Experiences of (re)developing an online digital skills awareness course: Practical implications for supporting widespread implementation of open educational resources
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56433/hwr2ec64Keywords:
digital skills, transition, student induction, online learning, open educational resources (OER)Abstract
Open educational resources (OERs) are materials made freely available for others to use and adapt to support their educational practices. In 2019, the Bloomsbury Learning Exchange (BLE) created a Digital Skills Awareness Course (DSAC) to support digital skills development and transition into Higher Education (HE) for students across its six partner institutions in London. Subsequently, the BLE took the unusual step to release the entire course as an OER thereby making it available for educators across UK HE to use and edit to fit their own educational context. Five years on, this study sought to evaluate how and in which contexts the DSAC had been implemented across UK HE institutions using an explanatory mixed-methods approach.
We conducted an online survey of those who had signed up to receive a copy of the course (n = 54). Of the twelve respondents, eleven had implemented the DSAC at their institution and edited the course to include links to institution-specific support and resources. To further interrogate participants’ experiences of using the course, we conducted five semi-structured interviews and, using thematic analysis, identified two themes that captured participants’ experiences: ‘The DSAC lays the foundation to explore digital capabilities’ and ‘It’s me driving it forward (with the help of others)’.
This study demonstrates that the DSAC provides a much-needed starting point for professional and academic staff to implement digital skills training for new students. We found that the DSAC was being used both as a generic institutional or discipline-specific course and that learning technology and senior management support was integral to successful implementation. Future work should seek to explore how best practices and iterative changes to OERs can be shared back to the community, so that these materials remain relevant for adopters and tomorrow’s students.
References
Adekola, J., Dale, V. H. M., & Gardiner, K. (2017). Development of an institutional framework to guide transitions into enhanced blended learning in higher education. Research in Learning Technology, 25. https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v25.1973
Barber, M., Bird, L., Fleming, J., Titterington-Giles, E., Edwards, E., & Leyland, C. (2021). Gravity assist: Propelling higher education towards a brighter future – Digital teaching and learning review. Office for Students. https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/gravity-assist-propelling-higher-education-towards-a-brighter-future/
Beetham, H., & MacNeill, S. (2023). Beyond blended. Post-pandemic curriculum and learning design: Lessons from the higher education (HE) sector. Jisc. https://beta.jisc.ac.uk/reports/beyond-blended
Bennett, L. (2014). Putting in more: Emotional work in adopting online tools in teaching and learning practices. Teaching in Higher Education, 19(8), 919–930. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2014.934343
Braun, V., Clarke, V., Hayfield, N., Davey, L., & Jenkinson, E. (2022). Doing Reflexive Thematic Analysis. In S. Bager-Charleson & A. McBeath (Eds.), Supporting Research in Counselling and Psychotherapy: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Research (pp. 19–38). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13942-0_2
Campbell, A. L., Craig, T. S., Mofolo-Mbokane, B., & Padayachee, P. (2021). The unexpected consequences of replacing corridor chats with an online community of practice. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 53(3), 745–751. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2021.1985179
Creative Commons. (2024). Frequently Asked Questions—Creative Commons. https://creativecommons.org/faq/
Havemann, L. (2016). Open Educational Resources. In M. A. Peters (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory (pp. 1–7). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-532-7_218-1
Havemann, L., Corti, P., Atenas, J., Nerantzi, C., & Martínez-Arboleda, A. (2023). Making the case: Opening education through collaboration. Rivista Di Digital Politics, 2, 305–326. https://doi.org/10.53227/108468
Hays, L., & Kammer, J. (Eds.). (2023). Integrating Digital Literacy in the Disciplines. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003445326
Jisc. (n.d.-a). Building digital capability. Retrieved 26 July 2024, from https://beta.jisc.ac.uk/building-digital-capability
Jisc. (n.d.-b). Digital capabilities: The 6 elements defined. https://digitalcapability.jiscinvolve.org/wp/files/2015/06/1.-Digital-capabilities-6-elements.pdf
Jisc. (n.d.-c). Discovery tool. Retrieved 26 July 2024, from https://digitalcapability.jisc.ac.uk/our-service/discovery-tool/
Jones, S. R., Torres, V., & Arminio, J. (2013). Negotiating the Complexities of Qualitative Research in Higher Education: Fundamental Elements and Issues (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203123836
Jung, I., & Hong, S. (2016). Faculty Members’ Instructional Priorities for Adopting OER. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 17(6). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v17i6.2803
McIntyre, K. (2020). Bridging the gap: Implementation of an online induction course to support students’ transition into first year medicine [Version 2]. MedEdPublish, 9(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.15694/mep.2020.000193.2
McIntyre, K., & O’Neill, J. (2022). The process of adapting an online induction course to support distinct student cohorts. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 24, Article 24. https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi24.829
McIntyre, K., Weitz, N., & Sherman, S. (2023). (Re)developing an online pre-entry course to support student transition into Higher Education. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 11(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.56433/jpaap.v11i2.552
NICE Satmetrix. (2021). What is Net Promoter | Net Promoter Network. https://www.netpromoter.com/know/
OEGlobal. (n.d.). History of OEG. OEGlobal. Retrieved 4 June 2024, from https://www.oeglobal.org/about-us/history-of-oeg/
Patel, D., Parsley, S., Cannell, P., & Havemann, L. (2023). Practising open education. In L. Amrane-Cooper, D. Baume, S. Brown, S. Hatzipanagos, P. Powell, S. Sherman, & A. Tait (Eds.), Online and Distance Education for a Connected World (pp. 293–319). UCL Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv2wk7261.25
Pelletier, K., McCormack, M., Muscanell, N., Reeves, J., Robert, J., & Arbino, N. (2024). 2024 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition. EDUCAUSE.
Siemens, G. (2013). Massive open online courses: Innovation in education? In R. McGreal, K. Wanjira, & S. Marshall (Eds.), Open Educational Resources: Innovation, Research and Practice (pp. 5–16). Commonwealth of Learning and Athabasca University.
Swain, B. K., & Pathak, R. K. (2024). Benefits and challenges of using oer in higher education: A pragmatic review. Discover Education, 3(1), 81. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-024-00142-6
Thomas, L. (2012). Building student engagement and belonging in Higher Education at a time of change: Final report from the What Works? Student Retention and Success programme Final Report. AdvanceHE. https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/building-student-engagement-and-belonging-higher-education-time-change-final-report
UNESCO. (2002). Forum on the Impact of Open Courseware for Higher Education in Developing Countries: Final report. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000128515
UNESCO. (2019). Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (OER)—Legal Affairs. https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/recommendation-open-educational-resources-oer
West, J., & Bogers, M. (2014). Leveraging External Sources of Innovation: A Review of Research on Open Innovation. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 31(4), 814–831. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12125
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Kirsty McIntyre, Vicki H. M. Dale, Nancy Weitz, Sarah Sherman
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice has made best effort to ensure accuracy of the contents of this journal, however makes no claims to the authenticity and completeness of the articles published. Authors are responsible for ensuring copyright clearance for any images, tables etc which are supplied from an outside source.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
