The Open and Accessible Educational Resources Interdisciplinary Research Group (in Spanish Núcleo de Recursos Educativos Abiertos y Accesibles, Núcleo REAA) was formally created as an interdisciplinary, intersectorial academic unit in June 2015, in the Interdisciplinary Space of Universidad de la República, Uruguay. Since then, it has developed research, teaching and extension in order to promote inclusive and accessible education.
Núcleo REAA‘s interdisciplinary focus emerges from the confluence of education, computer engineering, communication, sociology, law, library science and social work studies. It thrives on the potential of innovation that this integrative approach provides, adding both to theoretical enrichment and practice development. This perspective articulates transdisciplinary bridges among emerging disruptive fields of study, beyond their original disciplines.
The purpose of this group is to promote educational inclusion, particularly of vulnerable groups, through various strategies and devices based on digital resources, while developing research, training, and extension for the production and use of accessible open educational resources. One of the main objectives is to facilitate an engaging, interdisciplinary environment that would be able to sustain a network of collaborating researchers, fostering synergies among academic, non-academic, national, and foreign participants.
In reference to University extension activities, Núcleo REAA has had an active role in shaping public opinion and raising awareness on best practices in the reuse of open license resources. Campaigns were carried out (#derechoaestudiar) and reports were sent to the authorities of Udelar and to the Parliament. In August 2019 the Open Education in Public Education Group started working in the scope of the National System of Public Education (SNEP) with members of the Open and Accessible Educational Resources Group from the Interdisciplinary Unit of UdelaR, members from the National Administration of Public Education (ANEP), representatives from the Technological University and from the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC). This group took as a reference the “Guidelines for an open education policy” with a strong emphasis on Open Access and the promotion of Open Educational Resources (https://www.nucleorea.ei.udelar.edu.uy/?s=lineamientos-para-una-pol%C3%ADtica-de-educaci%C3%B3n-abierta)
