Summary
This week introduced Open Educational Resources (OER) and the wide variety of forms they can take, as well as OER repositories. It also outlined how Creative Commons (CC) licensing works and what else should be considered when using shared resources. OER accessibility and meeting learners’ needs were also discussed. Accessibility will be covered in more detail next week.
Activity 5 Reflecting on progress
Timing: Allow about 20 minutes
Watch the video or read the transcript. In it, Rita reflects on the possibilities OER can offer to her as an educator. Take some time to make notes on the following questions:
- What opportunities or possibilities can OER offer you in your day-to-day work?
- What changes, if any, could you make to your practice or to the wider practice at your institution as a result of knowing about OER?
Transcript
RITA:
I knew very little about Open Educational Resources. My experience extended as far as searching for images on Google and not much more than that, although my friends and I do exchange things that we have found on the internet that have become useful in our teaching, so I guess in a way those are OERs to a degree.
I have found some great materials whilst visiting some of the OER repositories. I have downloaded quite a large quantity of resources! It is going to take me a long time to sort through everything I have downloaded, but I am already certain that there are materials there that will save me a lot of time and effort when I come to creating my online teaching materials.
I think I understand the concept of Creative Commons licensing, so I should be able to easily see if the things I find are reusable or not. It is good to know that I am using other people’s work in an appropriate way, and that my learners can also make use of these free resources.
I had never dreamed that my own materials might be useful to other people, but I have made a decision to try to share. What I plan to do is to deliver my course one time, to one cohort, and then to make any adjustments to it that are necessary after the feedback from the first cohort of learners. When I have done that, I will apply Creative Commons licences to my work and share it. It is a scary prospect, but I think I should make an effort to give something back after I have used other people’s shared resources.
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