International Conference on Economics, Finance & Business, London

AN EVALUATIVE STUDY OF OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OERS) FOR OVERALL DEVELOPMENT OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN MUMBAI METROPOLITAN REGION

VILAS GAIKAR

Abstract:

Online education resources (OER) have advanced rapidly because of demand for personalised learning experiences, the spread of online education in the wake of the pandemic, and the intensifying rivalry in the industry. This paper aimed at understanding the awareness of undergraduate students towards the ever-evolving concept of OER. It studies the factors influencing use of OER along with the learning and development outcomes among undergraduate students. In this study, a survey-based questionnaire was used to collect the data from 605 undergraduate students, who were selected from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, India, through purposive sampling. It was supplemented with secondary data collected through various sources available in the public domain. Through this study, it was found out that there is no significant difference between demographic factors and awareness about OER among undergraduate students. It also revealed that factors influencing the use of the OER platform are found to be a significant predictor. It suggests that with the positive increase in factors, the development of undergraduate students is expected to increase as well. The awareness about OER platforms has considerably increased after the pandemic. Still, there are many undergraduate students who are hesitant to use OER due to factors like lack of proper internet connectivity and technical support, which affects their learning and development in return.

Keywords: Keywords: Open Educational Resources (OERs), Continuous learning, Skill enhancement. JEL Classification: A23, C01, I25.