This presentation was created as a summary of the library's contribution in its partnership developing a content curation process for OER resources for the UBC Biology department.
(download the presentation to see the notes for each slide)
2. Bioflex Content Curation
Selected OERs:
• MIT OpenCourseWare
• NSDL (National Science Digital Library)
• Khan Academy
• OER Commons
• OpenStax cnx
• MERLOT II
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9. • Process for curating open access learning objects
• Identified best OERs for Biol 112/121subjects
• Identified licenses for objects with permissions for
copyright requirements
• Search plans created for efficient and effective OER
searches
• Researched best low-cost/effective location for storage
with the ability to migrate
• Functional public facing portal to access learning objects
to meet flexible course needs
Bioflex Content Curation
Deliverables
10. Project Team:
Principal Investigator: Prof. Shona Ellis
CTLT Project Manager: Gillian Gerhard
BIOL Project Manager: Gulnur Birol
BIOL 112/121 instructors: Marcia Graves & Pam Kalas
Supervising Librarian: Katherine Miller
Teaching & Learning Librarian (Flexible Learning): Erin Fields
Student Librarian: Melanie Cassidy
Research Assistant: Sarah Parker
We want to gratefully acknowledge the following people for their
support:
• Eka Grguric, Yvonne Chan and Paul Joseph (IT team for the
development of the curation space)
• Aleteia Greenwood. Head, Woodward Library
This presentation was created by Sarah Parker for the UBC Biology Teaching
Retreat held on July 29, 2014
Notas del editor
(This presentation was created by Sarah Parker for the Biology Flexible Learning Retreat on July 29, 2014 at the UBC Botanical Garden)
Biology 112 and 121 instructors were looking for content to support the flipped classroom structure recognizing that there is a wealth of open educational resources (or OERs) available, the biology team was looking to curate content for the courses.
The Library was identified as a partner to research and identify OER content and develop a content curation process.
A graduate research assistant was hired to help with the identification, permissions, and description processes.
This presentation gives an overview of what was achieved in that two month period from June 1-July 31, 2014
We began by evaluating and identifying OERs that are stronger in the sciences and have better Biology resources.
An evaluation rubric was created that built upon the reasons for including certain OERs and excluding others. Questions included, but were not limited to:
Is the OER affiliated with an academic institution?
Is the resource freely accessible?
What kind of search functionality is there? Is there a basic or advanced search?
What are the permissions restrictions as in what types of licenses are attached to each learning object?
This is a list of the selected OERs that I’ve been working with for the past two months.
Biology instructors provided a subject list with highlighted topics so that searching each OER would not only target Biology resources, but resources suitable for 112 and 121.
They also identified media types: Videos (animations, screencasts), in-class activities, clicker questions, and case studies.
To provide access to the project’s process, everything was documented in the UBC wiki found on the Biology Content Curation page. http://wiki.ubc.ca/Category:Biology_Content_Curation
This keeps the process open and transparent, and as a pilot project it shows how content curation can be achieved.
OER searches resulted in hundreds of learning objects.
We needed to organize and be able to communicate with faculty about which learning objects would be of use for their courses and which ones would not.
Example of Khan Academy.
•One example of the hundreds of learning objects collected
•Videos vary in length
•Fewer learning objects in database, but it’s not an aggregator like other OERs
•Easy to access and search
•All learning objects have the same CC license (easy to link or embed in Connect)
OER searches resulted in hundreds of learning objects.
We needed to organize and be able to communicate with faculty about which learning objects would be of use for their courses and which ones would not.
A Google spreadsheet is being used to place links to the learning objects. It’s organized by course (Biol 112 / 121) and then by topic.
The sheet also lists which OER the object is from and the license attached to it. This helps with the curation piece and the data entry for approved content.
There’s a space for faculty to approve content and to comment on the learning object, that might suggest it for another course, or identify that it’s too long. This also helped identify what learning objects to search for.
Once content was approved we needed a space to curate the content.
Working with IT, we explored several options, testing out different ways to enter data and access it.
It was also important that it was sustainable and that data could be easily entered and provide the user with all of the necessary information about the object should they choose to use it.
Additionally, it was important that data could be exported cleanly if it needs to be migrated into a new space.
Ultimately, we ended up working with Google spreadsheets again, and created a Google Form that would populate the spreadsheet. The form makes the ongoing curation easier and sustainable.
Metadata about the learning object is entered here and populates a spreadsheet.
This connects to a Word Press view.
The public view (linked to Google spreadsheet) allows anyone to browse the approved content. See: http://bioflex.sites.olt.ubc.ca/browse-list/
The Navigation pane shows the various browsing options.
At the bottom, View Original directs the user to the a view of the spreadsheet.
Explanations for the CC licenses were added so instructors know what the license means and how they can use the learning object in their courses.
Finally, another key piece that was created for this project is the Search Plans.
Also, added to the wiki, there is a search plan for each OER.
They demonstrate how searches were completed, link to search results, and provide tips for the most efficient way to complete a search within that specific OER.
http://wiki.ubc.ca/Library:Biology_112/121_OER_Search_Plans