Open Science Online Course

Assessing the quality of OERs: why and how

The quality criteria for open educational resources, presented in the form of a checklist, are intended as assistance to authors and users of open educational resources and the organizations behind them. The quality criteria will:

• help authors create resources of a higher quality from the perspective of openness;
• help users in quality assessment as they are reviewing open educational resources;
• give the background organizations a tool they can use for facilitating the preparation and evaluation of open educational resources as part of other guidelines and instructions provided by the organization.

The guidelines define five different quality criteria for open educational resources and more detailed quality dimensions for each of them. The criteria are:

• Content. The content of high-quality open educational resources is reliable.
• Learning and teaching methods. High-quality open educational resources enable the use of diverse ways to learn and teach.
• Usability and accessibility. High-quality open educational resources are as easy to use as possible for everyone and in any situation.
• Findability and sharing. High-quality open educational resources are easy to find, and the users know under which terms and conditions they can share them.
• Lifecycle and adaptability. High-quality open educational resources are maintained and updated on a regular basis. In addition, other open resources and co-development practices are used in the production of the materials.

Under each criterion, the quality dimensions have been arranged according to different levels – a check in the box indicates that the element applies to open educational resources of this level. The first-level quality dimensions describe basic characteristics that all open educational resources should have. The second-level quality dimensions describe more advanced open educational resources in terms of quality, and the third-level quality dimensions apply to highly advanced open educational resources.

Assessing the quality of OEPs

Open educational practices (OEP) refer to ways of making learning and education transparent, shareable and adaptable. These practices include open educational resources as part of learning and teaching, opening up ways in which teaching is planned and provided, making a wider range of education open, and co-creating education with teaching and research staff, students and the wider society.

Organization's role in quality

High-quality open educational practices are based on a culture of open scholarship in an organization, which facilitates open education and the functioning operation of teachers and learners, in accordance with the principles of openness. The organization is responsible for harmonizing different practices pertaining to openness and taking them to a grass-roots level.

Teacher's role in quality

Through their actions, teachers enable learners to participate in and use open educational practices in a high-quality manner in their own activities. Teachers are supported by a background organization, which establishes uniform practices and provides resources and tools to support the successful implementation of open educational practices.

Learner's role in quality

When assessing the role of a learner in the level of quality achieved in openness, the focus is on learning. A learner plans their learning process by making use of open education opportunities, such as open educational practices (e.g. by using open educational resources as support in an independent study). They recognize and assess their own skills, and seek openly shared evaluation criteria to support their learning. Furthermore, the learner openly shares their skills acquired through learning with other learners. 

Source:

Open Science (2024) How to account for quality in open educational practices? Available at https://avointiede.fi/en/open-science-expert-panels/open-education/how-account-quality-open-educational-practices (Accessed 26 Sept 2024)