Conclusion

In this unit you have learned how learning resources can be shared using online repositories i.e. websites that allow for the uploading of electronic materials that can then be used and adapted by others. You have engaged in activities to select, evaluate and adapt resources and you have considered how you might share your own resources. Crucially, you have considered the role of such sites in developing your personal learning network.

As online communications grow, and the world becomes more socially connected through technologies, opportunities for professionals to develop wider networks of contacts and resources grow too. Whereas the initial impetus for using resource sharing sites might be to find ideas and activities for one’s own use, this is soon enhanced by possibilities for peer review, feedback and adaptation. The very word ‘repository’, often used to describe such websites, implies a passive form of storage that, in this case, is open for others to use.

The TES Connect website, as with others, is much more than this. Just as the real value in many other sites is the ability to read reviews and suggestions, think of online retail or travel sites for example, so the key features for professional network building are those that allow for interaction and feedback in addition to the sharing of resources.