Usage of Open Educational Resources (OER) by Students of Envi-ronmental Disciplines in the Czech Republic
Abstract
Open educational resources are important innovations in educational technologies. Their proper use can have a number of benefits for both higher education and environmental disciplines.
Conversely, poor work when using these resources can have a negative impact on students' knowledge. It is currently unclear what OER students use, how often and for what they use it, and whether they are able to determine any criteria of quality.
On the basis of previous findings, we developed a method, and conducted research in the form of a questionnaire-based survey. We investigated a) the frequency of use b) the purposes of use c) subjective quality assessment.
Questionnaires were distributed in the environmental courses at five universities in the Czech Republic; 233 questionnaires were evaluated. The results showed that most students use OER often, especially Wikipedia, both its Czech and English versions, although many of the students also have experience with the storage of illegal materials.
Resources are especially used as a supplement and secondary resource, as a signpost to other resources, to prepare for a test, or when writing an attestation work. As a quality resource, students especially value Wikipedia.
Most students were also able to identify at least some criteria which they use when assessing the quality of a resource.