Adapting OER: Addressing the Challenges of Reuse When Designing for HE Capacity Development

Abstract

Changes in learning and teaching due to COVID-19 have prompted higher education (HE) institutions to develop strategies and skills related to technology-supported education, creating development opportunities that help staff teach and support students in online or blended situations. Using open educational resources (OER) meant training could be developed and localised quickly. However, there has been little research into the use of OER to meet urgent, unanticipated teaching needs. This paper provides a critical reflective account of learning design for the use of OER in a national capacity development initiative in Kenya as part of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) funded Skills for Prosperity Kenya project. Development of this OER was led by The Open University in partnership with 37 Kenyan universities. The initiative was designed to develop the knowledge and skills of educators, educational leaders, and support staff. The contribution of this paper is that it identifies challenges encountered when adapting OER for use in a technologically low-resourced context, showing how these can be addressed successfully at different learning design stages. Challenges were identified using the 7Cs of Learning Design (Conole, 2014): conceptualise, create, communicate, collaborate, consider, combine and consolidate. The paper concludes with recommendations for design practice and creating and remixing OER.