AWARENESS AND USE OF OPEN COURSEWARE (OCW) AMONG RESEARCH SCHOLARS AT KURUKSHETRA UNIVERSITY, KURUKSHETRA, INDIA: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES/SOCIAL SCIENCES DISCIPLINES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34256/Keywords:
Open Courseware (OCW), E-Learning, Higher EducationAbstract
This study examines the adoption and use of the Open Courseware (OCW) among research scholars at Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra (India). A comparative study is conducted between Sciences-based disciplines and Humanities/Social Sciences fields scholars with regard to awareness, use and problems encountered while using OCW. A quantitative survey of 116 research scholars revealed significant disciplinary variations in OCW awareness and utilization patterns. Results show that 92.53% of Sciences scholars are aware of OCW platforms, while only 57.14% of Humanities/Social Sciences scholars showed awareness. Out of the aware population, 90.32% of Sciences scholars actively used OCW resources compared to 64.28% from Humanities/Social Sciences disciplines. Shodhganga was the most used platform by the scholars of Sciences (96.77% awareness) and e-PG Pathshala was the most used platform by the scholars of Humanities (89.28% awareness). The main problems faced by the scholars of sciences were lack of resources (35.71%), whereas Humanities scholars had to face significant issues in the area of internet connectivity (83.33%), and training issues (66.66%).
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