Students’ Understanding of Open Educational Resources: A Case Study of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

This study is directed to explore the level of awareness, perceptions and effective usage of Open Educational Resources (OERs) especially for curriculum-based learning (course work) and research work being conducted among Postgraduate students and Ph. D researchers in India. The research methodology employed includes a well-structured questionnaire-based survey method, with participants receiving the questionnaire via email. Open Educational Resources (OERs) are essentially creation of research content that is of utmost relevance and is extensively being used especially for teaching, learning and research content. These OERs are totally licensed and are meant to be freely available for use, resource sharing and further adding building blocks upon it. They are also being used towards expanding the access of the complete information for teaching, learning and research, making it evenhanded for one and all. The main objective of these OERs is to spread their wings to the remotest part of the earth where one and all could benefit from adopting these OERs. It is most imperative to comprehend and channelize the potential of OERs, especially in countries that are on the grip of facing severe financial constraints in procurement. The observations have brought to the fore that the extent of the usage of the OER fluctuates based on the purpose, with an abundant use and fulfillment for coursework as compared to research. The respondents expressed a deep desire for the accessibility of high-quality OERs in each discipline to satisfy their academic and research requirements satisfactorily. It was observed that researchers continue to depend heavily on high-priced, subscription-based copyrighted resources.