Exploring the experience of evaluating open educational resources for use in accredited health care programs

Institution:       Cambrian College, School of Health Sciences, Nursing and Emergency Services

Investigator:    Laura Killam, MScN, R.N.

 

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to explore the challenges and benefits that educators in accredited health care programs face when striving to find and use open educational resources.

This information will be publically disseminated. It is possible that the information will inform interventions of others wishing to promote the use of open educational resources in Ontario and worldwide. This research is a component of a fellowship Laura has with eCampusOntario.

Inclusion Criteria

If you are an educator from Ontario who teaches in an accredited healthcare College or University program and has tried to use open educational resources, you can be involved in an interview about your experience. It is not necessary that you have implemented open educational resources in your teaching. It does not matter if you teach online, in-person or a combination of both.

The Interview

If you are willing to participate an interview over the phone or skype you will be asked to share your views and experiences about the use of open educational resources. Specifically, the perceived difficulties and benefits you have encountered will be explored. It is expected that it will take less than two hours of your time. Also, you will be asked permission for the interview to be audio-taped since the information you provide will be transcribed into text for analysis. The findings will not be associated with a specific person. All names and other personal identifiers will be removed so that your identity will not be revealed. Instead, the findings generated will represent a synthesis of collective viewpoints.

You are welcome to request an email with a copy of the results once they are ready. Please ask to have your email put on a list if you want to be sent a copy of the results.

Choice

Overall, whether you decide to participate or not is your choice. Your decision to participate or not participate will in no way affect current or future opportunities in your organization or the open education community. You may withdraw from the interview at any time and do not need to give any reason or explanation for doing so. You can refuse to answer any questions that make you feel uncomfortable.

Confidentiality

All information that you provide is voluntary and will remain confidential. Persons from your intuition, eCampusOntario or others will not be informed who has participated by the researcher.

Risks and Benefits

There are no known risks of participation in this study. You may not benefit immediately from participating but your contributions will assist in understanding the experience of educators who have tried to find and/or use open educational resources in their teaching. Your contribution may provide a basis for the development of recommendations for supportive interventions.

Demographic information will be collected for the purpose of a broad description of participants that will help to contextualise the findings. Specific intuitions will not be named in publications or presentations, but a description of the region in which participants work will be included (for example, Northern, Southern, Eastern or Western Ontario).

No data collected will be linked to individuals or sites. All data will be given a code number. The code number will not appear on the consent form. All information provided will be stored on a password-protected computer and encrypted.

Consent

If you are interested in participating in the project, please review the consent form. To indicate your intention to participate, please sign a copy of the consent form and mail or email it to Laura Killam. You are encouraged to download a copy of the consent for your reference.

Questions 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your participation in this project, you can contact Laura Killam (705-566-8101, ext.6252){ laura.killam@cambriancollege.ca}

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the conduct of this study, you are encouraged to contact the Director, Research and Development at Cambrian College (705-566-8101, ext. 7888) who will direct your concerns to the Research Ethics Committee.

 

Thank you for your time.