Accessibility and Utilisation of Open Educational Resources in Distance Learning Centres in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract Distance learning has become increasingly important during the COVID-19 pandemic, with educators and institutions turning to open educational resources (OER) to facilitate learning. The study aimed to determine the access of distance learning students to open educational resources (OER) for learning and to examine their utilisation of these resources in Oyo State, Nigeria. Employing a descriptive survey research design, data were collected through a Google Form-based online questionnaire from 500 open educational students in three distance learning centres within the study area. After data scrutiny, a total of 381 valid responses were retained for analysis, and hypotheses were tested at a significance level of 0.05, with data analysis conducted using SPSS software. Descriptive statistics were employed to address the research questions. From the findings, it was discovered that students can access the essential devices and OER either via their centre’s website or using the free Wi-Fi provided by the centre, with 52.9 % not accessing them and 47.1 % accessing them at least once a week. The utilisation of OER was limited, with some resources rarely or never used by students (always used = 34.4%, rarely used = 32.1%, and never used = 33.5%). The findings reveal that while the availability of Open Educational Resources (OER) positively influences their utilisation among distance learning students; increased accessibility does not necessarily lead to higher usage, indicating that other factors such as quality, relevance, and awareness play critical roles in OER engagement. However, no significant gender difference was found in the utilisation of open educational resources. In conclusion, distance learning students had access to and utilised OER, but some missed out on a valuable and cost-effective resource. Recommendations included improving students’ access, encouraging the use of available OER, along with engagement in awareness campaigns and training sessions to promote the effective use of open educational resources in distance learning.