Usage of Open Digital Educational Resources for Teaching and Research Among Lecturers in Michael and Cecilia IBRU University, (MCIU) Agbarha-Otor, Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

Advancements in ICT have led to the integration of technologies in teaching, learning and research making the world a global village in information dissemination today. This study investigated the usage of digital open educational resources for teaching and research among lecturers in Michael and Cecilia Ibru university, (MCIU) Agbarha-Otor, Delta State, Nigeria. Five research objectives with conforming research questions guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The population of the study consists of One Hundred and ten lecturers from Michael and Cecilia Ibru University. The total enumerative and accidental sampling was adopted in selecting the lecturers. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire with the title “Usage of Open Digital Educational Resources (ODERQ)”. Data was analyzed, using frequency and percentage. Findings revealed that MCIU lecturers are very aware of ODER, and they know how it can be used in the classroom and their level of usage was high. They consult open access journals and open e-books amongst others for their research work and also to prepare their lecture notes. The benefit derived from ODER was that it provides free online access to the literature necessary for their research work and it also provides quality free materials which they make use of in carrying out their research work. Poor power supply, lack of retrieval skills and inadequate ICT facilities among others were the identified problems associated with the use of ODER. The study recommended among others that lecturers should make frequent digital use of open educational resources. Also, orientations, workshop and seminar should be organized by librarians and the ICT unit of the university on the use of ODER for academic purpose.