Journal of Health Science Theme Demonstration

Mass customization of education by an institution of HE: What can we learn from industry?

2022-03-08T13:54:20+00:00

One of the claims the OER movement makes is that availability of (open) digital learning materials improves the quality of education. The promise is the ability to offer educational programs that take into account specific demands of the learner. The question is how to reach a situation where a customized demand can be met using OER with acceptable quality against acceptable costs. This situation resembles mass customization as is common in industry for several decades now. Techniques from an industry where an end product is assembled with the demands of the customer as a starting point can be translated to the field of education where courses and learning paths through a curriculum are assembled using a mixture of open and closed learning materials and learning services offered by an institution. Advanced IT support for both the modeling of the learning materials and services and a configurator to be used by a learner are necessary conditions for this approach.

A path analysis of educator perceptions of open educational resources using the technology acceptance model

2022-03-08T13:54:35+00:00

Open educational resources (OER) are making their way into a variety of educational contexts from formal lesson planning to just in time learning. Educators and training professionals have been recognized as an important audience for these materials. The concepts of self-efficacy and outcome judgment from social cognitive learning theory serve as theoretical constructs to measure educator perceptions of OER. This study uses a path analysis, based on the technology acceptance model, to understand adoption of these resources by this audience with a particular emphasis on self-efficacy. Among the participants, three main groups were identified: K-12 educators, higher education professionals, and those involved in workplace training. A discriminant function analysis found that K-12 educators stood out as finding OER relevant to improving their practice. Recommendations are made in regards to an emphasis on easy to use designs to improve application self-efficacy of OER and instructional messaging for future K-12 educators.

Investigating perceived barriers to the use of open educational resources in higher education in Tanzania

2022-03-08T13:54:28+00:00

The past few years have seen increasingly rapid development and use of open educational resources (OER) in higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing countries. These resources are believed to be able to widen access, reduce the costs, and improve the quality of education. However, there exist several challenges that hinder the adoption and use of these resources. The majority of challenges mentioned in the literature do not have empirically grounded evidence and they assume Sub-Saharan countries face similar challenges. Nonetheless, despite commonalities that exist amongst these countries, there also exists considerable diversity, and they face different challenges. Accordingly, this study investigated the perceived barriers to the use of OER in 11 HEIs in Tanzania. The empirical data was generated through semi-structured interviews with a random sample of 92 instructors as well as a review of important documents. Findings revealed that lack of access to computers and the Internet, low Internet bandwidth, absence of policies, and lack of skills to create and/or use OER are the main barriers to the use of OER in HEIs in Tanzania. Contrary to findings elsewhere in Africa, the study revealed that lack of trust in others’ resources, lack of interest in creating and/or using OER, and lack of time to find suitable materials were not considered to be barriers. These findings provide a new understanding of the barriers to the use of OER in HEIs and should therefore assist those who are involved in OER implementation to find mitigating strategies that will maximize their usage.

Editorial: A New Path for Health Sciences

2022-03-08T13:54:34+00:00

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec faucibus dui vel nisl congue, et rutrum lacus scelerisque. Integer euismod, ligula varius tristique tincidunt, ante leo suscipit lectus, pellentesque finibus purus sapien in magna. Nulla eu mauris nibh. Sed convallis venenatis sagittis. Nam mollis, elit at euismod tincidunt, risus orci vulputate nisl, a vulputate mauris odio a nulla. Ut imperdiet blandit tempor. Nulla fermentum quam eget turpis maximus bibendum. Maecenas vitae erat non arcu egestas interdum at eu libero. Vestibulum semper, elit nec porttitor varius, lorem libero auctor dolor, id varius ipsum sapien vitae urna.