EDT4OL/Authoring/Tasks - OER inventory

This mini-learning challenge is divided into three steps:

Step 1 - Create an OER inventory sub-page
Purpose: To create an OER inventory sub-page from your Userpage to keep a record of potential resources for re-use when you commence the authoring of your learning pathway in the wiki. Clarification: You are only required to search for reusable OER for an individual learning pathway, not a full online course. The intention is to help you save time when you start authoring your course materials by having links to resources for potential reuse.

 Go to your Userpage in WikiEducator Under the 'My EDT4OL development project' subheading you created previously, copy and paste the following syntax to create a sub-page for your OER inventory:  Notes For students working in teams, each individual should create their own sub-page for their own learning pathway. Invite members of your team to provide feedback and suggestions on the resources you identify This page will be used for generating an inventory of potential images and content resources for inclusion and re-mix in the learning pathway you will be authoring. 

Step 2 - Search for images and/or video candidates
Purpose: To search for images and/or video(s) for potential inclusion in each of the sub-pages of your learning pathway and to record the source URLs with brief image descriptions.

When searching for images, it is worth having a number of options to choose from because frequently the first one you find is not always the best one for the context. Keeping track of the source URLs of images you find during your online searches will save you time later in the process when it comes to uploading and attributing the image resources. A dedicated wiki page provides a useful solution to keep a record of potential image candidates for inclusion in your materials, especially when working with team members because then everyone can see the options before a final decision is made.

Considerations before you commence building your OER image and video inventory

 * For visual interest and appeal, aim to incorporate one image for every sub-page in your learning pathway - this is a good rule of thumb.
 * For each sub-page in your learning pathway, try to identify two or three potential image candidates. Having a short list of images provides more choice when making the final selection which will be informed by how the content you author matures during the development process.
 * You should record the URL of the source of the individual image because this is needed for attribution and for administrators to verify the copyright licence.For example, it is not sufficient to reference "Butterfly image on http://www.flickr.com" (pointing to the homepage of flickr rather than the image link) as there are millions of images on Flickr. You should reference the unique URL for the individual image, for example: https://www.flickr.com/photos/adriaancoetzee/6950706381/. You will save yourself time and frustration by paying attention to referencing and recording the exact source. The wiki community may delete images which are in breach of copyright including cases where the source cannot be verified, for instance where the URL does not point to the source image.
 * In this course you will be required to incorporate at least one video resource to demonstrate your digital skills for embedding video on your published course site. You can search for suitable instructional videos on YouTube. If you don't find suitable videos for your learning pathway, you can record a short video introducing the topic using a mobile phone or webcam; however, at this stage, just search.

Tasks for building your OER image / video inventory
There is no prescribed format or structure for compiling an OER inventory. However, if you are not sure how to get started we provide a few ideas below. Feel free to adapt and refine the approach to suite your project development. The easiest way is to use headings, sub-headings and a bullet list for details.


 * Copy and paste the following wiki-markup onto your 'OER inventory' sub-page to keep a record the images you find.


 * Replace the text in italics with the title of your own learning pathway and corresponding sub-pages
 * Try to find two or three potential candidates for each sub-page to build an inventory for choosing images when you start authoring individual pages.
 * Duplicate sub-headings for sub-pages and sub-bullets for resources as required.
 * Search for images from the web-sites listed below or using search engines.


 * Record the source URL for each image
 * Complete image descriptions suitable for the 'alt' attribute for accessibility

Step 3 - Search for reusable content resources
Purpose: To identify openly licensed content resources available for re-use in your learning pathway.

We recommend that you conduct a general internet search (using licence filters) to identify content resources you can re-use and/or re-mix in your course development. These could be components for building a learning pathways like diagrams, quizzes, or multimedia resources or full text resources like open textbooks or lesson plans. It is important that you check the licences for these resources because in WikiEducator you can only use free cultural works approved resources.

On your OER inventory page, decide on appropriate categories keeping a record of what you find. See for example this OER inventory used for developing the Open Content Licensing course.

If you don't find resources suitable for re-use, that's fine. However, spending a little time to see what you can find could save you considerable effort when authoring your learning pathway.