Evaluation and comparison of three open courseware based on quality criteria

Abstract

In spite of the scale, popularity, and importance of the open courseware movement for users worldwide, there is yet no quality assessment framework that could support users on their quest for finding the most appropriate learning resource with regard to their educational needs. This paper presents both an evaluation and a comparison between three open courseware on databases offered by three major open courseware providers, which comply with three different open courseware paradigms. Both evaluation and comparison are based on our set of quality criteria that serve as general guidelines for development, use, modification, evaluation, and comparison of open educational resources and open courseware, from a social and constructivist perspective. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.