Accessing open educational resources (OERs) and online libraries
Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning and research materials in
any medium – digital or otherwise – that reside in the public domain or have been
released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and
redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions.
Open Educational Resources (OER) are freely available online materials that anyone
can use for learning and/or teaching. Examples are courses- including MOOCs
(Massive Online Open Course), lectures, teaching materials, assignments and
various other resources. OERs are available in many different formats compatible
with online usage most obviously text, images, audio and video.
Anyone with internet access can access and use OERs; access is not dependent on
location or membership of a particular institution. OERs are particularly useful for
researchers, teachers and learners. Educational institutions and providers enhance
their websites by creating and maintaining access to OERs and service providers
such as iTunes U, SlideShare, and YouTube also have many OERs to offer.
OERs use Creative Commons (CC) licenses to ensure that materials can be used
in a wide variety of ways e.g. edited, remixed, enhanced and copied.
Further reading:
Definition, advantages and challenges associated with OER
[Link]
Watch the following videos:
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Creative Commons
Creative Commons is an organization set up to “enable the sharing and use of
creativity and knowledge through free legal tools”. This comprises a set of
copyright licenses that facilitate creators of pieces of intellectual property to classify
the level of access they will allow others to their material.
More details about creative commons
[Link]
Creative Commons Licences
[Link]
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Finding and accessing OERs
1. Khan Academy ([Link] Offers free online
courses in various subjects, including math, science, and humanities.
2. Coursera for Campus ([Link] Provides
access to a wide range of courses from top universities and institutions.
3. edX ([Link] Offers free and paid courses from
universities and institutions worldwide.
4. MIT OpenCourseWare ([Link] Provides access to
virtually all MIT course content, including lecture notes, assignments, and
exams.
5. OpenStax ([Link] Publishes free, peer-reviewed
textbooks for college and high school courses.
6. OER Commons ([Link] A digital library of
open educational resources, including textbooks, lesson plans, and
interactive simulations.
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7. Project Gutenberg ([Link] Offers over 60,000
free eBooks, including many classic works of literature.
8. Internet Archive ([Link] A vast digital library offering
access to books, music, videos, and more.
9. Smithsonian Learning Lab ([Link] Provides
access to millions of digital resources from the Smithsonian's collections.
10. Google Arts & Culture ([Link] Offers
virtual tours of museums, art collections, and historical sites.
11. National Geographic
Education([Link] Features
free educational resources, including maps, articles, and lesson plans.
12. NOVA PBS ([Link] Provides educational
videos and interactive resources on science topics.
13. Library of Congress - Teachers ([Link]
Offers lesson plans, primary source materials, and classroom resources.
14. MERLOT ([Link] A curated collection of free and
open online teaching, learning, and faculty development services.
15. Carnegie Mellon University's Open Learning
Initiative ([Link] Offers free online courses and course
materials in various subjects.
16. Gooru ([Link] A collection of free K-12 educational
resources, including quizzes, lesson plans, and videos.
17. Common Sense
Education ([Link] Provides
digital citizenship resources and reviews of educational technology tools.
18. PBS LearningMedia ([Link] Offers a
library of free, standards-aligned videos, lesson plans, and interactive
games.
19. HippoCampus ([Link] Provides multimedia
content in various subjects for high school and college students.
20. Open Culture ([Link] A website that curates
free cultural and educational media resources, including online courses,
eBooks, and more.
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Others:
Kenya education cloud
[Link]
Images
[Link]
Creating OER and combining licences
Watch the following video:
[Link]
Tasks:
1. Go through the process of accessing the content by typing the address below on
the URL and access the following:
Address: Kenya Education Cloud (KEC) – [Link]
Access the following:
ü Interactive Digital Content (IDC)
ü Video-based Content (VBC)
ü Audio- Based Content
ü E-books
For task 1, discuss your findings in your groups.
2. Search for open educatinal resources you could use in the teaching of your
subjects from any five links from the ones provided in the list above (List under
finding and accessing OERs). Describe how these resources could be used to teach
various concepts in your teaching subjects.
For task 2, post your work in the forum.
References
The list of open access and open educational resources for the libraries
[Link]
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20and%20interactive%20simulations.
Kenya education cloud
[Link]
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Definition, advantages and challenges associated with OER
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