OER Assessment Rubric

Priorities

  • Research OER assessment resources currently available
  • Outline key features of researched resources that could be used in the BC OER assessment rubrics
  • Outline permissions process

Ideas

  • The rubric will need to be used in partnership with faculty as making decisions as to whether the content is viable requires a more in-depth knowledge of how the information needs to be presented to the students.
  • There needs to be a combined librarian and faculty focus. Librarian focus on access, media type, metadata, etc. Faculty focus on content coverage and use in student learning. For the rubric we can prioritize the librarian aspects first (which focus more on finding and quality of the resource from a use perspective) and then faculty (which focuses on quality of resource from subject and instructional purposes).
  • There needs to be two rubrics/checklist standards: 1) Open Education Repositories and 2) Open Education Materials. The OER repositories rubric is our main focus. The OE materials checklist will focus on assisting faculty with selection of items for their courses.

BC OER Process

This process should be used when including OER content in the BCOER guides. This will ensure the quality and integrity of the entire guide.

mind mapping software

OER Repositories Inclusion/Exclusion Rubric

Outline key features of researched resources that could be used in the BC OER assessment rubrics.

Authority

This rubric focuses on the credentials, reputation and association the author/institution has to the subject matter covered in the OER.
Level 3 – An OER has a rating of level 3 for authority when the following are true:

  • The OER content is peer reviewed by individuals with credentials in the field. For example, a faculty member in biology reviews OE content uploaded to the repository.
  • The OER is affiliated to institutions of higher education. Example: Harvard University

Level 2 – An OER has a rating of level 2 for authority when the following are true:

  • The OER content is reviewed by experienced individuals in the field. For example, an editor of a biology magazine reviews OE content uploaded into the repository.
  • The OER is affiliated to agencies providing educational services. Example: Pathways Educational Services

Level 1 – An OER has a rating of level 1 for authority when the following are true:

  • The OER content has no visible review standards for content curated.
  • The OER has no visible affiliations to institutions or organizations of merit.

 

Audience

This rubric focuses on the collection of people, based on age, experience or expertise for which the content was developed or curated.

Level 3 – An OER has a rating of level 3 for audience when the following are true:

  • The OER content is organized and accessible by audience type. Example: The OER allows for both browsing and limiting by undergraduate.
  • The OER content is comprised mainly of materials developed for scholars in higher education.

Level 2 – An OER has a rating of level 2 for audience when the following are true:

  • The OER content is organized by audience but accessibility is limited. Example: The OER allows for browsing of undergraduate materials but the search cannot be limited by audience.
  • The OER content is comprised of materials developed for all education levels.

Level 1 – An OER has a rating of level 1 for audience when the following are true:

  • The OER content has no visible organization based on audience type.
  • The OER content has minimal materials developed for scholars in higher education.

 

Access & Diversity

This rubric focuses on the availability and the provision of content for variety of learning styles and capabilities.

Level 3 – An OER has a rating of level 3 for access and diversity when the following are true:

  • The OER requires alternative formats for uploaded materials. Example: A video includes the written transcript.
  • The OER contains a diversity of gender, language, cultural expression, and educational approach. Example: A Spanish instructor records a video lecture on Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

Level 2 – An OER has a rating of level 2 for access and diversity when the following are true:

  • The OER has some resources with alternative formats.
  • The OER has not contained a diversity of gender, language, cultural expression, and educational approach, but will do so going forward.

Level 1 – An OER has a rating of level 1 for access and diversity when the following are true:

  • The OER has no statement of inclusion of alternative formats.
  • The OER does not contain diversity of gender, language, cultural expression, and educational approach.

 

Accessibility

This rubric focuses on the barriers to accessing and using the OER content.

Level 3 – An OER has a rating of level 3 for accessibility when the following are true:

  • The OER does not require any registration for access to content.
  • The OER is functional across all operating systems and a variety of web browsers.
  • The OER does not require fee for use.
  • The OER navigation is intuitive to use.

Level 2 – An OER has a rating of level 2 for accessibility when the following are true:

  • The OER requires registration for access to some content.
  • The OER contains some material that is limited to an operating system or web browser.
  • The OER contains some material that requires payment for access to content.
  • The OER navigation requires some trial and error to use.

Level 1 – An OER has a rating of level 1 for accessibility when the following are true:

  • The OER requires registration for accessing content.
  • The OER is limited to a specific operating system or web browser.
  • The OER requires payment for access to content.
  • The OER navigation is counterintuitive and/or requires additional guidance.

 

Subject Coverage

This rubric focuses on the depth of coverage of a subject area.

Level 3 – An OER has a rating of level 3 for subject coverage when the following are true:

  • The OER contains comprehensive materials within a subject area. Example: The OER contains subject materials in the area of continental philosophy and includes coverage of existentialism, idealism, and post-structuralism.
  • The OER connects important associated concepts within the subject matter. Example: A search on continental philosophy will yield existentialism, idealism, and post-structuralism in the search results.

Level 2 – An OER has a rating of level 2 for subject coverage when the following are true:

  • The OER contains some comprehensive materials in some subject areas. Example: The OER contains comprehensive content for cellular biology but minimal content in the area of molecular biology.
  • The OER connects important associated concepts within some subject matters. Example: The OER contains important association concepts within cellular biology materials but not in molecular biology.

Level 1 – An OER has a rating of level 1 for subject coverage when the following are true:

  • The OER does not contain comprehensive materials within any subject.
  • The OER does not connect important associated concepts within the subject matter.

Search Functionality & Browsing

This rubric focuses on the search functionality (e.g. advanced, basic, truncation, etc.) of the OER to help users find exactly what they need without having to spend too much time browsing.

Level 3 – An OER has a rating of level 3 for search functionality & browsing when the following are true:

  • The OER contains an advanced search function with limiters for audience, subject, media type, and licensing and permissions.
  • The OER provides browsing functionality for audience, subject, media type, and licensing and permissions.
  • The OER search and browsing results yield relevant results.

Level 2 – An OER has a rating of level 2 for search functionality & browsing when the following are true:

  • The OER has an advanced search function and includes some or no optional limiters.
  • The OER provides limited browsing functionality. Example: The OER allows browsing by audience, but not by media type.
  • The OER search and browsing yield some relevant results.

Level 1 – An OER has a rating of level 1 for search functionality & browsing when the following are true:

  • The OER does not have an advanced search function, but may have a basic search function.
  • The OER does not have a categorized browsing functionality.
  • The OER search and browsing yield irrelevant results.

 

Media Type

This rubric focuses on the types of media (e.g. video, audio, textual, visual, etc.) found within the OER.

Level 3 – An OER has a rating of level 3 for media type when the following are true:

  • The OER contains a wide variety of media types.

Level 2 -An OER has a rating of level 2 for media type when the following are true:

  • The OER has some variety of media types.

Level 1 – An OER has a rating of level 1 for media type when the following are true:

  • The OER contains a small variety of media types.

 

Licensing and Permission

Level 3 – An OER has a rating of level 3 for licensing and permission when the following are true:

  • The OER is free to share, alter, and adapt, subject to some restrictions (e.g., CC-BY-SA or CC-BY-NC)
  • The OER is covered by a robust and easy-to-understand licence (e.g., Creative Commons or GNU)

Level 2 – An OER has a rating of level 2 for licensing and permission when the following are true:

  • The OER is free to share, but not to alter or adapt (e.g., CC-BY-ND or CC-BY-NC-ND)
  • The OER is covered by a robust and easy-to-understand licence (e.g., Creative Commons or GNU)

Level 1 – An OER has a rating of level 1 for licensing and permission when the following are true:

  • The OER is free to share for educational purposes only (i.e., not free to share for other non-commercial purposes)
  • The OER is not free to alter or adapt
  • The OER is covered by vague or non-specific terms of use (e.g., website terms of service)

OE Materials Checklist

Outline key considerations for faculty/librarians in selection an OE item for use in a course.

Category Description
XXXXXXXXXXXXX

OER Permissions Process (Devin and others)

OER Assessment Resources