Oer ontology

As the Open Educational Resources movement grows worldwide, we need a common language with which to name, tag and retrieve items from the databases of materials being created. On this page, I propose that we collect the various search terms currently being used in repositories and look for points of commonality and conflict.

As a simple example, the Connexions repository uses the term "collection" to label a set of multimedia files arranged to be used in place of a printed textbook. The Community College Open Textbook Collaborative( [ ) site lists these materials as "textbooks".

To further complicate the situation, some of the "learning objects" available for use by students and teachers are designed to stand alone. Others are incomplete elements of lessons, units, presentations, lectures, etc. that have little value by themselves but become powerful components when combined and linked together with explanatory material.

Please add both your own original taxonomies of open learning objects to this page as well as the categories (with their references) that you find from other organizations, lists and repositories. With luck, this will help us to understand each other better as we contribute materials for learning to the people of the world.