Open Resources

When choosing an OER to adopt or adapt it is important to carefully evaluate the resource.

Evaluation criteria

Some key elements you might like to consider are:

• Authority
  • Who is the author? Are they an expert on the topic?
• Accuracy
  • How accurate is the information provided? Are there any errors or omissions?
• Relevance
  • How closely does the OER relate to your topics of interest? Does it align with your learning outcomes?
• Quality of the content
  • Is the content of a high academic standard or developed by experts or a reputable institution?
• Production quality
  • Is the information easy to understand and well presented? Does the design aid student learning?
• Accessibility
  • Is the OER accessible for students from diverse backgrounds or those with learning difficulties?
• Interactivity
  • Does the OER encourage active learning and participation? Can students test their understanding of the materials?
• Licence
  • Will the licence allow you to use the material for the purpose you intend (see OER licencing)?

If you are looking for an OER to adapt, find something that provides you with a strong starting point. It doesn't need to meet all the assessment criteria as you can adjust the OER to meet your needs. 

This information is adapted from CAUL Open Educational Resources Professional Development Program: Foundations © 2024 by Council of Australasian University Librarians (CAUL), licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence. 

You may want to use or adapt SCU Library's OER evaluation checklist to help determine if the resource you have found is appropriate. 

Evaluation tools from other Universities and organisations

For a more comprehensive evaluation checklist, see out the following evaluation tools from Achieve, an independent, nonpartisan, non-profit education reform organisation. Their rubrics also provide an evaluation system for objects found within OERs.

For an inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility checklists curated to the Australian context see: 

By EmpoweredOER.com licensed CC BY-NC-SA (adapted from Equity Rubric for OER Evaluation by Branch Alliance)