Learning from TESS-India’s Approach to OER Localisation Across Multiple Indian States

Arguably, the benefits of open educational resources (OER) are greatest in low- and middle-income countries, where they have the potential to increase access to learning for those who may otherwise be excluded. However, for OER to be truly useful to educators and learners they need to be adapted to suit the contexts in which they are to be employed. Adapting OER for local contexts remains one of the greatest challenges for the OER movement (Wolfenden and Buckler, 2012) yet little is written about how to support communities of users to adapt materials. This study explores what kind of support is necessary for such communities of users, with the intention of creating a framework for guided localisation of OER across different cultural contexts.
The paper reports on the initial approach to OER localisation adopted by the Open University UK-led TESS-India (Teacher Education through School-based Support) project which is developing OER for use within India’s teacher education system. TESS-India, which underwent a large-scale re-framing exercise in early 2014, aims to enhance the access of teacher educators, head-teachers and teachers to free, high-quality educational materials. The project spans multiple, culturally and linguistically diverse Indian states and the resources, therefore, require localisation to meet diverse linguistic, cultural and pedagogic needs.
TESS-India adopted a two-tier model of localisation.

Journal of Interactive Media in Education