2 Finding suitable OER

Earlier in this MOOC you examined the TESS-India OER. There are now a very large number of OER repositories from institutions and organisations around the world, all in different languages and covering a vast number of subjects. The materials in these repositories reflect the views of learning and learners held by those developing and sharing the OER. By looking at OER in different repositories you will gain a sense of where you can find materials that you feel comfortable with and can use.

Activity 5.2 will help you explore some OER repositories and consider the type of materials that they contain.

Activity 5.2: Exploring other OER sites

Timing: Allow approximately 40 minutes
  1. Look at the short PowerPoint presentation ‘Open Educational Resources (OER) [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] ’, which gives you an overview of OER across the world.
  2. [Reading matter icon] List the topics that you will be teaching to teachers or pre-service teachers in the next few weeks and think about their professional development needs. This might be specific classroom methodologies, an issue such as assessment or subject knowledge.
  3. With this list in mind, look at the materials on at least three of the repositories listed below. All of the repositories have materials relevant to teacher education. You may need to register to access the materials, but no cost is involved.
  4. [Reading matter icon] Note your thoughts in response to these questions:
    • What features of each of the sites do you like?
    • What view of learning do you think informs the OER on different sites? Is it aligned with a participatory, active approach?
  5. Download an OER that you could use in the next few weeks. Why did you choose this OER?
  6. Share with a peer or colleague your thoughts about the OER sites you examined. Are they familiar with any of the sites you looked at? Can they suggest any other useful OER sites? Note down any suggestions they may have.

1 Adapting OER to meet learner needs

3 Selecting OER