A novel OER initiative under University of Delhi’s new Four Year Undergraduate Programme: an investigation into the Pedagogical Impact
Jun 19, 2014 1627 views 
Recently University of Delhi (DU) has introduced a new four year based undergraduate programme (FYUP) wherein all (> 50,000) newly admitted undergraduate students have been given laptops that are powered exclusively with Ubuntu OS (12.04 LTS) and other freeware including Open Office, Firefox, VLC and Rythmbox. Out of a batch of 52 students selected for case study 26 were introduced with concept of high quality OER (HQOER). The present investigation seeks to analyze pedagogical impact of the same on the twin effects of a) students utilizing internet enabled laptop computers during real-time classroom teaching and b) using OER content linked with resource based learning so as to leverage both most effectively. The investigation concludes that topic specific OER ought to be available preferentially through a dedicated search engine for HQOER. Further, an independent OER regulatory body should recommend chronological listing of HQOER sites after a thorough evaluation of the quality of their content. The future of teaching-learning process bodes well for hybrid education that includes HQOER as a built-in standard.