Attending the workshop, on behalf of Government agencies, there were Mr. Dao Manh Thang (Deputy Director of the National Department of Science and Technology Information), Mr. Dao Ngoc Chien (Deputy Director of the Department of High Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology), Ms. Vu Duong Thuy Nga (Deputy Director of the Library Department - Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism). On behalf of domestic and foreign organizations, there were Ms. Hoang Minh Nguyet (UNESCO Office in Vietnam), Ms. Terry Parnell (Director of the Open Development Initiative Program, East-West Institute of Management). On behalf of VNU, there was Dr. Nghiem Xuan Huy (Deputy Head of the Department of Science and Technology, VNU). On behalf of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, there were Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh (Vice Rector of the University), Dr. Do Van Hung (Head of the Faculty of Information and Library), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thi Quy (Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Faculty of Information and Library). The workshop was also attended by representatives of the Board of Directors, department heads from 425 universities, library information agencies, professional associations such as the Vietnam Information Association, the Information and Documentation Association, companies and enterprises across the country. In particular, there was the presence of 5 business-technology enterprises that sponsored the workshop.
Conference scene (Photo: Tran Minh)
According to UNESCO, Open Educational Resources are teaching, learning and research materials in the public sector or released under an intellectual property license that allows free use, adaptation and distribution. Open Educational Resources are very important for developing countries where many students do not have the conditions to own documents and textbooks. In 2012, the UNESCO Office in Vietnam coordinated with the Ministry of Education and Natural Resources of Vietnam to adjust the Guidelines on Open Educational Resources in Higher Education developed by UNESCO and the Commonwealth Learning Organization, which outlines guidelines for integrating Open Educational Resources in higher education. Today, as the picture of Open Educational Resources in Vietnam is becoming clearer, stakeholders are gathering with the desire to share educational resources to reduce costs and improve the quality of education. Therefore, this Workshop is a testament to the efforts of the Open Educational Resources community that is forming in Vietnam, aiming to create connections, share knowledge, reduce costs and promote the application of information technology. The Workshop received 37 presentations from many leading scientists and experts at home and abroad.
In his opening speech, Associate Professor Dr. Pham Quang Minh (Vice Principal of the School) raised three main issues regarding open educational materials in today's era.
Firstly, we are living in a globalized and regionalized world. Therefore, training the young generation will face great challenges when traditional training methods are no longer suitable. Nowadays, just owning a laptop or tablet with internet connection, learners can access the huge source of human documents. Therefore, learning is closely linked to the life of the learner and is lifelong learning.
Second is the disparity between different economic classes in the ability to access and access open educational resources. Accordingly, higher education today has opened up many new horizons, but this horizon is not for everyone. Therefore, international organizations as well as countries around the world want to strive for equality in access to information sources.
Third, from a national perspective, Resolution 4 of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam has proposed the content of fundamental and comprehensive innovation of higher education. In which, the issue of learning materials has become the core in expanding knowledge and understanding. However, learning materials are not only limited to the traditional forms of the past, but now open learning materials have become a non-traditional form through which people can access documents most easily. Therefore, the development of open learning materials also contributes greatly to the innovation of higher education in Vietnam.
Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Quang Minh delivered the opening speech at the conference (Photo: Tran Minh)
On behalf of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, the Vice President also pledged that the University will work with all partners to build an open learning platform for Vietnamese higher education. At the same time, the University will contribute to raising awareness among staff and students in the University as well as the whole society about open learning resources. The Vice President emphasized the effective use of open learning resources to avoid waste and misuse.
After the opening remarks, the Workshop was conducted with two sessions as follows:
- First session:“Open learning materials policy and model”with reports: "Overview of open educational materials and identification of factors affecting the construction and sharing of open educational materials in Vietnamese universities" by Dr. Do Van Hung (Head of the Faculty of Information and Library, University of Social Sciences and Humanities), "Open Development Initiative: a data system on development in the Mekong region" by Ms. Terry Parnell (Director of the Open Development Initiative Program, East-West Institute of Management), "Overview of open educational resources and predicting a future scenario of Vietnamese education" by Mr. Le Trung Nghia (National Center for Research and Development on Open Technology), "Overview of OCW, OER and MOOC" by Mr. Do Ngoc Minh (Open Educational Resources Program, Vietnam Foundation).
Dr. Do Van Hung presented the introductory report.(Photo: Tran Minh)
Ms. Terry Parnell presents the introductory report (Photo: Tran Minh)
- Second session:“Community, content, technology and tools for open educational resources”with reports: "Technical factors to help make open educational resources ready" by Mr. Nguyen The Hung (Vice President of VFOSSA), "State of understanding of open educational resources of teachers at Thang Long University" by Dr. Vu Do Quynh (Vice Principal of Thang Long University), "Discussion on open learning materials and the role of open learning materials in training in Information Science - Library at universities in Vietnam" by Mr. Truong Minh Hoa (Library Manager, Fulbright Economics Teaching Program, Ho Chi Minh City).
On this occasion, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in developing Educational Resources in Vietnam with relevant partners.
Author:Tran Minh
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