Awareness and Utilization of Open Educational Resources (OERS) among Gen Z Prospective Teachers
S. Jagathambal
Sakthi Institute of Teacher Education and Research, Oddanchatram, Dindigul, Tamilnadu, India.
C. Ashok Kumar
*
Sakthi Institute of Teacher Education and Research, Oddanchatram, Dindigul, Tamilnadu, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The modern education system needs numerous updates across different areas like teaching, learning, and evaluation. Incorporating information and communication technologies (ICT) in the teaching and learning process is essential for enhancing effectiveness and ensuring lasting learning. The present study aims to investigate the awareness and utilization of Open Educational Resources (OERs) among Gen Z prospective teachers. The investigator has adopted a descriptive survey method for this study. Investigator has developed the tool - OER-Awareness and Utilization Questionnaire (OER-AUQ) that is used to obtain the data for this study. The reliability and validity have been made in a proper way. The sample of 180 Gen Z prospective teachers from private and government colleges in Coimbatore district were selected through stratified random technique. The results show that 12.22% Gen Z prospective teachers have Low awareness, 67.22% Gen Z prospective teachers have Moderate awareness and 20.56% Gen Z prospective teachers have High awareness on OER. The study also shows that there are no statistically significant differences in the awareness and utilization of Open Educational Resources among Gen Z prospective teachers with regarding to Gender, Educational qualification, Father’s Education and Major discipline. This study recommends provide awareness and create opportunities to utilize OERs effectively for professional growth among Gen Z prospective teachers.
Keywords: Awareness, utilization, open educational resources, gen Z prospective teachers