Volume 17, Issue 2 - July 2013

Introduction to the Special Issue on OER and Online for International, Rural, and Hard-to-Reach Populations

Karen Vignare, University of Maryland University College
Christine Geith, Michigan State University

This special issue of the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks on Online Learning and Open Educational Resources (OER) for International, Rural & Hard-to-Reach Populations is a compilation of projects spurred by global changes and needs in education. Extending knowledge and education to masses through internet technologies has flourished for the last 15 years. The reach of online education is just beginning to penetrate international and rural populations. OER plus online learning are a powerful set of tools that extend reach and lower costs [1]. This special issue showcases projects and trends which, when combined, are changing the scope and reach of education.

AgShare Open Knowledge: Improving Rural Communities through University Student Action Research

Christine Geith, MSUglobal Knowledge and Learning Innovations, Michigan State University
Karen Vignare, University of Maryland University College

The aim of AgShare is to create a scalable and sustainable collaboration of existing organizations for African publishing, localizing, and sharing of science-based teaching and learning materials that fill critical resource gaps in African MSc agriculture curriculum. Shared innovative practices are emerging through the AgShare projects, not only for creating...

Using OER as a Tool for Agribusiness Management Training for Hard-to-reach Rural Farmer Populations

Maina Muniafu, School of Science and Technology, USIU
Francis Wambalaba, Chandaria School of Business, USIU
Walter Wanyama, School of Science and Technology, USIU
Gidraph Nduati, School of Science and Technology, USIU
Dalton Ndirangu, School of Science and Technology, USIU

Agriculture is the mainstay of Kenya’s economy and contributes significantly to the gross domestic product. A great majority of this contribution comes from smallholder farmers who paradoxically face numerous obstacles ranging from a lack of support structures to poor policies and inadequate resources. A major challenge is assisting these farmers...

Creating Open Educational Resources for Teaching and Community Development Through Action Research: An Overview of the Makerere AgShare Project

John B. Kaneene, Michigan State University
Paul Ssajjakambwe, Makerere University
Stevens Kisaka, Makerere University
RoseAnn Miller, Michigan State University
John D. Kabasa, Makerere University

The AgShare Phase I Program, conducted at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, was formed to create open education resources for teaching and community development through action research. The study was conducted by an interdisciplinary team of investigators from fields of veterinary medicine and agri-business. Two master of science students conducted dairy...

Creating Open Education Resources for Teaching and Community Development through Action Research: The Milk Production and Hygiene Module

Paul Ssajjakambwe, Makerere University
Christopher Setumba, Makerere University
Stevens Kisaka, Makerere University
Gloria Bahizi, Makerere University
Patrick Vudriko, Makerere University
John D. Kabasa, Makerere University
John B. Kaneene, Michigan State University

One of the cornerstones of the AgShare program is the application of an information loop of action research in the training of graduate students to generate new and practical educational materials and interventions for creating open education research (OER) modules for teaching at universities, and for designing interventions and training...

The Potential of a Multimedia Open Educational Resource Module in Enhancing Effective Teaching and Learning in a Postgraduate Agricultural Program: Experience From AgShare Project Model

Jemal Yousuf Hassen, Haramaya University

Graduate programs in agriculture in developing countries such as in Ethiopia are often designed in cognizance of the need for skilled manpower for agricultural development. In Ethiopia, the contribution of graduates of agricultural graduate programs to the attempt to transform smallholder agriculture has become a matter of urgency in the...

Building Academic Staff Capacity to Support Online Learning in Developing Countries

Brenda Mallinson, South African Institute for Distance Education, Rhodes University
Greig Krull, South African Institute for Distance Education

Higher education institutions (HEIs) in Africa face the challenge of responding to the expanding demand for tertiary education while maintaining or enhancing the quality of their course offerings. This demand has led to some HEIs introducing the use of interactive web technologies to support their distance teaching and learning practices....

Addressing the Local in Localization: A Case Study of Open Textbook Adoption By Three South African Teachers

Cynthia Jimes, Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education
Shenandoah Weiss, Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education
Renae Keep, Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education

This article presents a case study of the adoption and use of open textbooks by three high school teachers in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The textbooks, collaboratively authored and distributed through the South African initiative, Siyavula, are available online and are openly licensed, allowing teachers to freely use,...

Turning the digital divide into digital dividends through free content and open networks: WikiEducator Learning4Content (L4C) Initiative

Patricia Elisabeth Schlicht, Commonwealth of Learning; OER Foundation (Volunteer), Canada

In today’s world, where tuition fees continue to rise rapidly and the demand for higher education increases in both the developing and developed world, it is important to find additional and alternative learning passage ways, learners can afford.Traditional education as we have known it has begun to change, allowing for...

Using Multilingual Analytics to Explore the Usage of a Learning Portal in Developing Countries

Vassilis Protonotarios, Agro-Know Technologies, Attica ,Greece, University of Alcala, Madrid, Spain
Giannis Stoitsis, Agro-Know Technologies, Attica ,Greece, University of Alcala, Madrid, Spain
Kostas Kastrantas, Agro-Know Technologies, Attica ,Greece
Salvador Sanchez-Alonso, University of Alcala, Madrid, Spain

Learning analytics is a domain that has been constantly evolving throughout recent years due to the acknowledgement of its importance by those using intelligent data, learner-produced data, and analysis models to discover information and social connections for predicting and advising people's learning [1]. Learning analytics may be applied in a...

An Open and Scalable Learning Infrastructure for Food Safety

Nikos Manouselis, Agro-Know Technologies, Greece
Charalampos Thanopoulos, Agro-Know Technologies, Greece
Karen Vignare, University of Maryland University College
Christine Geith, MSUglobal Knowledge and Learning Innovations, Michigan State University

In the last years, a variety of approaches and tools have been developed for giving access to Open Educational Resources (OER) related to food safety, security and food standards, as well to a various targeted audience (e.g. farmers, agronomists). The aim of this paper is to present a technology infrastructure,...

cMOOCs and Global Learning: An Authentic Alternative

Carol Yeager, SUNY Empire State College
Betty Hurley-Dasgupta, SUNY Empire State College
Catherine A. Bliss, University of Vermont

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) continue to attract press coverage as they change almost daily in their format, number of registrations, and potential for credentialing. An enticing aspect of the MOOC is its global reach. In this paper, we will focus on a type of MOOC called a cMOOC because...