Localization of Open Educational Resources (OER) in Nepal: Strategies of Himalayan Knowledge-Workers

• Main Author: Ivins, Tiffany
• Format: Others
• Published: BYU ScholarsArchive 2011
• Subjects: open content; OER; ICT; Nepal; nonformal education; NFE; rural development; information communication technology; developing countries; Tiffany Zenith Ivins; David Wiley; Educational Psychology
• Online Access: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/2616; https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3615&context=etd

This dissertation examines localization of Open Educational Resources (OER) in Himalayan community technology centers of Nepal. Specifically, I examine strategies and practices that local knowledge-workers utilize in order to localize educational content for the disparate needs, interests, and ability-levels of learners in rural villages. This study draws on insights from non-formal education (NFE) stakeholders in Nepal, including government, UN, international and national NGOs, local knowledge-workers, and learners from different villages. I specifically focus on a sample of seven technology centers to better understand how localization is defined, designed, and executed at a ground level. I illuminate obstacles knowledge-workers face while localizing content and strategies to overcome such barriers. I conclude by offering key principles to support theory development related to OER localization. This study is anchored in hermeneutic inquiry and is augmented by interpretive phenomenological analysis and quasi-ethnographic research methods. This qualitative study employed interviews, focus group discussions, observations, and artifact reviews to identify patterns of localization practices and themes related to localization of critical content in Himalayan community technology centers of Nepal. This dissertation provides valuable evidence not only why localization matters (a statement that has been hypothesized for the past decade); but also provides proof of how localization is executed and concrete ways that localization could be improved in order for OER to reap efficacious learning gains for more rural people in developing countries and in other rural communities across the globe. The full text of this dissertation may be downloaded for free from http://etd.byu.edu/