Open educational resources (OER) are learning platforms that has the potential to bridge knowledge gap. OERs are ubiquitous and available 24/7 but the utilization and reutilization of these platforms are generally still at infancy. A recent survey among academics in Malaysia on the Malaysian Higher Education landscape with respect to digital resources and OER showed that 70 % of respondents have utilized OER in their teaching, 13 % had not used OER and 17 % were unsure whether they had used OER (Abeywardena et al, 2013). OER in Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) has cemented its roots (Hong et al., 2013) with the help of individuals and faculties/institutes/centres initiatives. There are many opportunities and limitations for the adoption of OER in structured curricula. In this experience sharing article, the author describes how OER was used in an university elective course and the challenges faced were addressed.
MEC1023 Introduction to Medical Genetics - is an university elective course offered to all students in UNIMAS. The course was introduced in 2008 and the prerequisite is pre-university level knowledge in biology and general chemistry. This course discusses the basic and fundamental aspects of molecular biology and genetics. It begins with a review of what is now referred to as the central dogma of molecular biology and moves on to applied knowledge of molecular genetics in the medical field. The course also discusses some applications of this knowledge in our everyday life. Towards the end of the course, pertinent aspects of some common medical problems encountered by the society are highlighted.
In MEC1023, the understanding of the central dogma of molecular biology is essential and in order to stay focused on the ...
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...nriches the students experience in a course. It provides an exiciting learning style for the current generation of students. OER enables ubiquitious learning to take place and empowers learners to set their own learning pace. In summary, OER needs to be adopted and adapted to ensure relevant, meaningful and efficient learning process.
Works Cited
Abeywardena, I. S., Gajaraj , D., & Choo, K. L. (2013). Open Educational Resources in Malaysia. In Open Educational Resources: An Asian perspective (pp. 119-132). Vancouver, Canada: Commonwealth of Learning.
Hong, K. S., Noweg, G. T., Mohamad, F. S., Kulathuramaiyer, N., Abd Aziz, N., Rethinasamy, S., Nadarajan, S., & Loh Abdullah, L. (2013). OER@UNIMAS. In M.A. Embi (Ed), Open educational resources at Malaysian higher learning institutions (pp. 123-136). Bangi, Selangor: UKM & Department of Higher Education Malaysia.
In conclusion, it is important for nurses to have proper training and information in the area of genetics and genomics so that it can be used in daily clinical practice (Thompson & Brooks, 2011). Using this information with clients and conducting a detailed genetic nursing assessment is a valuable component of being an effective health care provider and can help clients recognize, prevent, and/or treat diseases that are unique to their particular
(2003). The 'Secondary Eric Resources In Education. Web. The Web. The Web.
Genetics can predetermine many things for an individual but health and prevention can aid in the prevention of the expression of some genes. This is why it is important for healthcare providers to promote their patient’s awareness of what he or she is at risk for so that they can live the healthiest life possible. It is much easier to prevent a disease than it is to cure one. As healthcare providers it is our responsibility to cure illnesses, sure, but more importantly it is our responsibility to prevent disease and increase our patient’s quality of
Lewis, Ricki, (2014), Human Genetics, 11th Edition, Chapter 12. Gene Mutation. [VitalSource Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved from
Education week, 22(41) p.12. Retrieved September 28, 2003 from EBSCO database (Masterfile) on the World Wide Web: http://www.ebsco.com.
Shaw, Jane S. "Education-A Bad Public Good?" The Independent Review 15.2 (2010): 241-56. ProQuest. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
Most diseases are caused by a type of genetic component. Many of the diseases that have been caused by gene mutations are undiagnosed. These remain undiagnosed because the disease is so rare that the doctor does not know how to diagnose the patient. Many sy...
proactive measures against recurrence and relapse of the disease can be made. Molecular medicine in genetics will also improve the design and testing of new drugs.
A recent field of biology, called epigenetics, is rapidly transforming previous ideas on the impact of genes. The...
...U.S. Naval War College students. Retrieved 10 25, 2011, from The International review of Research in Open and Distance Learning: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/484/1034
It focuses on understanding the learner and their needs and not just on a problem to fix. When working on a new course the designer has a defined roadmap of where to start and how to go through the process until the end. This is useful for instructional designers because there are no questions about what to do next. Since technology is built into the design, this is a strong format for designing an online course. The learner will have opportunities to participate and use active learning throughout the class as well.
The scientific and medical progress of DNA as been emense, from involving the identification of our genes that trigger major diseases or the creation and manufacture of drugs to treat these diseases. DNA has many significant uses to society, health and culture of today. One important area of DNA research is that used for genetic and medical research. Our abi...
Studies have also shown that genetics also plays a part in illnesses and diseases that c...
engage different learning styles, provide hands-on opportunities for use of specialist tools or equipment, reinforcing learning, supporting and motivating individual learning, fostering independent learning through extended learning.
...ary part in genotypes of potential interest that human geneticists breeders, as well as evolutionary geneticists are investigating. However, although we have the capability to unravel experiments that the founders of quantitative genetics would have never imagined, but their basic, un-computational machinery that they developed is most easily adaptable to the latest analyses that will be needed. We are far from ‘letting-go’ molecular biologists from the mathematical techniques/systems, because this age in respect to genomics has been forced into accepting gratitude due to the major importance of quantitative methods as opposed to the new molecular genetics. As geneticists tend to map molecular variation as well as genomic data, quantitative genetics will be moving to the front position because of its relevance in this age of rapid advancement in molecular genetics.