Our July 2011 survey findings indicated a high level of interest in the potential benefits of OERs for the voluntary sector, with many trainers suggesting that they would consider using them if dedicated training or mentoring were made available. To that end, I have drawn up a proposal for up-skilling VCS trainers to use OERs, involving an intensive one-week training course plus 3 months of individual mentoring. I am now exploring potential ways of funding the activity and I’ll report back on anything promising. Please let me know of any funding ideas you have!
If you’d like to learn more about OERs in the meantime, here are two good free resources that I’d recommend:
7 things you should know about Open Educational Resources by Educause, 2010. This handy 2-page guide covers all the essentials. There’s a copy attached here (7ThingsOERs) and it is also available as a free download from http://www.educause.edu/Resources/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutOpenE/205913
A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER), Prepared by Neil Butcher for the Commonwealth of Learning & UNESCO, July 2011. An up-to-date and comprehensive publication at 133 pages, available as a free download from http://www.col.org/resources/publications/Pages/detail.aspx?PID=357, but please note this is a 4Mb download.
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