USAGE OF OPEN COURSE WARE BY FACULTY IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD

摘要

In April 2001, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) introduced the Open Course Ware (OCW) project with the goal of creating a World Wide Web of knowledge that raises the quality of learning and ultimately the quality of life around the planet. While the popular literature continues to announce and introduce the revolution of OCW, data are sparse concerning how the information is being accessed and used by educators around the world. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the extent to which faculty in the developing world access and use OCW. One thousand eight hundred and fifty faculty teaching in the developing world participated in this study by completing an online survey. Faculty in institutions of higher education in developing nations of the world were satisfied with the quality of OCW material. OCW materials were being used in different ways by faculty to enhance higher education teaching in the developing world. However, statistically significant differences were found in the frequency of access and levels of satisfaction between geographical regions of the developing world and different areas of study.