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Browsing 01. Research & Publications by Author "Abeywardena, Ishan S"
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- ItemMetadata onlyA Collaborative Approach to OER Policy and Guidelines Development in the Commonwealth: The Case of Botswana, Cameroon, and Sri Lanka(2018-04) Abeywardena, Ishan S; Karunanayaka, Shironica P; Nkwenti, Michael N; Tladi, Lekopanye; McGreal, Rory; Conrad, DianneAccess to relevant learning resources is an important aspect in ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all as outlined in the sustainable development goal 4 (SDG4). The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) has identified the development of open educational resources (OER) as a potential answer to these challenges. A total of 29 provincial/regional OER policies and guidelines were developed in Sri Lanka, Botswana, and Cameroon closely involving 608 provincial/regional policymakers from the general education system. The innovation of this project lies in the collaborative approach adopted for OER policy/guideline development where a maximum number of policymakers at the provincial/regional level have been included in the policy development process. Key applications of the approach are mass-sensitization of policymakers, identification of champions in each province or region to drive the OER agenda forward, and the development of policies/guidelines tailored to the specific needs of a particular jurisdiction. The paper will also highlight the success factors, challenges, and the follow-up activities of the project.
- ItemOpen AccessEducational App Development Toolkit for Teachers and Learners (Bengali Version)(2018-07) Abeywardena, Ishan SThe Educational App Development Toolkit for Teachers and Learners is designed to introduce the basic and some intermediate concepts of Android app development on the App Inventor (AI2) platform. It provides hands-on activities and tutorials to use the Designer and Blocks Editor components of App Inventor to create apps that can be readily downloaded and used on any Android smartphone or tablet. Furthermore, the hands-on sessions will guide you on how to use features such as text-to-speech, accelerometer, speech recognition, drawing, video, games and music playback. The Toolkit also provides guidelines on how to package and distribute your app. For teachers a training plan is also provided that can be used to provide training to students in an instructor-led environment. // Translation done by Professor Dr Sadia Afroze Sultana. // English and Sinhala versions also available. See http://hdl.handle.net/11599/1729 and http://hdl.handle.net/11599/3070 respectively.
- ItemOpen AccessEducational App Development Toolkit for Teachers and Learners (Sinhala Version)(2018-07) Abeywardena, Ishan SThe Educational App Development Toolkit for Teachers and Learners is designed to introduce the basic and some intermediate concepts of Android app development on the App Inventor (AI2) platform. It provides hands-on activities and tutorials to use the Designer and Blocks Editor components of App Inventor to create apps that can be readily downloaded and used on any Android smartphone or tablet. Furthermore, the hands-on sessions will guide you on how to use features such as text-to-speech, accelerometer, speech recognition, drawing, video, games and music playback. The Toolkit also provides guidelines on how to package and distribute your app. For teachers a training plan is also provided that can be used to provide training to students in an instructor-led environment. // Translation done by Chandi Chathurika Perera. // English and Bengali versions also available. See http://hdl.handle.net/11599/1729 and http://hdl.handle.net/11599/3069 respectively.
- ItemMetadata onlyOER Mainstreaming in Tonga(2019-02) Abeywardena, Ishan S; Uys, Philippus M; Fifita, SeilosehinaIn the race towards achieving the Education 2030 agenda, open educational resources (OER) act as a key enabler for sustainable development goal 4 (SDG4). Leading to the 2014 Regional Focal Points Meeting, Commonwealth of Learning’s (COL) Focal Point for Tonga had identified top priorities for the country where COL can further support the national agenda till 2021. Based on these needs, the Strategic OER Implementation Project in Tonga was initiated by COL in response to a request by the Ministry of Education and Training (MET) of Tonga. The project aims to assist MET in (a) developing a framework for fully utilizing the new fiber optic network infrastructure to deliver online learning to Tongans distributed in the 45 islands; and (b) improve the chances of sustainable livelihoods for Tongan youth by training them in life skills tailored to higher education and employment opportunities in Australia and New Zealand. This paper details the use of the horizontal framework for OER mainstreaming and the OER mainstreaming checklist within this project. The novelty of this project is its approach to mainstreaming OER at an institution in a systemic manner. The contribution this paper makes is to provide a proven plan for sustainable OER mainstreaming in a development setting.
- ItemOpen AccessOpen Educational Resources in the Commonwealth 2016(2016-11) Phalachandra, Bhandigadi; Abeywardena, Ishan S; Mishra, Sanjaya; Abeywardena, Ishan SThis study was conducted as part of the OER for Skills Development project of COL, supported by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The objective of the study was to collect baseline data from Commonwealth institutions with respect to the development, use and reuse of OER; the availability of support; and challenges faced in fostering the use of OER. Six research questions were formed, after reviewing previous studies, to analyse the status of OER in the Commonwealth, based on four recommendations of the 2012 Paris OER Declaration.
- ItemOpen AccessA report on the Re-use and Adaptation of Open Educational Resources (OER): An Exploration of Technologies Available(2012) Abeywardena, Ishan SOpen Educational Resources (OER) are a relatively new phenomenon which is fast gaining academic credibility as well as the attention of policy makers on a global scale. With increased funding by governmental and non-governmental organisations paired with generous philanthropy, the volume of rich OER available freely to the masses has grown exponentially. As with any new academic movement, the initial challenge for the OER movement was to spread this new philosophy into mainstream academia whereby the use of OER in teaching and learning becomes accepted practice. With strong advocacy by Open Distance Learning (ODL) institutions buttressed by organisations such as the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and UNESCO, OER is currently achieving this objective and is rapidly gaining acceptance as a credible source of knowledge in many an academic community. The whole philosophy of OER rests on a foundation consisting of two fundamental concepts which are (i) free and open access to knowledge; and (ii) the ability to freely adapt and re-use existing pieces of knowledge. Even though the OER movement has been quite successful in firmly planting the first concept in the academic community, the second concept of re-use and adaptation is still to take flight on a larger scale. Although there are many inhibitors to the wider adoption of the re-use concept of OER, one of the major inhibitors is the current lack in capacities among the various stakeholders to effectively utilise existing technologies to adapt and re-use OER. This in turn has created a community of passive OER consumers who are not contributing to the expansion of the movement. The objectives of this report are to (i) explore the current technology landscape with respect to both proprietary as well as Free and Open-source Software (FOSS) technologies; (ii) identify techniques, actual and in development, for re-use of OER materials; and (iii) discuss the implementation in the context of a typical ODL agency. This peer-reviewed report is a detailed catalogue of technologies available to teachers as well as learners for the re-use of OER material in the forms of text, HTML, audio, video and data. It also compares the technologies based on access, openness, usability and availability. The report will serve as a resource for teachers and learners for re-using OER mater.