The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Majlis E-Pembelajaran Institusi Pendidikan Tinggi Awan Malaysia (MEIPTA), organized an Inclusive Open Educational Resources (iOER) showcase on 18 January 2024. The iOER showcase was officiated by Professor Dr. Azlinda Azman, the Director General of Higher Education, Ministry of Higher Education.
Six universities were shortlisted to participate in the showcase: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA), and Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM). These six universities were chosen from a list of thirty-two universities that were finalists for the iOER product showcase based on the following criteria: “inclusive” and “accessible.” These iOER products are accessible on this link: https://ioercop.ums.edu.my/
Associate Professor Dr Julia Lee, from the Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development (UNIMAS), who had attended the virtual workshops on iOER organized by MOHE for approximately four months, presented her iOER products entitled “Unpacking the iOER black box on Diversity in Higher Education.”
The iOER products, which were adapted from the CLM5014 Teaching and Learning in Higher Education module (Diversity in Higher Education topic) to new and young lecturers of the Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education Teaching and Learning (PgDip HETL) programme offered by the Centre of Applied Learning and Multimedia (CALM), UNIMAS.
The virtual training workshop sessions on inclusive open education resources (iOER) were conducted from March to June 2022. Professor Dr. Fong Soon Fook (Universiti Malaysia Sabah) and Associate Professor Dr. Nurbiha A. Shukor (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia) coordinated and moderated the iOER workshop series. The consultant trainer was Professor Dr. Dianne Chambers (Hiroshima University, Japan).
The university lecturers were chosen from public universities (IPTA), private universities (IPTS), the Ministry of Education, and the Southeast Asia Ministers of Education Organization Regional Centre for Special Education Needs (SEAMEO-SENS). A team of facilitators led by Dr. Chong Chou Min from Universiti Putra Malaysia ensured the participants could complete the iOER products successfully. Dr. Chong organized weekly virtual iOER helpdesk sessions to scaffold the university lecturers’ learning process while completing their iOER products.
The participants were privileged to attend virtual lectures by Professor Dr. Dianne Chambers, the well-known “Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Implementation Specialist” Bill Willmot from CAST (Centre for Applied Special Technology), and Cable Green, Director of Open Knowledge (Creative Commons).
This iOER project comprised three phases. Phase 1 – Series of Virtual Workshops and Activities (7, 11, 14, 18, 23 March 2022); Phase 2 – Design and Development of iOER by the participants at their respective institutions (until 15 June 2022); and Phase 3 – iOER Showcase (18 January 2024). There was a total of three touchpoints. Touchpoint 1 – Plan of Action (11 April 2022), Touchpoint 2 – Check of Progress (9 May 2022), Touchpoint 3 – Accessibility (20 June 2022), and final submission of iOER products (15 July 2022), all of which were presented virtually.
While completing their iOER products, the participants were assigned a series of assignments. For example, the assignment of the first session was Task 1 – Student Needs and Barriers. The participants had to do the following:
• Survey their students and investigate whether they have any learning challenges (including diagnosed disabilities), particularly in an online or distance learning mode.
• Determine the barriers to learning experienced by their students in an online and distance learning mode.
• Submit a brief written synopsis of the needs and barriers experienced by their students, along with current measures to support these students.
The iOER products by Associate Professor Dr. Julia Lee are accessible at the following link: https://ioercop.ums.edu.my/ioer-showcase-phase-3/unimas.
For more information about the iOER showcase, please refer to the iOER Showcase 2024 links:
Opening: https://fb.watch/pEtrAUMbtE/?mibextid=Nif5oz
Parallel 1: https://fb.watch/pEs27HyQne/?mibextid=Nif5oz
Parallel 2: https://fb.watch/pEs3ZZ3HtM/?mibextid=Nif5oz
For information on the National iOER Policy (published in 2022) by the Department of Higher Education JPT, please refer to https://jpt.mohe.gov.my/portal/index.php/en/publication/118-polioer.
Article prepared by Associate Professor Dr Julia Lee, Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development, UNIMAS.