Resumen de How to Promote the Use of Open Educational Resources (OER) in Higher Education: A Parley with OER Experienced Teachers
The idea of Open Educational Resources (OER) is nowadays widespread in higher education. However, notwithstanding their supposed benefits, the actual adoption of OER in teaching remains low. Due to this absence, various studies have primarily focused on (the lack of) OER awareness among teachers and identified barriers to their use. This article argues that the current debate could benefit from insights from those who are already using OER in their teaching practices. Examining their perspectives can disclose measures that promote the adoption of OER. A mixed-method approach was applied that comprised an expert survey among 32 OER experienced higher education teachers in Germany, which results were then subject to a focus group discussion with 20 of them to validate and differentiate the results. Overall, the results reveal that teachers prefer measures comprising incentives and support rather than obligations. Exemplarily, a commitment to publish all materials as OER was rejected. Instead, a more fundamental transformation was requested from closed to open practices. Therefore, it can be stated that the teachers underlying path is guided by a desire for a shift towards openness in higher education. The measures favoured by the teachers can thus be understood as essential puzzle pieces that contribute to the bigger picture of openness.
