With so many freely available resources online, choosing OER can be overwhelming. The following checklist contains some suggestions for instructors when choosing resources for their courses.
Relevance
- Does the information directly address one or more of the course learning outcomes?
Accuracy
- Is the information accurate? Are there major content errors or omissions?
- Are there spelling errors or typos?
- Has the material been peer reviewed?
Production Quality
- Is the information clear and understandable?
- Is the layout and interface easy to navigate?
- Do the design features enhance learning?
- For multimedia resources, are the audio/video quality high?
Accessibility
- Is the resource available in alternative formats (e.g. .doc or .odf)?
- For audio or video resources, is there a transcript or subtitles?
Interactivity
- Does the resource encourage active learning and class participation? If not, are you able to add that to the resource?
- Are there opportunities for students to test their understanding of the material (e.g. a video with embedded questions)?
Licensing
- Does the license allow for educational reuse of the materials?
- Does the license allow modifications or adaptations of the materials? If so, can you modify the resource to better fit the course learning outcomes or encourage active learning?
Attribution
This guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) unless otherwise noted. Based on work done by BC Campus.