Thinking about Context

Context is everything. What might work great for one classroom would be terrible for another. As we begin to evaluate various instructional materials, whether they are open or not, we need to think about more than just whether they meet the standards. We must also think about whether they truly meet our learners' needs.

What is the "context" of learning for your students?

What are their learning needs? What are their learning styles and preferences? What environment will they be learning in? What other context issues are important for your learners?

How does all of this context affect choosing learning materials that will best meet your learners' needs?

Finding OERs

There are many steps in finding OERs that meet your learners' needs. First, we'll deal with actually finding resources that are open-licensed and that deal with whatever content area you are covering.

There are many repositories and directories for OERs. Some of what I consider the best are included in this Livebinder.

When searching OER sites, it is useful to know a little about the sites themselves -- what grade levels they are strong in, what subject areas they cover, what types of media they are strong in, etc. -- so that you know which ones might be most most appropriate.

If you have a very general need, you might start with the larger, broader OER repositories, such as:

• Curriki (grade K-12; all subjects; all media types)
• OER Commons (grade K-20, stronger in higher ed; all subjects; all media types)
•  

If you have a more specific needs, you might search other sites.

Video

Teacher's Domain
A collection of PBS-produced video. Filter search under "Permitted Use" for open-licensed content.

Khan Academy (non-YouTube versions available here and here)
Huge selection of math videos. Mostly secondary, but some elementary.

Quality and Evaluating OERs