Open Educational Resources: A Primer

Evaluating OERs

Evaluating OER can be time-consuming. It involves comprehensive checks of subject matter, an understanding of course and object alignment, as well as some technical knowledge. This process may involve multiple evaluators including instructional designers, librarians, and subject matter experts (SMEs). Many tools have been developed to help educators with the evaluation process and ensure the OER objects they use and create are accurate and accessible. This page covers questions to ask and tools for help with evaluating OER.Photo of a magnifying glass held over a keyboard courtesy of Agence Olloweb, Unsplash

 

Some questions to ask when evaluating:

  1. Does the content under consideration cover the subject area appropriately?
  2. Is the OER content accurate and free of major errors and spelling mistakes?
  3. Can the license of the content be used or altered for the course’s needs?
  4. Is the OER clearly written and appropriate for the students’ level of understanding?
  5. How accessible is this content? Will it be accessible for your students, or is it too technical? Or is it robust and challenging enough for your students?

 

Adapted from "Evaluate OER" by Abbey ElderIowa State University Library under a Creative Commons License CC BY 4.0

UNM has developed it's own Faculty Guide to support your learning about OER, where you will find information about Evaluating OER Resources.

OER Librarian

Profile Photo
Jennifer Jordan
she / her / ella

Fall Online Office Hours
Wednesdays 10 a.m. - noon


NM OER Grant Program

Interested in OER as faculty?

Head over to the OER Grant Program Libguide for information about how the New Mexico OER Consortium can support your work.