- Senior Professor in Educational Technology at the Open University of Sri Lankaedit
The adoption of open educational practices (OEP) requires a shift in our perceptions and practices about learning and teaching towards a more participatory, creative and a sharing culture. Such shifts are best achieved and sustained... more
The adoption of open educational practices (OEP) requires a shift in our perceptions and practices about learning and teaching towards a more participatory, creative and a sharing culture. Such shifts are best achieved and sustained through carefully designed learning experiences that involve people in reflecting on authentic problems and situations. The impact of this kind of capacity building around OEP are difficult to ascertain because they are an outcome of a combination of factors involving the practitioners themselves, their educational context, as well as their views about intellectual property, its ownership and its role in educational development. Getting a clear estimate of the impacts of this kind of capacity building requires a multiplicity of evidence. This paper discusses impacts of innovative design strategies adopted in four MOOCs on shifting mindsets of practitioners towards OEP.
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ABSTRACT Interest in the adoption of open educational practices (OEP) is growing, and the strongest arguments in its favor are that the adoption of such practices has the best chances of making education affordable and accessible to... more
ABSTRACT
Interest in the adoption of open educational practices (OEP) is growing, and the strongest arguments in its favor are that the adoption of such practices has the best chances of making education affordable and accessible to all. However, engagement with such practices requires the adoption of a fundamentally different set of beliefs and value systems about the role of education and educational resources in the development of societies. The development of these beliefs and values are achievable through a combination of strategies. These include appropriate policies, as well as capacity building through sustained engagement in carefully designed learning experiences, which involves people reflecting on authentic problems and situations around the adoption of OEP. The impacts of such capacity building are difficult to ascertain because they are an outcome of a combination of factors involving the practitioners themselves, their educational context, as well as their views about intellectual property, its ownership, and role in educational development. This article discusses our approach to shifting the mindsets of practitioners around OEP and ascertaining its impacts on them.
You can download a free e-print of the full paper from the following link!
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/EN8A4JBNXMB8PSKBVD7W/full?target=10.1080/01587919.2020.1757406
Interest in the adoption of open educational practices (OEP) is growing, and the strongest arguments in its favor are that the adoption of such practices has the best chances of making education affordable and accessible to all. However, engagement with such practices requires the adoption of a fundamentally different set of beliefs and value systems about the role of education and educational resources in the development of societies. The development of these beliefs and values are achievable through a combination of strategies. These include appropriate policies, as well as capacity building through sustained engagement in carefully designed learning experiences, which involves people reflecting on authentic problems and situations around the adoption of OEP. The impacts of such capacity building are difficult to ascertain because they are an outcome of a combination of factors involving the practitioners themselves, their educational context, as well as their views about intellectual property, its ownership, and role in educational development. This article discusses our approach to shifting the mindsets of practitioners around OEP and ascertaining its impacts on them.
You can download a free e-print of the full paper from the following link!
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/EN8A4JBNXMB8PSKBVD7W/full?target=10.1080/01587919.2020.1757406
The Commonwealth Digital Education Leadership Training in Action (C-DELTA) programme provides a framework for fostering digital education for lifelong learning by developing digital education leaders. The Faculty of Education at the Open... more
The Commonwealth Digital Education Leadership Training in Action (C-DELTA) programme provides a framework for fostering digital education for lifelong learning by developing digital education leaders. The Faculty of Education at the Open University of Sri Lanka implemented an action research project to promote the adoption of C-DELTA among teachers and students of secondary schools in Sri Lanka, and evaluate its impact on the teaching-learning process. A group of 41 teachers participated in the intervention and implemented C-DELTA in their schools. A variety of data were collected throughout the process via questionnaires, concept maps, focus group interviews, implementation reports, and log records in the C-DELTA platform. Findings revealed that despite challenges, such as inadequate ICT facilities, time constraints and limitation in English language competencies, the adoption of C-DELTA has supported improving digital literacy, enacting changes in thinking and digital behaviour among teachers and students, and enhancing teachers' digital education leadership skills.
Abeywardena, I.S., Karunanayaka, S. P., Nkwenti, M.N., Tlad, L. (2018) A Bottom-up Approach to OER Policy and Guidelines Development in the Commonwealth: The Case of Botswana, Cameroon and Sri Lanka. The International Review of Research... more
Abeywardena, I.S., Karunanayaka, S. P., Nkwenti, M.N., Tlad, L. (2018) A Bottom-up Approach to OER Policy and Guidelines Development in the Commonwealth: The Case of Botswana, Cameroon and Sri Lanka. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning (IRRODL), 19 (2) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v19i2.3415
Karunanayaka, S. P., Naidu, S., Rajendra, J.C.N., & Ariadurai, S.A. (2018) Designing Continuing Professional Development MOOCs to promote the adoption of OER and OEP. Open Praxis 10 (2), 179-190 DOI:... more
Karunanayaka, S. P., Naidu, S., Rajendra, J.C.N., & Ariadurai, S.A. (2018) Designing Continuing Professional Development MOOCs to promote the adoption of OER and OEP. Open Praxis 10 (2), 179-190 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.10.2.826
Karunanayaka, S. P., & Naidu, S. (2018) Designing Capacity Building of Educators in Open Educational Resources Integration Leads to Transformational Change. Distance Education. 39:1, 87-109, DOI:... more
Karunanayaka, S. P., & Naidu, S. (2018) Designing Capacity Building of Educators in Open Educational Resources Integration Leads to Transformational Change. Distance Education. 39:1, 87-109, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2017.1413933
Karunanayaka, S. P. & Naidu, S. (2017). A design-based approach to support and nurture open educational practices. AAOU Journal, 12(1), pp. 1-20. doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/AAOUJ-01-2017-0010
Karunanayaka, S.P., (2017). Discourses at the Intersections of Disciplinary Knowledge, Pedagogy and Technology. (Editorial) OUSL Journal. 12(1), pp.1–4. doi: http://doi.org/10.4038/ouslj.v12i1.7392
Karunanayaka, S. P., Naidu, S., Rajendra, J., & Ratnayake, H. (2017). Designing reflective practice in the context of OER-based eLearning. Journal of Learning for Development, 4(2), 143-160 Retrieved from... more
Karunanayaka, S. P., Naidu, S., Rajendra, J., & Ratnayake, H. (2017). Designing reflective practice in the context of OER-based eLearning. Journal of Learning for Development, 4(2), 143-160 Retrieved from http://www.jl4d.org/index.php/ejl4d/article/view/210
Karunanayaka, S. P., Rajendra, J.C.N. & Ratnayake, H.U.W., Naidu, S. (2016). Peer-facilitated discussions to enhance OER-based eLearning. AAOU Journal, 11(1), 1-16 DOI 10.1108/AAOUJ-07-2016-0022 Retrieved from... more
Karunanayaka, S. P., Rajendra, J.C.N. & Ratnayake, H.U.W., Naidu, S. (2016). Peer-facilitated discussions to enhance OER-based eLearning. AAOU Journal, 11(1), 1-16 DOI 10.1108/AAOUJ-07-2016-0022 Retrieved from http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/AAOUJ-07-2016-0022
Karunanayaka, S., Lekamge, D., Gunawardena, C., Naidu, S., & Menon, M. (2007), Professional development of teacher educators with collaborative learning designs and networking. Indian Journal of Open Learning, 16(2), 101-112. Retrieved... more
Karunanayaka, S., Lekamge, D., Gunawardena, C., Naidu, S., & Menon, M. (2007), Professional development of teacher educators with collaborative learning designs and networking. Indian Journal of Open Learning, 16(2), 101-112. Retrieved from http://journal.ignouonline.ac.in/iojp/index.php/IJOL/article/view/442
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Karunanayaka, S. & Wijeratne, R. (2005). Educational media in Sri Lanka. In U.V. Reddi and S. Mishra (eds.) Perspectives on distance education: Educational media in Asia. Vancouver: Commonwealth of Learning. pp 55-67. Retrieved from... more
Karunanayaka, S. & Wijeratne, R. (2005). Educational media in Sri Lanka. In U.V. Reddi and S. Mishra (eds.) Perspectives on distance education: Educational media in Asia. Vancouver: Commonwealth of Learning. pp 55-67. Retrieved from http://oasis.col.org/bitstream/handle/11599/51/PS_EdMedia_Asia.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Naidu, S., Menon, M., Gunawardena, C., Lekamge, D., & Karunanayaka, S, (2007). How can scenario-based learning engender and promote reflective practice in online and distance education. In M. Spector (Eds.), Finding Your Online Voice:... more
Naidu, S., Menon, M., Gunawardena, C., Lekamge, D., & Karunanayaka, S, (2007). How can scenario-based learning engender and promote reflective practice in online and distance education. In M. Spector (Eds.), Finding Your Online Voice: Stories Told by Experienced Online Educators (53-72), NJ: Lawrence Pp. 53-72 http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0668/2006027752-t.html
Karunanayaka, S. (2007). Practitioner-oriented postgraduate programme in teacher education In T.K.S. Lakshmi, K. Rama & J. Hendrikz (Eds.) An Anthology of “Best Practices” in Teacher Education. India: NAAC. pp. 14-18. Retrieved from... more
Karunanayaka, S. (2007). Practitioner-oriented postgraduate programme in teacher education In T.K.S. Lakshmi, K. Rama & J. Hendrikz (Eds.) An Anthology of “Best Practices” in Teacher Education. India: NAAC. pp. 14-18. Retrieved from http://www.teindia.nic.in/Files/Best_Practices_inTE.pdf
Karunanayaka, S. (2008). Introducing an online learning course at the Open University of Sri Lanka In K. Rama, A. Hope & U. Coomaraswamy (Eds.) Quality Assurance Toolkit: Distance Higher Education Institutions & Programmes. India: NAAC.... more
Karunanayaka, S. (2008). Introducing an online learning course at the Open University of Sri Lanka In K. Rama, A. Hope & U. Coomaraswamy (Eds.) Quality Assurance Toolkit: Distance Higher Education Institutions & Programmes. India: NAAC. Pp. 275-281. Retrieved from http://oasis.col.org/handle/11599/105
Karunanayaka, S. & Naidu, S. (2009). Developing Professional Competencies of Teacher Educators in the use of Educational Technology, with Scenario-based Learning In Kinuthia & S. Marshall (Eds.) Cases ‘n’ Places: Global Cases in... more
Karunanayaka, S. & Naidu, S. (2009). Developing Professional Competencies of Teacher Educators in the use of Educational Technology, with Scenario-based Learning In Kinuthia & S. Marshall (Eds.) Cases ‘n’ Places: Global Cases in Educational Technology, Information Age Publishing, USA. pp. 123-132
Karunanayaka, S. (2014). Open University of Sri Lanka –Integrating OER in a Teacher Education Course. In S. Naidu & S. Mishra (Eds). Case Studies on OER-based eLearning. New Delhi:CEMCA. pp 1-10. Retrieved from... more
Karunanayaka, S. (2014). Open University of Sri Lanka –Integrating OER in a Teacher Education Course. In S. Naidu & S. Mishra (Eds). Case Studies on OER-based eLearning. New Delhi:CEMCA. pp 1-10. Retrieved from http://oasis.col.org/bitstream/handle/11599/561/CaseStudies_OER-based_eLearning.pdf
Karunanayaka, S. & Naidu, S. (2017). Impact of integrating OER in teacher education at the Open University of Sri Lanka. In C. Hodgkinson-Williams & P. B. Arinto (Eds.), Adoption and impact of OER in the Global South (pp. 459–498).... more
Karunanayaka, S. & Naidu, S. (2017). Impact of integrating OER in teacher education at the Open University of Sri Lanka. In C. Hodgkinson-Williams & P. B. Arinto (Eds.), Adoption and impact of OER in the Global South (pp. 459–498). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.600398
Karunanayaka, S. P. & Naidu, S. (2019). Designing capacity building of educators in open educational resources integration leads to transformational change. In Jennifer Roberts, Mutuota Kigotho, Adrian Stagg (Eds.) Expanding Horizons in... more
Karunanayaka, S. P. & Naidu, S. (2019). Designing capacity building of educators in open educational resources integration leads to transformational change. In Jennifer Roberts, Mutuota Kigotho, Adrian Stagg (Eds.) Expanding Horizons in Open and Distance Learning. London: Routledge.
Karunanayaka, S. P. & Naidu, S. (2019). Teachers as Designers: At the Confluence of Technology, Pedagogy and OER. In Divya Singh & Mandala Makhanya (Eds.) Essays in Online Education: A Global Perspective. (pp. 33-46) Pretoria: Unisa Press.
Naidu, S. & Karunanayaka, S.P. (2019). Orchestrating Shifts in Perspectives and Practices about MOOC Design. In Ke Zhang, Curtis J. Bonk, Thomas C. Reeves, and Thomas H. Reynolds (Eds.) MOOCs and Open Education across Emerging Economies:... more
Naidu, S. & Karunanayaka, S.P. (2019). Orchestrating Shifts in Perspectives and Practices about MOOC Design. In Ke Zhang, Curtis J. Bonk, Thomas C. Reeves, and Thomas H. Reynolds (Eds.) MOOCs and Open Education across Emerging Economies: Challenges, Successes, and Opportunities. London: Routledge
Karunanayaka, S.P., & Naidu, S. (Eds.) (2020). Pathways to Open Educational Practices. The Open University of Sri Lanka. (ISBN 978-9-552-31763-7) Retrieved from
http://publicationshare.com/pdfs/Pathways_to_OEP_eBook.pdf
http://publicationshare.com/pdfs/Pathways_to_OEP_eBook.pdf
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Karunanayaka, S. & Naidu, S. (Eds.) (2016). Dreamweaving Open Educational Practices (ISBN 978-955-23-162-27). Nugegoda: The Open University of Sri Lanka. Retrieved from... more
Karunanayaka, S. & Naidu, S. (Eds.) (2016). Dreamweaving Open Educational Practices (ISBN 978-955-23-162-27). Nugegoda: The Open University of Sri Lanka. Retrieved from http://www.ou.ac.lk/home/images/OUSL/publications/Dreamweaving%20Open%20Educational%20Practices.pdf
Karunanayaka, S. & Naidu, S. (Eds.) (2014). Integrating OER in Educational Practice: Practitioner Stories (ISBN 978-955-23-152-68). Nugegoda: The Open University of Sri Lanka. Retrieved from... more
Karunanayaka, S. & Naidu, S. (Eds.) (2014). Integrating OER in Educational Practice: Practitioner Stories (ISBN 978-955-23-152-68). Nugegoda: The Open University of Sri Lanka. Retrieved from http://www.ou.ac.lk/home/images/OUSL/publications/intergratingOERinEducationalPractice.pdf
ABSTRACT Using online methods for learning is rapidly growing among higher education institutions all over the world, especially in Open and Distance Learning contexts. The Master of Arts in Teacher Education (International) Program of... more
ABSTRACT Using online methods for learning is rapidly growing among higher education institutions all over the world, especially in Open and Distance Learning contexts. The Master of Arts in Teacher Education (International) Program of the Open University of Sri Lanka integrated collaborative online learning in the course, "The Teacher Educator as an Educational Technologist". Using a web-based Learner Management System, an interactive learning environment was created, to enhance collaborative learning among students. This study investigated the successes and impacts of the initiative, and challenges faced by students who were novices to online learning. The online learning environment supported students to interact with the subject matter content, with each other and with the teacher. As a result of this experience, students were gaining confidence in self-regulated and reflective learning, while developing a social bonding among them. Although they faced certain challenges such as coping with the technology and changing from conventional approaches, a sense of achievement was claimed once the activities are completed. This paper elaborates on the roles of teachers and learners in a collaborative online learning environment, and also stresses the necessity for design of interactive learning grounded in pedagogy, in order to ensure a successful learning experience for learners.
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This chapter reports on a research project implemented in the Faculty of Education at the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) which investigated the impact of integrating Open Educational Resources (OER) in the teaching-learning process... more
This chapter reports on a research project implemented in the Faculty of Education at the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) which investigated the impact of integrating Open Educational Resources (OER) in the teaching-learning process by secondarylevel student teachers in Sri Lanka. The research questions this study seeks to answer are: What are the impacts of OER integration on the use of instructional materials by teachers? What are the impacts of OER integration on teachers’ pedagogical perspectives? What are the impacts of OER integration on teachers’ pedagogical practices? The study adopted a design-based research approach. An intervention programme was implemented with 230 participants who were student teachers registered in the OUSL Postgraduate Diploma in Education programme in nine OUSL centres across the nine provinces of Sri Lanka. Data were collected at multiple stages through the following quantitative and qualitative strategies: survey questionnaires, analysis of les...
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The Commonwealth Digital Education Leadership Training in Action (C-DELTA) programme provides a framework for fostering digital education for lifelong learning by developing digital education leaders. The Faculty of Education at the Open... more
The Commonwealth Digital Education Leadership Training in Action (C-DELTA) programme provides a framework for fostering digital education for lifelong learning by developing digital education leaders. The Faculty of Education at the Open University of Sri Lanka implemented an action research project to promote the adoption of C-DELTA among teachers and students of secondary schools in Sri Lanka, and evaluate its impact on the teaching-learning process. A group of 41 teachers participated in the intervention and implemented C-DELTA in their schools. A variety of data were collected throughout the process via questionnaires, concept maps, focus group interviews, implementation reports, and log records in the C-DELTA platform. Findings revealed that despite challenges, such as inadequate ICT facilities, time constraints and limitation in English language competencies, the adoption of C-DELTA has supported improving digital literacy, enacting changes in thinking and digital behaviour am...
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ABSTRACT Authentic assessment activities are those that afford learners opportunities to practice finding solutions to real-world issues and challenges, so that upon graduation they are able to apply these skills to issues and challenges... more
ABSTRACT Authentic assessment activities are those that afford learners opportunities to practice finding solutions to real-world issues and challenges, so that upon graduation they are able to apply these skills to issues and challenges they will face in their workplaces. When learners are able to do this successfully, they are judged as job ready. However, ascertaining the impacts of authentic assessment activities upon the achievement of learning outcomes and the development of desirable graduate attributes is challenging. How can we know for certain that our assessment activities have had the desired impact? A possible pathway is to examine the impacts of authentic assessment activities on the development of graduate attributes. The study reported in this paper offers insights on how, and in which ways, the design of authentic assessment activities in an online professional development program for practitioners influenced the development of generic graduate attributes.
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There is growing interest in the adoption of open educational resources (OER) and open educational practices (OEP) in a variety of contexts. Continuing professional development (CPD) among practitioners in the effective adoption of OER... more
There is growing interest in the adoption of open educational resources (OER) and open educational practices (OEP) in a variety of contexts. Continuing professional development (CPD) among practitioners in the effective adoption of OER and OEP is critical in this scenario. Massive open online courses (MOOCs), which also grew as part of the open education movement, provide a feasible means for this purpose. MOOCs are considered a ‘disruptive innovation’ in making free and open learning opportunities accessible to large numbers. Yet, the design of an effective massive online course that is as robust as a great online course with smaller student numbers where good principles of teaching and learning are maintained, is very challenging. Most contemporary MOOCs tend to have a content-driven focus of knowledge transmission, deviating from its original focus of knowledge generation. With the intention of providing learning experiences to promote learner engagement with OER, rather than pre...
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Purpose The Open University of Sri Lanka implemented a fully online professional development course on open educational resources-based e-learning (OEReL), which adopted a scenario-based learning (SBL) design within the constructivist... more
Purpose The Open University of Sri Lanka implemented a fully online professional development course on open educational resources-based e-learning (OEReL), which adopted a scenario-based learning (SBL) design within the constructivist pedagogy. It was designed to facilitate knowledge construction in a collaborative manner with the support of open educational resource (OER), mainly through peer-facilitated discussion forum activities. The purpose of this paper is to present a case study on how peer-facilitated discussions affected the OEReL process, what factors supported and hindered peer-facilitated discussions, and what challenges were faced during the process. Design/methodology/approach The OEReL course consisted of five modules with 14 discussion forum activities. Content analysis of the threaded forum discussions was the key data collection and analysis strategy based on the community of inquiry (CoI) framework (Garrison and Arbaugh, 2007). It was supplemented with participant...
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Purpose A critical attribute of open educational practices (OEP) is the pursuit of open scholarship which comprises the release of educational resources under an open licence scheme that permits no-cost access, use, reuse, adaptation,... more
Purpose A critical attribute of open educational practices (OEP) is the pursuit of open scholarship which comprises the release of educational resources under an open licence scheme that permits no-cost access, use, reuse, adaptation, retention and redistribution to others. The degree of openness in relation to this attribute will depend on the context and culture of the place and the people in it. When left to chance, the adoption and practice of open scholarship by educators is at best sketchy. For optimum impact, a design-based approach is essential. A central focus of such an approach will need to target educators’ belief systems and practices about their scholarship. Any such work will involve researchers collaborating with practitioners in real-life settings to improve educational practices through iterative analysis, design, development and implementation. The purpose of this paper is to report on how the development and use of such a design-based approach, implemented by the...
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Technology, education and design are at the heart of any educational transaction. For optimum impact these need to be carefully choreographed and orchestrated. Despite acknowledgement and acceptance of technology, education and design as... more
Technology, education and design are at the heart of any educational transaction. For optimum impact these need to be carefully choreographed and orchestrated. Despite acknowledgement and acceptance of technology, education and design as critical attributes of any successful educational transaction, bringing them together to ensure transformational change, both at the individual and at the institutional level, remains a serious challenge. This includes not only the development of the knowledge and understanding of the subject matter content, but also a rethink and reorientation of the essential value principles of education. This paper reports a case study of the experiences of the Open University of Sri Lanka in bringing about such transformational change in relation to the adoption of open educational practices (OEP) over the past decade. This is captured in the narratives of key participants involved in the projects. These achievements comprise: 1) the professional development of...
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Engineering is a field or discipline, practice, profession and art to cater to social needs. Always it works in the real world. Therefore, having hands-on experience and working with a group of people will contribute better solutions to... more
Engineering is a field or discipline, practice, profession and art to cater to social needs. Always it works in the real world. Therefore, having hands-on experience and working with a group of people will contribute better solutions to society need. Higher education is the place where students get an opportunity to work with peers with similar interests. Collaborative learning is active learning which contributes many outcomes that are beneficial to learners and all other group members in participating and getting responsibility for their own learning. This research is to find out how we can improve Sri Lankan engineering students’ interaction via collaborative learning by using mobile technology. Furthermore, we try to answer the question how Moodle mobile APP based instructional activities can be designed and developed as tools to enhance student interactions among engineering students to achieve outcome based education? Design-Based Research (DBR) approach was taken to develop t...
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Karunanayaka, S. & Naidu, S. (2017). Impact of integrating OER in teacher education at the Open University of Sri Lanka. In C. Hodgkinson-Williams & P. B. Arinto (Eds.), Adoption and impact of OER in the Global South (pp. 459–498).... more
Karunanayaka, S. & Naidu, S. (2017). Impact of integrating OER in teacher education at the Open University of Sri Lanka. In C. Hodgkinson-Williams & P. B. Arinto (Eds.), Adoption and impact of OER in the Global South (pp. 459–498). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.600398
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The Commonwealth Digital Education Leadership Training in Action (C-DELTA) programme provides a framework for fostering digital learning for lifelong learning by developing leaders who can influence others to use digital technology... more
The Commonwealth Digital Education Leadership Training in Action (C-DELTA) programme provides a framework for fostering digital learning for lifelong learning by developing leaders who can influence others to use digital technology appropriately and effectively for learning. The Faculty of Education at the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) implemented an action research project, with the aim of promoting the adoption of C-DELTA among the teachers and students of secondary schools in Sri Lanka. It comprised an intervention designed to facilitate the adoption of C-DELTA in secondary schools, and evaluation of its impact on the teaching- learning process. A group of 41 participant teachers representing schools from the nine Provinces of Sri Lanka coordinated the implementation of C-DELTA in their schools. A variety of data collected using concept maps, questionnaires, focus group interviews, implementation reports, and logs recorded in the C-DELTA platform were analysed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Findings revealed that while adoption of C-DELTA was a novel experience highly embraced by the participant teachers who were very motivated to implement it in their schools, various constraints have hindered its successful implementation. Despite facing challenges including inadequate ICT facilities, time constraints and limitation in English language competencies, 21 teachers who completed the project reflected that adoption of C-DELTA in the teaching-learning process has supported improving digital literacy among students and teachers. For instance, concepts such as ‘digital foot print’ and ‘digital identity’ were found to be most effective in enacting changes in thinking and digital behaviour among both students and teachers. Overall, the implementation of C-DELTA has enhanced participant teachers’ digital education leadership skills, and provided them with an innovative avenue to promote digital education in their schools.
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The communication revolution has stimulated teacher education institutions in many countries in the world to integrate modern technology such as the Internet into their programmes. However, just transferring traditional textbased... more
The communication revolution has stimulated teacher education institutions in many countries in the world to integrate modern technology such as the Internet into their programmes. However, just transferring traditional textbased materials to the web is often counterproductive. This paper focuses on the experiences of twelve Sri Lankan teacher educators as they developed Internet-based study materials, while undergoing specialised postgraduate training at the University of Wollongong, Australia. As experienced teacher educators, yet novices to the Internet, each of them developed a web study guide, targeting Sri Lankan teacher trainees. The study analysed the ways in which the educators transformed information, the design patterns adopted, and the issues they faced. Initially the effects of limited knowledge and skills upon the development of instructional materials that made use of this new technology resulted in the development of limited educational strategies. However, as the ex...
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This paper presents a case study of the adoption and use of Open Educational Resources (OER) in the redesign of five teacher education courses in the Faculty of Education at the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL). It describes the steps... more
This paper presents a case study of the adoption and use of Open Educational Resources (OER) in the redesign of five teacher education courses in the Faculty of Education at the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL). It describes the steps in the process of a project that is currently being implemented at OUSL in partnership with the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), in the orientation of a faculty group of thirty staff members to the concept of Open Educational Practices (OEP) and the adoption of OER in their teaching and learning. Qualitative data gathered through a series of concept mapping exercises by participants, followed up with individual commentaries on the concept maps will show the astounding developments in the breadth and depth of understanding of the various concepts related to OER as well as their adoption and use in the redesign of the five courses. The paper will also describe how concept mapping is being used to capture this incremental development of understanding an...
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Learning portfolio is relatively a new approach in Sri Lanka used by educational institutions to develop higher order cognitive skills among the learners. The Faculty of Education of Open University of Sri Lanka introduced compiling of a... more
Learning portfolio is relatively a new approach in Sri Lanka used by educational institutions to develop higher order cognitive skills among the learners. The Faculty of Education of Open University of Sri Lanka introduced compiling of a learning portfolio in its Master of Arts in Teacher Education programme with the intention of enhancing reflective practices and developing higher order cognitive skills among teacher educators. The key aim of compiling a learning portfolio is that students are expected to develop higher order cognitive skills such as critical thinking, reflective thinking, self-evaluation, and decision making and transferring the present knowledge and skills for future development of them and their students. This study examined to what extent higher order cognitive skill development could be enhanced among teacher educators through compiling learning portfolios. A qualitative research approach was used in this study within a framework of an evaluation research desi...
Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is increasingly given recognition as a very important aspect in the current times of rapid economic, social and technological change. TVET skills fill the gap of lifelong learning needs... more
Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is increasingly given recognition as a very important aspect in the current times of rapid economic, social and technological change. TVET skills fill the gap of lifelong learning needs of the TVET workers to actively participate and contribute to the knowledge economy (UNESCO and ILO, 2002). The challenge is to develop innovative and affordable TVET solutions to achieve the desired outcomes (UNESCO, 2008). // Addressing the professional development requirements of the teachers in technical and vocational education institutions in Sri Lanka, the University of Vocational Technology (UNIVOTEC) offers a National Diploma in Technical Teacher Education (NDTTE) course. The goal of this TVET diploma is to enhance the knowledge, attitudes and skills of the technical lecturers and instructors in relation to the teaching-learning process and improve their life-long learning skills (UNIVOTEC, 2016). // This paper reports a case study on the capacity building process of UNIVOTEC faculty in online course design, development and delivery, focusing on its impact on quality enhancement in technical teacher education.
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The work involved preparing a draft OER policy framework catering to Provincial requirements; build awareness among key stakeholders on the concept and impact of OER; advocate the necessity and benefits of a provincial OER policy for... more
The work involved preparing a draft OER policy framework catering to Provincial requirements; build awareness among key stakeholders on the concept and impact of OER; advocate the necessity and benefits of a provincial OER policy for Education; initiate the process of drafting OER policies for each province up and working with champions towards a final draft policy.
Research Interests:
Authentic assessment activities are those that afford learners opportunities to practice finding solutions to real-world issues and challenges, so that upon graduation they are able to apply these skills to issues and challenges they will... more
Authentic assessment activities are those that afford learners opportunities to practice finding solutions to real-world issues and challenges, so that upon graduation they are able to apply these skills to issues and challenges they will face in their workplaces. When learners are able to do this successfully, they are judged as job ready. However, ascertaining the impacts of authentic assessment activities upon the achievement of learning outcomes and the development of desirable graduate attributes is challenging. How can we know for certain that our assessment activities have had the desired impact? A possible pathway is to examine the impacts of authentic assessment activities on the development of graduate attributes. The study reported in this paper offers insights on how, and in which ways, the design of authentic assessment activities in an online professional development program for practitioners influenced the development of generic graduate attributes.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
... could also underemphasize the significance of knowledge as a base for the development of attitudes and ... participate in teaching learning, could thus affect learners who are not proficient in a ... appears to a shift towards a... more
... could also underemphasize the significance of knowledge as a base for the development of attitudes and ... participate in teaching learning, could thus affect learners who are not proficient in a ... appears to a shift towards a greater emphasis on general transferable skills such as ...
The adoption of open educational practices (OEP) requires a shift in our perceptions and practices about learning and teaching towards a more participatory, creative and a sharing culture. Such shifts are best achieved and sustained... more
The adoption of open educational practices (OEP) requires a shift in our perceptions and practices about learning and teaching towards a more participatory, creative and a sharing culture. Such shifts are best achieved and sustained through carefully designed learning experiences that involve people in reflecting on authentic problems and situations. The impact of this kind of capacity building around OEP are difficult to ascertain because they are an outcome of a combination of factors involving the practitioners themselves, their educational context, as well as their views about intellectual property, its ownership and its role in educational development. Getting a clear estimate of the impacts of this kind of capacity building requires a multiplicity of evidence. This paper discusses impacts of innovative design strategies adopted in four MOOCs on shifting mindsets of practitioners towards OEP.