OER repositories

In addition to general online searching using a search engine, you can also make use of the many OER repositories publicly available on the internet. These can offer a wide range of resources such as free textbooks, teaching and learning materials and whole courses.

A large proportion of these repositories showcase OERs associated with particular educational institutions or projects, but there are several that aggregate material from a range of sources.

In the following activity you will look at a few examples, but an internet search for ‘OER repositories’ will reveal more.

Activity: Applying to your context

Timing: Allow at least 20 minutes

Exploring OER repositories

In the interactive diagram below, you will find brief descriptions and links to six OER repositories that you might use. For each one, click on ‘Visit this resource’ to take a look at the range of material you might find there and how it is organised. Click the arrows to navigate between the resources. As you explore each repository, consider which could be useful for you as a potential source of training material. For this exploring stage, you may want to set yourself a time limit of a few minutes for each repository and come back later if any look particularly useful.

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Select one of the OER repositories and think of a subject of interest to you. Search for a resource that you might be able to use in your training. These repositories include many different types of resources so you may need to narrow your search by focusing on a particular type of resource, such as a video, short article or worksheet.

Once you have found something that looks useful, take a few minutes to consider these questions:

The quality of this resource:

  • Who created it?
  • Does it look to be accurate and well presented?
  • Are there any reviews or information from educators who have used it?

The appropriateness of this resource to your audience:

  • Is it relevant to your training programme and at the right level?
  • Does it need editing or introducing?
  • Would it combine well with any other materials that you are using?
  • Do you need to create any new material to go with it?

The licence:

  • Is it clear how the resource is licensed?
  • What does this allow you to do with it?
  • Do you need to attribute or ask for any permissions?

You may notice this list is similar to the longer version in the earlier part of this section Evaluating online learning resources. You could use the longer version for this activity if you prefer. We’ve included downloadable versions of both lists in Word and pdf so you can use and adapt them for future use, if you wish.

Download Word version [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]

Download PDF version

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Discussion

Here is what someone wrote about the Open Learn course Supporting Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing

The quality of this resource:

  • Who created it?
    • The Open University, UK
  • Does it look to be accurate and well presented?
    • Yes.
  • Are there any reviews or information from educators who have used it?
    • Yes it is rated with 5 stars based on 3 ratings.

The appropriateness of this resource to your audience:

  • Is it relevant to your training programme and at the right level?
    • Especially the session on mental health promotion and education fits very well in a training I am developing.
  • Does it need editing or introducing?
    • Not so much, I can let people go through this course by themselves as a preparation.
  • Would it combine well with any other materials that you are using?
    • Yes. I can use this as homework for the action training so that participants have a similar understanding of the topic.
  • Do you need to create any new material to go with it?
    • No, I just need to fit the exercises in the training with the content of this course (so we can go deeper into this topic during the training).

The licence:

  • Is it clear how the resource is licensed?
    • Described image
      Show description|Hide description

      A graphic image depicting the terms of a copyright agreement. The first part of the graphic is the abbreviation CC meaning creative commons, indicated by an icon of two Cs inside a circle. Next is the word BY in capitals meaning attribution, indicated by an icon of a person inside a circle. Next is the abbreviation NC meaning non-commercial use, indicated by an icon of a dollar that is crossed through. Finally, there is the abbreviation SA meaning share alike, indicated by a circular return/reuse arrow inside a circle.

  • What does this allow you to do with it?
    • I can use it, reshare it (with the same CC), but not use it commercially.
  • Do you need to attribute or ask for any permissions?
    • I need to attribute.

Now choose your next section.

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End-of-course survey

If you have finished exploring the different sections of this course, please do the end-of-course survey before you leave the course.

This survey gives you the opportunity to tell us about your experience of studying Take your training online and what you plan to do with your learning.

The survey should take no more than 5 minutes to complete.

Finding resources that are free to use

References