Promoting Use and Contribution of Open Educational Resources

Abstract

Why do some teachers share their work, while others do not? What would enable teachers to share the knowledge resources developed by them to help foster knowledge societies? Sharing educational materials with an open license is at the heart of the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement. This research monograph shows that higher education teachers in India have positive attitude towards OER and are motivated to use and share their resources for altruistic reasons. Teachers believe that the reputation and trustworthiness of the source, as well as the resources' fitness for purpose in local contexts, are the key criteria for quality. Understanding of licensing and copyright issues, and their current workload, are barriers to adaptation of OER. Based on research data, it presents a model for OER uptake and integration in teaching and learning in India.