4th week of the Virtual Forum on OER: Quality Assurance and OER

[Professor Olugbemiro Jegede]

Let me warmly welcome you all to the last (4th) sub-theme and final week in our Virtuial Forum discussion on OER. I do hope that the enthusiasm and vibrancy enjoyed by the earlier three sub-themes will also run through this one.
More than any other area in ODL, quality assurance continues to be pointed to as its archilles heel. No matter how well thought out the use of OER in ODL is, no matter the elaborate plan and co-operation in its implementation, if it is not quality assured, we might as well forget it.
Given the very wide range of issues regarding quality assurance, it could take us weeks to even scratch the surface. We definitely do not have more than a week so we need to use the time qualitatively. May I therefore suggest that we select a few and most germaine issues to discuss while others should be left for the f2f conference.
First, what are the criteria to use to judge a quality OER? If anybody and everbody can freely build an OER how do we assure quality as they are built? With so much variations between institutions, between practitioners and between learners and learning styles how can we point to an internationally accepted guidelines for judging quality? How do all these affect the quality of materials designed? How do they affect examinations and assessment? How do they affect the quality of learner support services available to students?
Let me pause here for reactions and comments.
Thank you very much.
Prof Olugbemiro Jegede
Vice Chancellor, NOUN
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN

[elviso...@gmail.com]

Good morning all,
I agreed with completely with Prof., when he said “No matter how well

thought out the use of OER in ODL is, no matter the elaborate plan and

co-operation in its implementation, if it not quality assured, we
might as well forget it.” In discussing quality assurance in ODL, I
am concerned with the mode of examinations and assessment. The use of
e-learning tools – Learning Management System (LMS) has been found
suitable by many institutions for quality assurance since it can
handle online examinations and assessment conveniently. Irrespective
of the type of LMS (whether open-source or not) accepted for use, my
worry is the controls or checks procedure in place to ensure that
there is no possible impersonification of the actual candidate for the
examines. Experience in the various certification examines done
online indicates that there is a high level of compromise (cheating)
between the centre coordinator and candidates. I therefore wish to
suggest that an online examination take place in distance location
should have as a matter of policy state the inclusion of webcam to the
computer for the candidate should be a must. Alternatively, such
examines should be written in a video-conference centre such that
participants (both candidates and invigilators) will be under camera
coverage.

Thank you.

Elvis Otamere
Snr. Systems Analyst
Information Technology Support Services (ITSS)
National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)

On Jun 23, 7:27 pm, "Professor Olugbemiro Jegede" <jege...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[akina...@gmail.com]

Quality assurance in OER
Dear Facilitator and participants. I am Akin Adejimi, a lecturer in
the department of Architecture, Olabisi Onabanjo University. I wish to
participate on this Quality assurance in OER issue.
Quality assessment / assurance must be a crucial matter if OER and
distance education is to be a successful project. Like any new
programme that is to take off, QA should be part of its initial
planning. If standards are not set before such take off, it may be an
Herculean task to straighten it up later. We should also know that QA
process must be a continuous process. The necessity of quality in all
fields of distance education is to ensure that the students get the
best and that all those who come to play a part or get employment in
distance education maintain the same standard. It is also no longer a
matter just for educators, but should also concern the switchboard
operators, internet service providers, students as well as the course
designers and the market consultants. Another important factor is the
growing internationalisation of the educational field and the growing
competition among different types of education providers. It is only
through quality assurance that OER will become the effective tool it
is meant to be.
On the Control of Quality for OER, I personally believe this can be
tackled in the following ways: Let standards be evolved by experienced
e-learning international and local bodies like the COL, ACDE, etc. to
guide participants. They should act as International and Regional
Institutional Commissions or Councils to be the watchdogs for the
operators. Every OER operator should register with such bodies and get
accredited from time to time. Their accreditation criteria should
include quality of tools and technologies involved for their courses,
quality of course materials, quality of examination standards, quality
of personnel, as well as their compliance with the international
standards and etiquettes. Their quality of materials assessment should
include Clarity of texts, Simplicity of such materials,
Appropriateness of such materials for different learning groups and
levels and so many other quality factors that will make such easy for
the learners to comprehend and assimilate. However, such control and
accreditation should be transparent and fair, without
‘egunje’ (kickbacks) or any strings attached and be made an easy
process. And it should not be too harsh. Otherwise the goal of the
OER will be defeated from the onset. The major thing here is to ensure
that every player is sincere, amenable to corrections and non-
fraudulent.

Thank you.
Akin Adejimi
OOU, Nigeria

On Jun 23, 7:27 pm, "Professor Olugbemiro Jegede" <jege...@gmail.com>
wrote: