2.4: Strategies and Keeping Track of OERs
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Backward Design for Course Organization
Before delving into curating an OER it is good to consider the broader task of course curation. In other words, in the transition of a course to a zero-cost textbook there may not be OER resources that meet all of the specific needs or outcomes for the text. It may be necessary to find a variety of OER resources to use throughout your text or course. Professors can use individual OER resources throughout their course or or combine them into a single resource.
A course organization spreadsheet can help organize and keep track of the resources. The spreadsheet has room for all the information needed to organize the course. The more complete it is, the easier it will be when it is time to make a single resource and/or integrate them into an online course.
Using the principles of backward design, consider filling out a resource organizer such like the spreadsheets below. Use the course outline, outcomes, syllabus, or other documents that break down the course into sections.
- Template: Course Organization Spreadsheet (Google Sheets). For use in a Google Drive account, copy the template by selecting File, then "make a copy." Then, it can be edited in a personal copy. Google Sheets is free to anyone with a Google account.
- Template: Course Organization Spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel) is also available for download.
Organizing Resources on a Spreadsheet
Below are the directions for using the spreadsheet templates above to organize resources for the course.
- Download the template in the version of your choice, either a Microsoft Excel Worksheet or a Google Sheet.
- Using the course outcomes, outline, syllabus, or other information; start by filling in the units of the course under the tab “Topic/Outcome/Lesson.” This will help determine what sort of content is still needed for the course.
- Next think about how students are going to be assessed on the content. What sort of evaluation method will be used?
- This next part is optional. Work systematically through the spreadsheet lesson by lesson, or you can fill out the spreadsheet as useful content is found.
- To get a sense of what the spreadsheet will look like filled out, view this short example of the spreadsheet : Example of Template: Course Organization Spreadsheet (in Google Sheets).
Attribution
Adapted from ASCCC OERI — OER Basics by Rachel Arteaga and Suzanne Wakim is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License