Developing A Digital Repository Based on Educational and Technical Standards to Provide Interactive E-Learning Content for Post-Basic Education Students in Oman

Abstract

Digital repository is defined as a set of interrelated electronic documents, stored in files or a database, usually classified in categories, that stores knowledge useful to an enterprise or other organization. The current study aimed to develop a digital repository for learning objects based on the educational and technical standards, in order to provide interactive e-learning content for post-basic education students in educational institutions in the Sultanate of Oman. The repository was developed in light of international technical and educational standards and the potential of the Omani educational community. Then it was made available to a sample of one hundred Omani teachers randomly selected from post-basic Omani schools to determine the ease of access, use, and effectiveness from their perspective through applying a questionnaire. The study sample represented different disciplines, years of experiences, and both genders. The questionnaire comprised seventeen statements reflecting the research aims and were built based on the literature. Validity and reliability were checked before administering the survey. The results showed that most teachers (87%) were satisfied with using the repository in terms of ease of use, accessibility, and effectiveness. This informs that teachers are in dire need for using a customized digital repository for Omani curriculum and they are ready to use it.