Do Open Educational Resources and Cloud Classroom Really Improve Students' Learning?

More and more educational institutions are using educational technologies and online learning materials to help students achieve satisfactory learning effects. However, not all teachers are able to prepare and design digital learning materials for students. This research attempted to empirically demonstrate the effects of applying open educational resources (OERs) and a cloud classroom developed by Ming Chuan University, which comprises access to related software and online learning materials, to enhance students’ computer skills and also improve their scores on certification examinations. The researchers conducted an experiment that included 114 undergraduates from two class sections – the first section received OERs in a cloud classroom in addition to their traditional classroom instruction (OER group, n=61), and the other learned in the traditional classroom without OERs (non-OER group, n=53). The results show that students who received OERs had significantly higher grades than those without in the PowerPoint module; however, the difference is not statistically significant in the Excel module. The authors further discuss the implications and unexpected results in this paper.