting social justice and collaboration, while being useful for continuous professional development and lifelong learning. The advantages of using OERs, highlighted by Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and United Nations Educational, Scientifical and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (2016), are the fact that these can be repurposed by educators to adapt them to a specific context; they can also enhance lifelong learning opportunities by providing ease of access to leaners, irrespective of time or place. Jung, Sasaki and Latchem (2016), add the lowered costs associated to using OERs, the share of best practice for collaboration between institutions or countries (with gains in time for educators, as it makes it unnecessary to reinvent the wheel), increased access for diverse and non-traditional learners, also breaking geographical barriers. With such advantages, it is easy to see why the adoption of OERs is viewed as crucial to provide lifelong education opportunities within many sectors, including healthcare. Ease of access is a crucial point in increasing social justice and inclusivity in accessing such resources.

The Covid-19 pandemic posed a crucial moment for the use of OERs across the globe and in various settings, at a time where physical classrooms were impossible to use and urgent measures were needed to spread valuable knowledge. For the healthcare sector for example, a wide range of free open access online materials was made available to all frontline healthcare staff and students (regardless of workplace or university). Some examples of important online materials included e-learning modules dedicated to teaching correct procedures for putting on and removing personal protective equipment used by healthcare workers caring for patients with Covid-19.  The aim of such materials was to increase knowledge around Covid-19, treatments and infection control measures, particularly on websites such as E-learning for Healthcare, an initiative from Health Education England (HEE) whose purpose is to ensure quality in training and education (HEE, n.d.).

Despite its importance and the increase in knowledge such resources provided, it is important to note that being “open access” does not mean such resources are OERs. For resources to be considered OERs, they must be made available under an open license, such as The Creative Commons License (COL and UNESCO, 2016), so that they can be retained, reused, revised, remixed or re-distributed by others (Van Allen and Katz, 2020), in a culture of collaboration and inclusivity for teachers and learners. If such permissions are not in place, then even “open access” materials are bound by copyright laws to prevent distribution and repurpose, such as the materials made available on E-learning for Healthcare.

As a practice development nurse working in a critical care unit of a teaching hospital, I believe in the many potential advantages of using OERs to support staff in their lifelong journey of professional development. Despite this and my short journey through the education world, I confess that the term OER was quite foreign to me until I started undertaking this module, and while I intend to use such resources in my future practice, I have never used them before. Such feelings are not unusual in the education world. Van Allen and Katz (2020) mentioned many educators are still unfamiliar with OERs which prevents their widespread use. The multitude of repositories and distribution channels for OERs, confusing process to obtain them, unclear licensing and uncertainty of adequacy of contents are further factors for under-usage of such resources pointed by Jung, Sasaki and Latchem (2016). Factors associated with educators are not the only ones preventing the use of OERs. Institutional factors, such as support for creating, using and distributing OERs is needed to comply with the principle of universal access to knowledge and build on the already existing knowledge by saving educators the time to create new contents, thus contributing to improvements and innovation (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), 2007). Kurelovic (2016) describes other important limitations to using OERs which are cultural and language barriers. After observing that a large number of OERs available in popular repositories are in English language, this author pointed out that their adaptation and use for different languages or cultural contexts would require organizational resources, time, ICT skills or even access to special software, which might not be a possibility for some institutions. The University of Maryland Global Campus (2020) highlighted other important limitations linked to the use of OERs, such as being shared in static formats (difficulty in modifying and adapting such resources) and sustainability issues (lack of incentive for creators to update their materials and keep them available). The first point may result in the need of having to use expensive software, inaccessible to certain institutions, while the second may cause the materials to go outdated or unavailable; both points can be linked to institutional circumstances that may affect the rate of usage of OERs.

A paper by Lapum et al (2019) described a project where OERs were created in a partnership involving educators and students, with benefits in quality and advancements in nursing education, featuring open pedagogical approaches. Similar outcomes have been shared by Keating et al (2019), who also highlighted that the shortage of nursing staff around the world has an impact in nurse education and access to evidence-based study materials, thus proposing OERs to be a feasible solution in supporting an over-stretched education force. Petrovic et al (2023) further advocates for the use of OERs in distance education courses for example, which could help resolve shortages of nurses.

Part of my activities as an educator in one of the country´s largest Trust, is attending regular meetings with educators for other departments and giving contributions and views on educational activities being carried around the Trust. I believe that sharing educational resources with other fellow educators would be beneficial as it would help develop and improve the ways in which we support staff, particularly an over-stretched workforce. In a healthcare system where staff is often asked to provide care to patients under other specialty of care (for example redeployed staff during Covid-19), it is important to share resources within the education community and rearrange them to face specific needs and contexts. The challenges previously mentioned, such as the formatting of such materials, licences in place or lack of adherence of educators or support from the organization might prevent this from happening.

The involvement of students in the production of OERs can also present advantages to their own learning and development process. Describing a project involving co-creation of OERs by faculty and students, Verkuyl et al (2018) mention the transformational experiences for both parties, as well as a resulting expanded understanding for students of distinct career opportunities and professional prospects beyond direct patient care. Having seen all the potential and positive contributions of OERs for both students and educators, I will be better equipped to use them in my practice. As an educator facing the many challenges and pressures of current healthcare system, I see the use of OERs as something that might facilitate the learning for both educators and students in an ever-changing sector, with benefits that go beyond providing better care to our patients, but also increment professional satisfaction and inclusivity in all staff and students. For the students I teach in particular, those completing their specialty studies in Intensive Care Nursing might particularly benefit from enrolling in projects for co-creation of OERs, as it would be a unique opportunity to share their own experience and bring innovations to a specific aspect of nursing care, as well as broaden their career perspectives.

It is important to highlight that the adoption of open education practices goes beyond accessing and using OERs. Ehlers and Conole (2010) argue that in open education practices there is a shift of paradigm to one where knowledge is freely available and learners are co-creators of knowledge, assessing, modifying and sharing resources – open educational practices are a call for innovation with a modified pedagogical approach. The use of OERs is a step towards open education practices and it should not be feared by educators, but rather used to build upon each other’s experience leading to improved quality in nursing education (Lapum et al, 2019).

As a conclusion, the use of OERs have important advantages, especially in the face of the current healthcare crisis. However, it is important to note that certain limitations to their use still prevent the full potential of a truly open sharing culture. This limitation in use is due to several factors, such as lack of knowledge from educators or lack of trust in such materials, not to mention the multiplicity of sources and at times, confusing licencing practices or organizational factors. I must admit I used to share that same lack of knowledge of such resources or licencing practices for repurposing them to particular contexts. However, I intend to make use of these adequately and when possible, as well as participate in projects where such resources are created and shared at my current workplace in the future.

 

In the subject of openness, would like to publish this essay on the course blog (“EDM 122: Digital Literacies and Open Practice” blog) under one of the Creative Commons licences. The chosen license will be CC BY-NC-SA. According to Creative Commons (2019), this licence allows for distribution, adaptation, remix and build on the materials as long as the creator is given credit and adaptations are shared under the same licencing terms, not allowing for commercial uses. I believe this is a fair licence to use, as it protects authoring rights, at the same time allowing for a build-up of knowledge and ideas in a fair way to future users as it needs to be shared under the same terms and in a non-commercial way.

 

References

Blessinger, P. Bliss, T.J. (2016) “Open education. International perspectives in higher education”, Open Book Publishers: Cambridge. Available [online] at: https://books.openedition.org/obp/3539#:~:text=Open%20education%2C%20which%20began%20in%20earnest%20in%20the,part%20of%20a%20wider%20effort%20to%20democratize%20education (accessed on: 17.12.2022)

 

Creative Commons (2019) “About CC licenses”, Available [online] at: https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/ (accessed on 09.01.2023)

 

Cronin, C. (2017) “Open education, open questions”, EDUCAUSE review 52, no.6. Available [online] at: https://er.educause.edu/articles/2017/10/open-education-open-questions (accessed on: 13.12.2022)

 

Ehlers, U.D. Conole, G.C. (2010) “Open educational practices: unleashing the power of OER”, UNESCO Workshop on OER, Namibia, 2010. Available [online] at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306285861_Open_Educational_Practices_Unleashing_the_power_of_OER (accessed on: 13.12.2022)

 

Health Education England (n.d.) “Our purpose as part of the NHS, is to work with partners to plan, recruit, educate and train the health workforce.” Available [online] at: https://www.hee.nhs.uk/about (accessed on 07.01.2023)

 

Hersh, W. (2020) “Open educational resources (OERs) in health informatics” in Berner E.S. (ed) Informatics Education in Healthcare, Birmingham: Springer, pp 277-285. Available [online] at: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-53813-2_20 (accessed on: 17.12.2022)

 

Jung, I. Sasaki, T. Latchem, C. (2016) “A framework for assessing fitness for purpose in open educational resources”, International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 13:3. Available [online] at: https://educationaltechnologyjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41239-016-0002-5 (accessed on: 07.01.2023)

 

Keating, S. Berland, A. Capone, K. Chickering, M.J. (2019) “Establishing global nursing education equity by developing open access resources”, Nursing Educator, 45:2. Available [online] at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32106148/ (accessed on 07.01.2023)

 

Kurelovic, E. K. (2016) “Advantages and limitations of usage of open educational resources in small countries”, International Journal of Research in Education and Science, 2:1. Available [online] at: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1105180.pdf (accessed on 16.01.2023)

 

Lapum, J. St-Amant, O. Verkuyl, M. Garcia, W. Tan, A. Freeman, W. Savicevic, N. (2019) “Designing open-access, educational resources”, Quality Advancement in Nursing Education, 5:2. Available [online] at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336583044_Designing_open_access_educational_resources_Developper_des_ressources_educatives_en_libre_acces (accessed on: 07.01.2023)

 

Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (2007) “Giving Knowledge for free. The emergence of open educational resources.” OECD Publishing: Paris. Available [online] at: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/giving-knowledge-for-free_9789264032125-en;jsessionid=lSjRwtOGeMpCoriHFYtgI4TtHfcIkzNGTWJJcdrl.ip-10-240-5-25 (accessed on: 17.12.2022)

 

Ossiannilsson, E. (2019) “OER and OEP for access, equity, equality, quality, inclusiveness, and empowering lifelong learning”, International Journal of Open Educational Resources, 1:2. Available [online] at: file:///C:/Users/Filipa/Downloads/25058-oer-and-oep-for-access-equity-equality-quality-inclusiveness-and-empowering-lifelong-learning.pdf (accessed on: 07.01.2023)

 

Petrovic, K. Perry, B. Walsh, P. (2023) “Aligning nursing ethics with critical and open pedagogy in nursing education: a literature review”, Nurse Educator, 48:1. Available [online] at: https://journals.lww.com/nurseeducatoronline/Fulltext/2023/01000/Aligning_Nursing_Ethics_With_Critical_and_Open.19.aspx (accessed on: 09.01.2023)

 

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Commonwealth of Learning (COL). (2016) “Introduction: Open educational resources: policy, costs and transformation” in Miao, F. Mishra, S. and Mcgreal, R. (eds) Open educational resources: policy, cost and transformation, France, pp 1-13. Available [online] at:  https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000244365 (accessed on 18.12.2022)

 

University of Maryland Global Campus (2020) “Pros and Cons of using OERs for Instruction”. Available [online] at: https://libguides.umgc.edu/c.php?g=23404&p=138771 (accessed on: 16.01.2023)

 

Van Allen, J. Katz, S. (2020) “Teaching with OER during pandemics and beyond”, Journal of Multicultural Education, 14:3/4. Available [online] at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JME-04-2020-0027/full/pdf?title=teaching-with-oer-during-pandemics-and-beyond (accessed on 07.01.2023)

 

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Nurse Education: encompassing open educational practice

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This essay is by Sarah Wiggins who is a nurse educator and recently completed the module EDM122. She has licensed her essay under CC-BY and writes…

In recent years technology has developed and grown with advanced methods of education visible. There is global recognition that open education has been used in strategising education and teaching opportunities. This has paved the way to create pioneering changes that have proved to be effective within healthcare and education (UNESCO, 2019).

The scope of Open education encompasses the use of open access, open technology, open licensing and Open Education Resources. UNESCO (2019) defined Open Educational Resources (OER) as “learning, teaching and research materials in any format and medium that reside in the public domain or are under copyright that have been released under an open license, that permit no-cost access, re-use, re-purpose, adaptation and redistribution by others”.

An objective of Open Educational practice is demonstrated by making learning accessible and available to all by minimising the limitations of access to material. This provides an opportunity for teachers and students to develop by collaborating, building and sharing knowledge. The development and move towards OER has been driven by the need for inclusivity whereby distance education methods facilitate lifelong learning and the growing needs of the market.

As a registered nurse educator, lifelong learning is essential to maintaining high standards of care delivery (DOH, 1999). My perception of lifelong learning, the delivery of teaching and educational motivation has changed significantly in recent years. This is mostly related to the Covid-19 Pandemic where globally, changes had to be made. Education had to continue and within my role I had to find new and innovative ways to improve. Access to nursing education was of upmost importance and in light of this I understood that working collaboratively with learners and taking an open pedagogical approach would be appropriate in the evolution of change. (Petrovic et al, 2023). My use of open education practices has increased in recent years, hence the desire to reflect on this topic and not digital literacy. For the purpose of this assignment, I will focus on open education resources, open pedagogy and open technologies as these are appropriate to my style of teaching.

Open Education Resources

In nurse education open educational resources (OER) are widely used particularly within my role. This has become a revolution in the way teaching can be delivered in the 21st century.

The accessibility of OER makes it particularly useful as it is available to all staff by and can be accessed worldwide. The digital library contains educational materials which I have used within my role to support my teaching and provide education. The resources that I have used include journals, videos, pictures and open books. The educational materials I have accessed are released under Creative Commons (CC) licenses which allows the user permission under copyright law.

I deliver education to nurses and healthcare support workers under the umbrella term the Fundamentals of care. The methodology and educational resources I use in teaching vary slightly as I teach in house simulation and also use blended learning for other subjects. Generally, my teaching is delivered by a powerpoint presentation. The educational material I have used has come from open books and the latest evidence based practice. In particular subjects I have used pictures and videos to enrich my teaching practice and the learning experience of my nursing colleagues. For example, I have recently created an e-learning module about Mouth Care and I have included a short video which highlights the significance of providing oral care to patients and demonstrates the impact poor oral care can have on an organisation. The video was released under CC-BY and the creator of the video acknowledged allowing the credits for the author to be attributed. Using this method supports Wiley et al (2018) proposal of CC that the video can be retained and reused.

The e-learning module is available to all staff and can be accessed via a digital platform (Moodle) used in Barts Health NHS Trust (OECD, 2011). The benefits of using educational digital videos are recognised in a study by Rodríguez-Almagro et al (2021) who advocate that students can link the theory to practice, enabling the students to develop a better understanding of the subject. Another advantage I found is that I could adjust the content of the module to tailor to the needs of the target group (Weller, 2021).

Active teaching methodologies have changed and a method that is used widely in education have been introduced by the use of technology such as mobile phones. As my career in education progressed, combined with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, changes were made to adapt to the current climate. The use of enhanced technology was paramount to ensure healthcare professionals maintained their educational and professional development (Rodriguez et al, 2020). I have supported the use of mobile phones as students are able to log into a classroom using a Cat QR code where the attendance is recorded centrally. Staff were able to continue accessing resources that were designed specifically for purpose. The advantages of this are such that healthcare workers could download an App onto their mobile phone and use for educational purposes, patient care and access to various healthcare related systems. However, I had to ensure that open resources that were provided were safe to use and had a recognised CC license. The disadvantages of using OER for educational resources are the quality and safety assurance of the provider. Some apps may not give details of the producer and therefore prove to be unreliable (Ventola, 2014). An App that I encourage staff to use is IRESUS as I know it is produced by the Resuscitation Council and is a reliable source of open education with a CC license.

Moreover, equality and diversity are central to the pedagogy of an inclusive educational system. An inclusive approach embraced by Higher Education England (2010, P4) supported a larger diversity of students to access education. Within the NHS in the United Kingdom, and in Barts Health, diversity and inclusion are of paramount importance. The workforce consists of staff from varied cultural and ethnic backgrounds and this needs to be taking into account when planning and designing a curriculum. Barts Health welcome international healthcare professionals from countries such as the Philippines and India.  The use of OERs such as YouTube videos are particularly beneficial when teaching the Fundamentals of care. Bed baths are a fundamental aspect of care and who delivers this care this differs somewhat internationally.  In the UK, bed baths are provided by the healthcare professionals. In international countries personal care is provided by the family. Collaborative working, sharing and embedding OER into the design of teaching will not only provide the international nurses with a cultural competence, it is accessible and available to all (Breslin et al 2017; Cronin, 2017)

Open technologies

Wiley (2018) supports the notion that open pedagogy is connected to open educational resources which can be used to support learning and the open sharing of teaching practices to improve education and training at all levels. This highlights further how this practice demonstrates inclusivity as it is available to those at an institutional level, universities, professionals and individuals as a whole. The term “open” signifies this as the OERs are released under an open license which grant permission for everyone to contribute. This is reinforced by Wiley’s recommended 5Rs activities that are: “retain, reuse, revise, remix, redistribute”.

In everyday practice and working collaboratively with my team, we are always looking at ways to improve the delivery of teaching by using open technology. This derives from the reworkings that were made during the Covid 19 pandemic where classroom learning reduced and was replaced with blended learning. Skulmowski and Rey (2020) argue that the pandemic sped up the use of digital platforms and recognised that this will initiate change for the future. Those changes are visible today whereby nurses and other health professionals use mobile phones and laptops to gain access to educational material. The resources desired determined which hosting platform would be used. Twitter was commonly used and one of which my line manager favours. Twitter allows the user to showcase ideas for others to see or as a way to gain ideas. It encourages open communication and sharing of ideas with other staff within healthcare that I might not necessarily see every day. If I search further using a hashtag I can search different platforms and gain further information. I have used Twitter to share information on topics about mouth care and falls prevention. I have learnt to ensure that I use creative commons licensing when redistributing on a blog or other platform.

Open pedagogy

Clinton-Lisell (2021) define open pedagogy as practices that make changes to learning and teaching accessible by using content creation through an open license. However, there are many definitions and conceptions of open pedagogy that have encouraged my research on this. It is argued that open pedagogical practices have been proven to have a positive impact on a student’s learning. This is evidenced by students showing increased engagement, motivation and self-directed learning (Wiley et al, 2017; Dermody, 2019; Tillinghast, 2020). With this evidence in mind, in practice I need to determine what is open about open pedagogy and how do I conceptualise this? The word ‘open’ could mean such as open access, open teaching, science, the right to access and use according to Pomerantz and Peek (2016). My interpretation of this is aligned with Cronin (2017) conceptualisation that students can access education and resources free. Due to the movement of OER students are now able to contribute to open textbooks and can help to create a curriculum by sharing what they feel is necessary to meet their learning objectives.

An idea I would particularly like to try would be open pedagogy notebook based on the Fundamentals of care. The goal of the notebook would be based on the learning objectives of underpinning knowledge of the Fundamentals of care. My nursing colleagues could create a piece of work that would be used by healthcare professionals and the general public. The notebook could be divided into a few small chapters, each focusing on a different aspect of care.  Each nursing colleague could contribute to a chapter each based on their knowledge. A peer review shared amongst each other, possibly by each chapter, would enable the writer to gain a different perspective and give feedback. After a final review the book could be published. Advantages of this style of education are that learners are involved in making an educational change. Involving the learners will help to increase their critical thinking skills and encourage a collaborative style of learning. It will enhance their communication skills, boost their confidence, develop a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of care and empower them as learners. As an educator, I would need to ensure that have been taught about copyright, ensuring that they use Creative commons licenses that they are comfortable with.

To conclude, the changes bestowed upon us as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic have been unfound. The present and the future have been dictated by the movement of open educational practice. This has proven to have had a clear impact in nurse education and will continue to support the lifelong learning goals that a nursing career requires from you. Working through this module, has given me great insight into the cultural inclusion that open education practices permits, allowing access to all and new ways to actively involve learners in their own education. On reflection, I have found this module to be beneficial to me as an educator. It has given me scope to think of innovative and new ways to embed education encompassing open pedagogical practices, educational resources and technology. I would like to develop my skills using Creative Commons licensing and explore this further with learners. This is an objective I would consider for continued professional development in my nursing career.

References

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This work is licenced under a Creative Commons attribution Licence CC-BY