Exploring the concept of OER

During this course you have briefly explored ‘OER Africa’ and ‘African Storybook Project’.

There are now a very large number of OER repositories from institutions and organisations all over the world, all in different languages and covering a vast number of subjects. The materials in these repositories reflect the views of learners and learning held by those developing and sharing the OER.

By looking at OER in different repositories, you will begin to work out where you will be able to find materials that you feel comfortable with and can use.

Look at the OER presentation [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] , which provides a definition of OER; explains the history of the OER movement; and highlights the things you need to consider in order to be able to use OER in your institution.

A significant challenge for some teachers and teacher educators is that governments often insist that teachers only use ‘approved’ resources. Think about who in your institution you need to be able to persuade that OER are potentially helpful.

You can download the PDF, or the original PowerPoint file (which was adapted from TESS-India), and use it as you wish.