2026-03-20
Iván Miguel García-López, José-Martín Molina-Espinosa, María-Soledad Ramírez-Montoya
The rapid integration of artificial intelligence into open education has intensified global demands for equitable access, sustainable infrastructure, and technological inclusion. This study evaluated the feasibility and educational impact of optimizing Open Large Language Models (OLLMs) for deployment in low-resource learning environments. Five open-source models (Falcon, Bloom, GPT-NeoX, T5, and Flan-T5) were optimized using an exploratory-experimental approach with unstructured pruning and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). The intervention was tested in three simulated educational infrastructures (public university, community digital center, and rural classroom) and analyzed using quantitative metrics on system efficiency and educational output. The findings revealed: (a) a reduction of up to 11% in response time across all models; (b) a decrease of approximately 20% in RAM and VRAM usage; (c) a 1.4% improvement in the educational relevance of responses; and (d) a 33% increase in query throughput, indicating greater scalability in open education contexts. These results offer practical and ethical guidance for educators, policymakers, and technology developers by showcasing how optimized OLLMs can become key enablers of worldwide open, inclusive, and sustainable learning ecosystems.
2026-03-20
Azeneth Patiño, Sandra Martínez-Pérez, Maria Soledad Ramírez-Montoya, Jhonattan Miranda
Although artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming educational practices worldwide, there is a limited understanding of how it can shape structured forms of international cooperation in open education. This study asks: How can AI support international cooperation in open education aligned with global equity agendas? An instrumental case study was conducted on the UNESCO/ICDE 2025 Residency, involving 110 participants from 13 countries. Data sources included team logs, a post-residency survey with 72 responses, and a co-authored manifesto. These materials were analysed through content analysis, inductive coding, and visual mapping. The results indicate four main contributions: first, ten interdisciplinary projects aligned with UNESCO frameworks; second, broad engagement across five strategic action areas; third, the identification of three key domains, which are Enabling Conditions, Cooperative Processes, and Sustainability Mechanisms; and fourth, the role of AI in enabling collaboration, design, and knowledge sharing. The proposed roadmap presents a scalable model for educators, policymakers, and global networks to foster equitable, AI-driven cooperation in open education.
2026-03-20
Francisco Iniesto, Carina Bossu, Viviane Vladimirschi, Rob Farrow, Rebecca Pitt
The objective of the research presented in this paper is to understand the current state of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) within Open Education in Latin America, and to explore how communities of open practice can be more equitable, diverse and inclusive within this context. Insights from 12 experts in the region were collected through interviews and a focus group. Latin America emerges as a critical region for examining these goals due to its uneven digital infrastructure and diverse educational contexts. The study results highlight Latin America’s potential to foster open ecosystems through increased collaboration among universities, capacity-building with local experts, and clearer regional identity and communication. It also recommends supporting multilingual content and inclusive events to strengthen the community. From an EDI perspective, expanding access in low-bandwidth environments is essential. While AI offers promising tools like multilingual translation, its high resource demands pose sustainability and equity challenges, especially in Latin America. The study cautions against premature AI adoption without foundational infrastructure and digital confidence. It also warns of risks like algorithmic bias and cultural erasure if AI tools lack authentic community engagement. UNESCO’s 2024 Dubai Declaration outlines a strategic vision for enhancing the accessibility and impact of Open Educational Resources (OER), with a strong emphasis on EDI. The Dubai Declaration’s emphasis on capacity-building and inclusive access aligns with the study’s findings, which underscore the need for participatory, context-sensitive approaches.
2026-03-20
Cristina Sofia Torres-Castillo, Rasikh Tariq, Diana Hernández-Montoya, Antonio Martínez-Arboleda, Ernesto Pacheco-Velazquez
Open Educational Resources (OER) are openly licensed teaching, learning, and research materials that can be freely accessed, adapted, and redistributed to promote inclusive and equitable education. The 2019 UNESCO Recommendation on OER, adopted by Member States, outlined five strategic action areas, including the development of sustainable models (Action Area 4) to ensure the long-term viability of OER initiatives. Building upon this framework, the 2024 Dubai Declaration reaffirmed the global commitment to OER by emphasizing digital equity, sustainability, and cross-sector collaboration as essential principles for transforming education systems worldwide. This study investigates sustainability models for OER through a pioneering intervention that aligns with the 2024 Dubai Declaration and Action Area 4 of the 2019 UNESCO Recommendation on OER. Conducted during the UNESCO Stay 2025 event at Tecnológico de Monterrey, the research engaged over 100 professionals from higher education, government, civil society, and industry in a structured interactive workshop. A mixed-methods approach was employed, incorporating pre-tests and post-tests alongside a collaborative digital media space, to assess participants’ understanding and co-create practical strategies for sustainable OER ecosystems. The theoretical framework addressed four dimensions: sustainable environmental approaches, digital public goods, green computing, and interoperability. Results revealed a significant increase in participants’ knowledge, with teams proposing diverse solutions including the use of renewable-powered digital infrastructure, crowdfunding, institutional cost-sharing, open licensing standards, and cross-sector governance mechanisms. The participants’ reflections indicated a shift from conceptual awareness to actionable proposals, reinforcing the feasibility of implementing sustainable models in educational projects. Findings emphasize the need for educational institutions and policy-makers to adopt integrated sustainability frameworks that combine environmental responsibility, financial resilience, inclusive governance, and digital interoperability. While the study’s scope was limited to a regional cohort and a short duration, the results provide foundational insights into building resilient OER strategies. The research highlights the relevance of collaborative stakeholder engagement and digital innovation in shaping future-ready, sustainable education systems. Future investigations should expand longitudinally and geographically to enhance the scalability and traceability of sustainable OER initiatives.
2026-03-20
Augusto Cabrera-Duffaut, Ana María Pinto-Llorente, Ana Iglesias-Rodríguez
This quasi-experimental study evaluates the impact of Virtual Reality (VR), implemented as an open educational resource, on teaching physiology to Health Sciences students. Recent studies have shown that immersive technologies enhance conceptual understanding and increase students’ active engagement; however, their adoption remains limited in formal higher education contexts. Building on this background, the present study seeks to confirm these benefits and examine whether integrating VR into the classroom contributes to developing additional generic competencies relevant to professional performance in dynamic environments. An experimental group (VRG, n = 100), which used classrooms equipped with VR technology, was compared with a control group (CG, n = 63), which followed the traditional dissection-based method. The results show a significant increase in academic performance and knowledge retention in the VRG (a 25.93% improvement compared to a 9.87% decrease in the CG), as well as a strengthening of generic competencies such as practical application, autonomous learning, adaptability to change, decision-making, and collaboration. This research aligns with the goals of the UNESCO Dubai Declaration on Open Educational Resources, by highlighting VR’s potential to democratize access to knowledge and foster the development of open, inclusive, and sustainable educational and scientific ecosystems.
2025-08-25
Edwin Creely, Danah Henriksen, Michael Henderson, Punya Mishra
In this article we investigate the role of generative AI in education with a focus on creativity, metaphorically utilising relevant features from Augusto Boal’s Forum Theatre as part of a participatory qualitative inquiry. Presenting three distinct perspectives—Gatekeeper, Evangelist, and Diplomat—our article explores emotional and intellectual responses to AI and creativity, utilising theatrical forms to offer personal insights about the intricate balance between AI’s benefits and risks. Adopting a post-qualitative approach, we avoid forced consensus, instead weaving individual viewpoints with a reflective commentary that seeks to elucidate and critically engage with the ideas presented. The adoption of Forum Theatre as a metaphor for our inquiry serves to deepen our understanding of AI’s transformative potential in educational settings and highlights the need for a collaborative, dialogic and critical approach to AI in education in a time of global change, one that honours the diversity of opinions in this evolving domain.
2025-08-25
Giselle Ferreira, Eamon Costello, Robert Farrow, Kyungmee Lee
2025-08-25
Carmen Vallis, Stephanie Wilson, Alison Casey
In this paper, we advance the examination of generative AI (GenAI) in educational contexts in two distinct ways. First, we introduce and evaluate an innovative workshop model designed to explore GenAI metaphors, helping participants to articulate their own and their peers’ responses to the technology. These workshops included students, academics and educational support staff at a large Australian university. Second, we analyse the metaphors and collaborative discussions generated during these workshops, which reveal a diverse spectrum of perspectives on GenAI, from practical tool to existential threat. Our analysis surfaces tensions that align closely with prevailing attitudes and current literature on metaphor and GenAI, particularly the tensions between human versus machine agency, and the known versus the unknowable capabilities of the technology. Through these contributions, we propose a qualitative approach that maps the complex interplay of perceptions surrounding emerging technologies, inviting critical reflection on GenAI’s ethical and societal dimensions. Our work offers a structured yet flexible approach for facilitating meaningful dialogue about the implications of GenAI in education that moves past fear and awe.