1

ESTABLISHING OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE in FIJI:

“Quality through Process.”

Source – Dr. V Balaji, Commonwealth of Learning, July 24th

2015

By Matai Tagicaki ICT in Education Technologist

Fiji Higher Education Commission

ABSTRACT

We all search for guarantee in quality as consumers. Quality standards can be assured

when we take the initiative during an initial stage of process to develop a set of standard

which we may measure our products against to achieve quality and assure and meet

customer satisfaction. OER is a global concept that already has a set standard process

to ensure quality. Our challenge is localizing the global approach so that we consider

our context, to meet customer desires. As educators, our customer base are

communities, therefore we have a civil responsibility to ensure accessible educational

resources are of quality in value. This paper discusses the processes, in collaboration

with Commonwealth of Learning (COL), the Fiji OER team, working under FHEC,

will be developing OER information platform to ensure that all Fijians may access

affordable and quality resources through OER.

2

Published for APQN Conference in May 2016. © Matai Tagicaki and Fiji Higher Education Commission,

2016. ISBN 978-982-98132-1-3

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).

The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not

imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of F.H.E.C. concerning the legal status

of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers

or boundaries.

The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors; they are not

necessarily those of F.H.E.C. and do not commit the Organization.

Prepared by Matai Tagicaki Front Cover photos: Matai Tagicaki and Professor Asha Kanwar” (CC-BY-4.0), Matai Tagicaki (CC-

BY-4.0) by Doctor V. Balaji (COL) Cover design: Matai Tagicaki

Typeset: Matai Tagicaki

3

TABLE OF CONTENT

Topic

Page

1

Introduction

4

2

Technological Influence

5

3

Commonwealth Of Learning

6

4

Planning Dynamics

7

5

Open Educational Resources

8

6

Dynamics Specific

9

7

Digging Deeper

11

8

Alignment to Assure Quality

15

9

Conclusion

16

10

Reference

17

4

Introduction Acknowledging the fact that Quality Assurance is a process where a set standard is developed to ensure quality of a product or products. In this context I perceive Open Educational Resources as a relevant shelf of knowledge products that will provide Fiji and all Fijians the opportunity to access free and affordable quality educational resources. This paper discusses an approach towards establishing an Open Education Resources platform that strives towards assuring quality. In an attempt to not ‘reinvent the wheel’ in the process, and where the greatest challenge is adopting a technological approach, localization of content to reflect socio economic considerations and the integration of 21st century knowledge and skills with culture and traditional backdrops. Knowledge is a high commodity in today’s society, and quality is a relevant component in developing a scaffold on which to create an environment, virtual or real life, that knowledge is accessible and affordable. I will address comparison between my traditional and cultural backdrop and the technological evolution that is sweeping across the Pacific since the beginning of the 21st Century, and how the process in OER contributes to Quality Assurance.

5

TECHNOLOGICAL INFLUENCE The search for and creation of, a knowledgeable society is an endless human endeavor. We develop our societies by creating new knowledge through sharing and collaboration, an ancient but traditional way of life in the Pacific. We tend not to realize the value of sharing until we appreciate the changes created through collaboration, and sharing ideas constructively. Knowledge management is a curious notion, if there is still new knowledge to be made, or if there are no more new knowledge but only new ideas to expand upon. I am inclined to agree with Alan frost1 in his argument on Knowledge Management, that there is still new knowledge to be created, and this by collaboration, open sharing and interactive activities. We live in a global community that demands interactivity of skills, knowledge and action, a community where ‘NO MAN IS AN ISLAND’2, to ensure continuous human development. In Fiji’s pursuit to achieve a knowledgeable society I find myself engaging with the Commonwealth of Learning, discussing how best to continue the momentum for Fiji into the eLearning future, a future where collaborative learning is encouraged, where classrooms are turned upside down as a pedagogical and andragogic approach, where teachers are encouraged to design lessons rather than lesson planning, where teachers guide and not lead, where students are guided to have an intimate relationship with the curriculum content, and in doing so I find myself in an exclusive experience of sharing ideas, creating exponential knowledge, which now has provided a clearer perception to Fiji’s direction with O.E.R. In the process of this collaboration, we created new knowledge.

As we continue to embrace and discover the evolution of global education we must remain focused on the curriculum and not the technology. Technological development is only to better support the teaching of the curriculum. At the end of learning, we are measured on how well our students have performed, and if technology cannot support the expected outcomes, than we are at a loss. With the opportunity made available, teachers must take the initiative to empower their teaching content with what technology has to offer. The opportunities that O.E.R. has provided for educational resources deficient countries are extensive, judging from what is available online and the technology that compliments the concept. An environment that encourages teachers to bring the curriculum to life with video’s and empowers lesson plans with resources provided by the likes of Khans Academy. An example I may refer to is teaching Volcanism or Geography on an Island school, where the teacher can motivate learning by using an actual video simulation downloaded from YouTube. These are opportunities created by accessing O.E.R.

1 http://www.knowledge-management-tools.net/knowledge-creation.html

2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Man_Is_an_Island

6

In my opinion, interpreting the curriculum is task students are challenged with in any learning environment where the teacher must be an active guide, this is what teaching ultimately hopes to achieve, a student centered or student oriented learning environment. Learning environments, where teachers have the ability to get students generate intimate relationship with the curriculum content, where students are motivated with a passion to learn. As such, we need a learning environment where teachers have access to extensive reach and real time Educational Resources. Open Educational Resources creates this opportunity, and encourages developmental thinking through the process of continued development. The OER Fiji Team has worked in partnership with the Commonwealth of Learning for the past three years towards establishing an OER UNIT in Fiji for Fijians. We have chosen COL because of their educational infrastructure and developments in Open Learning that has supported Nations around the world to establish OER as alternative, accessible and affordable learning resources.

COMMONWEALTH OF LEARNING (COL)

“COL's mandate is to promote and develop the use of open learning and distance education knowledge, resources and technologies throughout the Commonwealth's 54 member states. COL has evolved into one of the world's leading distance education providers and leads the international development in distance education along with UNESCO. COL is the only Intergovernmental organization solely concerned with the development of distance education.”3 In 1987, Commonwealth Heads of Government came together in Vancouver and decided to create an Education Community on the Open Distance Learning (ODL) Platform. The initiative was created on the idea that member states can support and help each other using ICT.

The evolution of technology directly influenced the evolving approach of COL towards meeting global goals in educational development. COL mainly, because of its global focus which had to be inclusive in achieving the Global Millennium Development Goals. From the initial approach of developing Higher Education through ICT, to an all-inclusive approach to include Higher Education, Secondary Education, Primary Education, TVET, embracing lifelong learning outcomes. The evolution of COL dictates a commitment to promoting increase equal access to quality education, health and lifestyle throughout member countries. This is reflected

3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Learning

7

through a clear progression “from higher education, teacher training, and secondary education in the formal education sector to non-formal learning related to skills development, agriculture and health”4 The evolution of COL was due to the new expected outcomes directly influenced by global conceptual approaches of Education for All (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). COL further reflects its evolved state with the progression of its working statements, the previous theme stating ‘learning for Development’, and the 2015 current Strategic plan theme ‘learning for Sustainable Development’. My opinion about Global Institutions like COL, sustainability depends on assured quality. COL has engaged many third world countries with successful projects as “CLASSROOM WITHOUT WALLS”, which effectively has contributed quality outcomes. PLANNING DYNAMICS

Define OER, its relevance to Fiji and its contribution to Global Educational Development.

Understand the extension of development and sustainable pathway of OER for Fiji Education.

Understand how to organize, plan, develop and apply an OER Fiji Unit, which

will network with Global Institutions to sustain and support the development

of a knowledgeable society.

Discover effective options through continuous Analysis and Evaluation of an OER working unit to ensure quality outcomes.

Establish a Model Unit that is inclined to global change, flexible and adaptable.

4 http://allinschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/OOSC-2014-Non-formal-education-for-OOSC-final.pdf

8

OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER)

“Resources (OERs) are any type of educational materials that are in the public

domain or introduced with an open license. The nature of these open materials

means that anyone can legally and freely copy, use, adapt and re-share them.

OERs range from textbooks to curricula, syllabi, lecture notes, assignments, tests,

projects, audio, video and animation”.5

The Paris declaration – “The Declaration marks a historic moment in the growing movement for Open Educational Resources and calls on governments worldwide to openly license publicly funded educational materials for public use.”6

The word ‘OPEN’ strongly emphasizes the Concept behind O.E.R., that there are

little or no barriers. I interpret this as a passionate approach to share knowledge,

where there is knowledge abundance in the world, with societies or communities

that live in educational information deficit. Fiji, a third world country, O.E.R. offers

an opportunity that empowers teachers, students, parents and other stakeholders

in Education with real time information and open access. In my opinion, this is a

globally evolved interactive approach in educational resources sharing, one can

argue that it is not a new approach, but I will say that it is global and impacting

Countries new to the concept of Open and Free Sharing of information, an

opportunity to stay informed with global education developments.

The opportunities that O.E.R.’s has provided for educational resources deficient

countries are extensive, judging from what is available online and the technology

that complements the concept. An environment that encourages teachers to

bring the curriculum to life with video’s and empowers lesson plans with

resources provided by Khan's Academy. A mental picture I normally use is

teaching Volcanism, in Geography, on the Island schools, where the teacher can

motivate learning by using an actual video simulation downloaded from

YouTube. These are opportunities created by accessing O.E.R. As such, we

need a learning environment where teachers have access to extensive reach

and real time Educational Resources. Open Educational Resources creates this

opportunity, and encourages developmental thinking through the process of

continued development.

5 http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/access-to-knowledge/open-

educational-resources/what-are-open-educational-resources-oers/

6 http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/access-to-knowledge/open-

educational-resources/what-is-the-paris-oer-declaration/

9

DYNAMICS SPECIFIC Technology enabled Learning –

“Students today need access to the digital tools and media rich resources that will help them explore, understand, and express themselves in the world they will inherit”

– Partnership for 21st Century Skills (n.d.)7: COL will work with governments, industry and academic institutions to –

● Develop ICT in education and OER policies and

strengthen policy implementation.

● Strengthen research on technology enabled learning for evidence based advocacy and decision making.

● Develop relevant and innovative courses for developing 21st century skills.

● Use technology – enabled learning for program delivery. ● Promote the use of open technologies and OER for skills

development. ● Implement tested models at scale and develop new models.

Education

Accessibility to quality education is still a great challenge today,

despite the availability of modern technology. The Ministry of Education is

continuously challenged on methods and pathways to addressing these

challenges. As Pacific Islands, this is one of our greatest challenges, making

quality resources accessible and affordable.

I. Open/Innovative Schooling - COL will work with governments and institutions to8:

● Develop quality curriculum content in TVET subjects (aligned to

skills needed for the world of work) using OER and various

educational technologies.

● Enhance the quality of conventional schooling through the introduction of viable and cost effective models, including virtual schooling.

7

http://oasis.col.org/bitstream/handle/11599/826/COL%20SYP__96%20dpi_FINAL%20WEB%20single%20p

ages.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y

8 https://www.col.org/news/connectionsedtech-news/connections-november-2015-vol20-no3

10

● Improve learner retention and success rates through open schools.

Teacher Education – COL will support teacher education institutions to9:

● Develop relevant context-based and pedagogically sound programs for teachers and teacher educators.

● Improve institutional capacity to use ODL and ICTs effectively

so that more teachers can be trained in academic and vocational streams.

● Improve the quality of teaching and learning to ensure

positive learning outcomes. ● Develop OER materials and scale up the adoption and

adaptation of OER Higher Education – COL will work with governments and higher education institutions to10:

● Support the development and implementation of national and institutional ODL policies and systems.

● Promote curriculum reform in support of labor market needs.

● Provide technical assistance to new open universities and support the transition of conventional institutions to dual-mode provisions.

● Facilitate institutional networking and collaboration in the

development, adoption and use of ODL, MOOCS and OER.

● Support the professional development of policy makers and practitioners.

Regional Support – Commonwealth Educational Media Center for Asia (CEMCA) will work with partners to11:

● Promote the development, adoption and use of OER through policy support and capacity building.

● Integrate ICT in teacher education programs.

● Support the development of OER based courses for skills development. 9 Teacher Education, Page 14, COL Strategic Plan 2015 – 2021. May 2016.

10 Higher Education, Page 15, COL Strategic Plan 2015-20121. May 2016.

11 Regional Support, Page 21, COL Strategic Plan 2015-2012. May 2016.

11

● Empower marginalized communities, including women, through the use of community media.

● Undertake research in emerging technologies, including mobile devices.

● Collaborate to develop communities of practice for the sustainability and scalability projects.

Pacific Centre for Open and Flexible Learning for Development

(PACFOLD) – PENFOLDs priorities include: (COL will support PACFOLD to

achieve these objectives.)12 ● Advocacy and capacity building for flexible and open learning for

sustainable development;

● Development of regional and national policies on open, distance and flexible learning; and

● Research in flexible and open learning.

APTUS mobile learning device – ● Classroom without walls

● 100,000 video resources,

100,000 textbook resources

● Learning Management

System (LMS) MOODLE

● Affordable and accessible. ● 100,000 resources from Wikipedia

DIGGING DEEPER

In the pursuit of qualifying principles and processes, the following suggestions

and opinions were contributed to my search for a quality and improved process.

Outcomes Collaboration is also a tool which should never to be left idle but efficiently

utilized to ensure that our direction is clear and concise. Dr Sanjay reiterated

the following on establishing an OER Unit - “To ensure continuity at the end of

12 OACFOLD, Page 22, COL Strategic Plan 2015-2021. May 2016.

12

the final stage, the expected outcome must link into the next stage of

development”13. ● Identify expected Outcomes ● Plan towards achieving the outcome ● No more than 2 full time staff - a manager ICT and a

manager OER ● Prepare a Unit Constitution/Policy/S.O.P.

● Roles and Responsibilities of the Staff that may be attached to the Unit for special assignments.

● Work Plan - identify activities for the next 5 years, than plan for each year

● Identify budget allocation targets - What kind of budget?

What are you budgeting for?

● Activities - Establishing of Repository, Training of Trainers, Conversion plan and timeline, etc...

Dr Godson Gatsha, PHD, is the Education Specialist for the Higher Education

Division - “Because of the level Lecturers teach, they are encouraged to

research and update their content using the Large Universities like M.I.T.,

Stanford University, Harvard University, and Open University U.K open

repository”. In doing so they draw from not only a single source but multiple,

which should point towards an effective and powerful content. We now have

direction to initiate an awareness and advocacy program14.

● Formulation of a National and Institutional ODL Policy that includes OER

● Awareness and Advocacy ● Capacity building ● COL support

After continuous discussions I realize that the greatest measure of OER success

will be effectively determined by the success of rural and remote rural schools

that will use OER. If O.E.R.’s can be accessed by students on remote Islands

with very minimal or no disruption, than we can say that the program is indeed 13

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/https:/www.education.gov.uk/publications/

eOrderingDownload/DCSF-00266-2008.pdf

14 Dr Godson, personal communication, July, 2015.

13

successful, realizing that classroom learning evaluation will also be a

determination of how effective the resources in its contextualized format. Fiji

rural remote schools are challenged by the non-availability of electricity and live

around rugged geographical environment. Some of the other Island Nations are

facing land mass extinction because of rising sea levels together with Fiji. IF it

can be out on data that OER has effectively affected the lives of these children

through educating them to understand the world better and contribute effectively

to the global community that will be one of the great measures for success.

Commonwealth of Learning has created a wonderful mobile machine that is built

to address these challenges.

Aptus is a portable wireless device, size no bigger than a pocket book. It is

powered by battery also a size of a pocket book and can host up to 30 wireless

devices in a single session. It has a range of 30 meters and can be increased to

a thousand meters. The device has 100,000 OER texts, a complete repository of

textbooks and other resources, and also hosts a Moodle platform program. The

Aptus has the capability to provide access and support for our rural and remote

schools. Aptus has the capacity to provide affordable real time information for

teachers.

● Fiji to adopt the Aptus device because of its

affordability and student centered approach

● Aptus is flexible, manageable, user friendly, specifically for teacher student interactivity, mobile and Wi-Fi friendly.

● COL is prepared to support Fiji in manufacturing more devices and provide consultation.

● COL provided 2 devices free. 1 unit is for the Minister for Education and 1 to the attaché for further research and familiarity.

● Identify a project location

● Identify age target group ( preferable middle school)

● Designing Training - basically for teachers on how to facilitate learning through online platform.

● Training approach to focus on mLearning.

14

Teachers are critical partners of OER. The importance of Teacher involvement in

using, research and creating OER’s cannot be emphasized enough. The depth of

knowledge that can be discovered through global collaboration is unfathomable.

Collaboration motivates creation of new knowledge, influencing global perception

on how children may be guided with powerful information to view the world and

encouraged to form opinion and make decisions as citizens of this planet. DR

Jessica Aguti, Education Specialist - Teacher Education, has worked with

Teacher Training Institution in the South African region. Her role is to provide

support and Consultation on behalf of COL. She shares her experiences and

names three steps as critical stages when consulting with Teacher Education

Institutions, and they are –

● Sensitize - To create awareness within Institutions of how

important OER is to Teachers. This word is used to emphasize that

acceptance of the concept should be based on the perception of

necessity.

● Examine - and choose the right learning materials. Ensure

that the OER materials used are contextualized to meet the

geographical, social, economic and political environment of that

country.

● Design - training, integrate OER into the Teacher Training course content.

This is one of Fiji’s critical areas of need when it comes to OER. There has never

been an approach made to the Fiji Teacher Education Institutions, generally

because there was no direction. Discussions with Dr Aguti have certainly brought

light on a National Direction.

I would like to think that the fate of mankind is in the hands of Educators. As

Educators, we have an obligation to humanity to include value and ethics in our

content. The Vice President of COL, Mr. Vis Naidoo, echoed my sentiments by

stating, an Educator's greatest challenge is figuring out “how do we use

Education as a platform for Economic and Social Development. The people

will take the world forward”, the path taken depends on how education has

guided their perception and decision. I reflected on this statement to discover

how it holds personal values for me, for it was the passion to contribute positively

to Humanity that I chose to pursue teaching. A powerful and motivating

15

statement.

ALIGNMENT TO ASSURE QUALITY

1. Encourage continued consultation with Commonwealth of Learning.

2. Establishment of an OER Unit under FHEC.

3. Develop an OER work plan as part of the MOE 5 years Minister's strategic plan achievable overseen by Director FHEC and Director CDU/TVET.

4. Consolidate all eLearning MOE programs under O.D.L; formulate a

National and Institutional Policy to formalize the alignment because of

future evolution and development in ICT learning.

5. Prepare a budget proposal for OER unit administration, management,

process, National advocacy and awareness, continuous

training/professional development for all Education Stakeholders, research

and development, purchase of computer hardware and software including

APTUS units, ensure successive plan for the next 5 years beginning 4th

quarter 2015.

16

CONCLUSION

The dynamics of the process to ensure quality seems overwhelming with a lot of

considerations, but it is about identifying the platform on which to construct a

conceptual scaffold. Fiji’s National Policy on OER has provided this in a timely

fashion. The rest of the process is focused on aligning towards to national

Document. In this process, I suggest the summary of the following in the process:

1. National Framework – the National Policy on OER.

2. Socio Economic Considerations – Traditional and Cultural backdrops.

3. Available tools and support – Aptus, COL, UNESCO, LMS, Repository

4. Dynamics Specific – Advocating existing Institutional Infrastructure and QA

policies (ISNB, existing Quality Assurance Policies)

5. Creative Commons.

The process needs to be flexible and not rigid, because systems and approaches

evolve with technology, and must have the ability to adopt new knowledge.

In establishing and adopting OER, localized to Fiji for Fijians, discovery of

approaches and appreciation of existing QA structures blend to create a local QA

process.

17

Reference:

1. Dr Jessica Aguti, personal communication, July, 2015.

2. Dr Venkataraman Balaji, personal communication, July, 2015.

3. Dr Godson Gatsha, personal communication, July, 2015.

4. Dr Sanjaya Mishra, personal communication, July, 2015.

5. Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology, ‘Pacific Sea Level

Monirong Project’, 2015, [http://www.bom.gov.au/pacific/projects/pslm/].

6. Commonwealth of Learning Strategic Plan 2015 – 2021, pages 13,

14, 15, 19, 21, and 22. May 2015.

7. KMT an Educational KM Site, ‘Knowledge Creation- Alan Frost m Sc’, 2015, [http://www.knowledge-management-tools.net/knowledge-creation.html].

8. Wikipedia, ‘No man is an Island’, 2015,

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Man_Is_an_Island].