Evaluate

By the end of this module section, you should be able to:

Investigate the available reuse options for OER - adopt, adapt, combine and create
Identify perspectives on evaluating and defining ‘quality’ as it relates to course materials
Utilize relevant rubrics for evaluating OER

What is Your Goal?

The first part of evaluating an OER is asking yourself what you want to do with that OER. Do you want to adopt and use as is? Or, do you want to adapt and modify the content to meet your needs? If you found an OER that matched your learning outcomes perfectly, but some modification was required, does the license on that resource allow you to modify? Or, is it licensed in a way that does not allow for modifications or derivatives? If modifications are not allowed, you may want to consider another resource. So first, before diving into rubrics, consider the license for the OER and what the permissions allow.

In the video below, a review of evaluating OER begins at 4:06.

Evaluating OER Checklist

The following questions can help guide you when selecting and evaluating OER. The list below is also available in PDF format from Affordable Learning Georgia.

Clarity, Comprehensibility, and Readability

Is the content, including any instructions, exercises, or supplemental material, clear and comprehensible to students?
Is the content well-categorized in terms of logic, sequencing, and flow?
Is the content consistent with its language and key terms?

Content Accuracy and Technical Accuracy

Is the content accurate based on both your expert knowledge and through external sources?
Are there any factual, grammatical, or typographical errors?
Is the interface easy to navigate? Are there broken links or obsolete formats?

Adaptability and Modularity

Is the resource in a file format which allows for adaptations, modifications, rearrangements, and updates?
Is the resource easily divided into modules, or sections, which can then be used or rearranged out of their original order?
Is the content licensed in a way which allows for adaptations and modifications?

Appropriateness

Is the content presented at a reading level appropriate for higher education students?
How is the content useful for instructors or students?
Is the content itself appropriate for higher education?

Accessibility

Is the content accessible to students with disabilities?
If you are using Web resources, does each image have alternate text that can be read?
Do videos have accurate closed-captioning?
Are students able to access the materials in a quick, non-restrictive manner?

Supplementary Resources

Does the OER contain any supplementary materials, such as homework resources, study guides, tutorials, or assessments?
Have you reviewed these supplementary resources in the same manner as the original OER?

Evaluation Rubrics & Checklists

There are plenty of rubrics and evaluation tools available. Your department already may use one for evaluating other course material or textbooks for adoption. If they do, use that! Outside of considering if you want to exercise the 5Rs and whether the licensing on the resources allows for it, evaluating OER should not be any different than evaluating other course material under consideration for adoption.

Suggestions for easy-to-use and widely-adopted rubrics and checklists for evaluation include:

Curriculum Mapping for Organization

Another successful approach to evaluate an OER is to use a course map template to track course outcomes, activities, and teaching resources. A course map, also known as a curriculum map, is a record of teaching and learning that can provide faculty an opportunity to align OER with course learning outcomes. An added advantage to course mapping is unearthing unintentional gaps or redundancies in your learning outcomes. Additionally, you can use a course map to document the license for the resource, keep track of where the resource lives online, and organize comments as you compile more resources.

The MCCLibOER: The Training Series was based on Texas Learn OER modules and developed by adapting several existing OER and adding information applicable to this instituio. The Texas Learn OER template is available for use. Retrieve a copy below, as well as a sample course map:

OER Repositories

Searching an OER Repository can result in a faster and more productive search experience since the resources have been curated and organized into various categories including discipline, format, and open license. Many repositories have either peer reviews or a rating scale where users have shared their perception or experience with the resource. Start by trying the well-known and user-friendly repositories included in the Search module.

Reflecting on Quality

Often, in conversations surrounding the evaluation of OER, questions emerge relating to quality, such as, "is the quality of the OER as good as commercially produced copyrighted course material?" As you find and evaluate OER, challenge yourself to consider HOW you define and measure quality. Consider instead, the effectiveness of the OER meeting your teaching and learning goals.

Take a minute to read this 2013 blog post from David Wiley, On Quality and OER. After reading and reflecting, do you agree or disagree with this statement:

“For educational materials, the degree to which they support learning is the only meaning of quality we should care about.”

Concept Review

Remember the OER you found in the last section? Now it is time for you to evaluate what you found.

Step 1. Choose an OER to evaluate - Using a rubric or checklist evaluate the OER.

Go back to the template you filled out in the Search Module OER Treasure Hunt Worksheet
Select an OER from your list to evaluate

Step 2. Choose your department’s rubric (or use one of these these checklists)

Step 3. Map It - Practice course mapping.

Blank Course Map Template (save locally)
Using the same course outcome and identified OER, map it!
Align the OER to the specific learning outcome(s), document the license, collect the URL, and add additional comments. Consider sharing the course map with a colleague for further review and discussion.

Previous: Search

Next: Accessibility

Attributions

Texas Learn OER by Carrie Gits for DigiTex which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License CC BY 2020.

"How to Find and Evaluate OER" by Abbey Elder is licensed under CC BY 4.0

"Identifying, Finding, and Adopting OER" by SUNY OER Services is licensed under CC BY 4.0

"OER Evaluation Criteria" by Affordable Learning Georgia is licensed under CC BY 4.0

© 2021. Except where otherwise noted, this work, MCCLibOER: The Training Series is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.
Please see the Attribution and Use Section of the Home page for more information.

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