Conceptual Framework for Parametrically Measuring the Desirability of Open Educational Resources Using D-Index

Open educational resources (OER) are a global phenomenon that is fast gaining credibility
in many academic circles as a possible solution for bridging the knowledge divide. With
increased funding and advocacy from governmental and nongovernmental organisations
paired with generous philanthropy, many OER repositories, which host a vast array of resources,
have mushroomed over the years. As the inkling towards an open approach to
education grows, many academics are contributing to these OER repositories, making them
expand exponentially in volume. However, despite the volume of available OER, the uptake
of the use and reuse of OER still remains slow. One of the major limitations inhibiting the
wider adoption of OER is the inability of current search mechanisms to effectively locate
OER that are most suitable for use and reuse within a given scenario. This is mainly due to
the lack of a parametric measure that could be used by search technologies to autonomously
identify desirable resources. As a possible solution to this limitation, this concept paper
introduces a parametric measure of desirability of OER named the D-index, which can aid
search mechanisms in better identifying resources suitable for use and reuse.