Editorial: perspectives on open educational resources

Abstract

Welcome to the first 2023 issue of Open Learning. This issue broadly concerns the use of Open Educational Resources (OERs) in a number of contexts. Depending on how OERs are used or structured, there are cross overs between the notions of an OER and a MOOC. The boundaries between these two related concepts can be seen to be expressed and explored through most of the papers that can be found in this issue. Readers will also recognise other familiar themes such as blended learning, and continuing professional development (CPD). This issue begins with a paper by Tierney Kinnison et al. (2023) which is a case study entitled ‘Multi-level impact of continuing professional development on Sri Lanka’s veterinary sector’. The paper assesses the impact of continuing professional development at different levels, such as individual, organisational and societal. It adopts a multimethod qualitative approach, grounded in the framework for evaluating teaching programmes developed by Kirkpatrick (1998), and comprises structured interviews and focus groups. The authors give careful consideration to the limitations of their study, which reflect the case study methodology they adopt. Researchers who are making use of case studies may wish to use this study to contribute to a wider set of perspectives when understanding similar or contrasting contexts. The next paper is by Margaret Verkuyl and her colleagues (2023) from Centennial College and Ryerson University, which are both located in Toronto, Canada. It is interesting to compare this paper with Kinnison et al.’s paper, particularly in terms of methodology; they both adopt a case study approach, as well as focus groups, and apply thematic analysis. The focus of Verkuyl et al.’s paper concerns healthcare students, specifically their experiences of using an interactive Open Educational Resource, an instructive medical e-textbook focused on ‘vital signs’, which was developed by a team of nursing educators and a nursing student. The authors identify a range of interesting themes, including learning styles, design and accessibility. This latter theme of accessibility can be interpreted in several different ways. In the context of this study, it translates as pace and portability. Verkuyl et al.’s paper is followed by a contrasting article by Irina Rets, and her colleagues (2023) from The Open University, UK (OU). Whilst the first two papers present qualitative case studies, this article considers a different notion of accessibility to Verkuyl et al., and presents some interesting empirical research that is concerned with the readability of Open Educational Resources. The authors examine 200 OER courses from two different sources, The Open University’s OpenLearn platform, and that of the non-profit organisation, The Saylor Academy. In order to test readability, a substantial portion of a resource is uploaded into a textual analysis tool, where the results are collated and then OPEN LEARNING: THE JOURNAL OF OPEN, DISTANCE AND E-LEARNING 2023, VOL. 38, NO. 1, 1–3 https://doi.org/10.1080/02680513.2022.2152318