USE OF OER – LESSONS FROM THE PHEA-ETI KENYATTA UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE

1. USE OF OER – LESSONS FROM THE PHEA-ETI KENYATTA UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE By Dr. Michael Wainaina, Associate Dean, Graduate School, Kenyatta University.

2. Projects by K.U. • Digitization of Past Examination Papers • Creation of Chemistry and Communication Skills e-Learning Modules • Digitization of Thesis (A pilot Project) • Online Executive MBA Project • Common Research Methodology e-Course – Presentation focuses on this Project

3. Output Description & Operational Parameters • A Common Research Methodology Course (CRMC)e-Course to meet the 35 hour contact requirement for a University course • Faculty would develop the Unit themselves for ownership • Content developers were identified by the Deans of Schools (K.U. has thirteen teaching Schools) • They were identified through a participatory process for their “expertise”

4. Outputs of the Participative Process • Approved CRMC description: • CRMC Course Outline • CRMC content developers identified • CRMC Content Developed • Facilitators Identified • Facilitators trained

5. Engagement with OER • Requested and Received existing OER on Research Methodology from SAIDE

6. OER – 37 Rows

7. Use of OER • What were we to do with the materials? • We reviewed it and forwarded it “as is where is” to the content developers!! • With wisdom of hindsight it is clear now the this is not a very productive approach!!

8. Looking back, what should we have done? • We should have done a needs assessment of the requirements of the Content developers ensuring that developers were clear about what they needed or did not need and/or • We should have interrogated the materials received with a view to: • Sift through the materials with the Content developers to identify relevant information • Explore the materials as a resource for content development based on the requirements and set parameters of the CRMC • Identify and address any challenges the content developers may have had in using the materials • Review usefulness of the materials in meeting needs of CRMC as conceived for Kenyatta University

9. What did the Content developers do with the material? • We don’t know! • While we ultimately produced good material, we cannot say the extent that OER contributed to the quality, if at all.

10. What are lessons of the exercise? • That OER is an opportunity to re-engage with the process of course development • That information is available, in fact there is a glut of it and the challenge is to manage it to meaningfully, effectively and optimally work for your needs and context: Need to plan, adopt and evaluate the use of OER in Curriculum development…We cannot assume that the fact that the material is available it is necessary and sufficient

11. OER demands a New Literacy • The illiterates of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, un-learn and re-learn …Alvin Toffler

12. Opportunity for learning How do we ensure that we optimally use OER in collaborative curriculum and course content development projects? It will be productive for the PHEA-ETI projects working with OER to deliberately investigate this question and document lessons learnt with a view of scaling up best practice.

13. OER as a Resource…Who Has More Muscles?

14. THANK YOU