Open Educational Resources and Open Access in Higher Education in Macedonia

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Open Educational Resources and Open Access in Higher Education in Macedonia

Dimitar Poposki

Abstract

Open Access (OA) and Open Educational Resources (OER) represent the core values of the free sharing of knowledge. By following their beginnings, understanding their concepts, the ways in which they are used by the society can assist the build of knowledge-based economies of South Eastern European countries like Republic of Macedonia. The need for shifting toward the openness of scholarly communication and the construct of information infrastructure in the higher education requests the use of more flexible copyright licenses used for the academic publishing of textbooks and e-journals in order to provide the society with valuable knowledge. By using EU recommendations from the OA and OER best practices projects, the higher education institutions in RM can improve their role as leading figures in production of knowledge and develop the economy of the country. In order to do so, new models of OA and OER should be explored and implemented at the national level supported by the information literacy initiatives as a part of lifelong learning scheme.

Keywords

Open Access, Open Educational Resources, Information Literacy, Lifelong Learning, Tertiary Education, Macedonia

Annotation

This research paper discusses potential beneficence of open educational resources in the context of Macedonia. The author suggests several steps toward utilization of OER. First, Ministry of Education and Information Society need to recognize the shift to more economic and practical model of teaching among EU countries. This model of sharing knowledge is free from government interventions, but implementation of policies that fosters OER is crucial. Second, given the lack of professional information scientists in Macedonia, it is important to participate in South-Eastern European network of Library and Information Professionals (Kosson community). Lastly, strong infrastructure in higher education cannot be achieved without local initiatives, such as student representative, teachers, and libraries.

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