Syndicate SYNDICATE

Do you manage a web site about OER or digital learning issues? You can easily carry this research collection on your own web site or blog.

Get our code snippet and installation instructions.



Contribute CONTRIBUTE

If you do research on the topic of OER we welcome your participation!

Contribute your work to the OER Research repository today.



Connect CONNECT

This repository is a joint project of the OER community and is managed by the following organizations. Questions? Ideas? Concerns? Get in touch.

IssueLab
An online publishing forum for nonprofit research

ISKME
The Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education

OER Initiative
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Education Program

FAQ

What is this web site?

To ensure that all the valuable knowledge created about OER and the OER cause is readily accessible to a broad audience, the Hewlett Foundation partnered with IssueLab to create a comprehensive OER document repository. This web site is the result of that partnership.

The vision for this web site is, in essence, a knowledge management center where the materials and documentation that we all use in our work to further the cause of OER are easy to share and access. This web site is not the place to share OER resources such as syllabi or course modules. A great place to share those types of materials is the OER Commons.

This repository is a joint project of the OER community and is managed by IssueLab, the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME), and the Education Program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Who administers this site?

The OER Research repository is administered by the Education Program of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

What criteria must be met in order to have my materials included in this repository?

The OER Research repository accepts research that is related to open access to education and the Open Educational Resources movement. We do not accept actual OER resources (lesson plans, course modules, etc.). We do accept presentations, white papers, data sets, evaluations, and other documentation and materials that are meant to broaden understanding of OER and further the OER cause.

How do I contribute my materials?

Contributing materials to this repository is a fast and easy process (complete info is available on our Contribute page):

  1. Visit IssueLab and create a free Research Contributor account;

  2. Within minutes of creating an account you'll receive an activation e-mail. Follow the instructions to activate your account;

  3. Once your account is active you or your staff can add as many resources as you like.

  4. When adding new materials be sure to check the box next to "OER Research" on the "Satellite Sites" screen (the last screen you'll encounter before completing your addition) to request that your material be considered for inclusion in the OER Research repository.

    If you did not request consideration during the "add" process, once your materials are available to edit click the "Satellite sites" link next to the title you'd like to have considered for inclusion in the OER Research repository, check the box next to "OER Research", and submit your request.

I contributed my research but I don't see it in the OER Research repository. Why not?

First -- did you check the box next to "OER Research" on the "Satellite Sites" screen (the last screen you encountered before completing your addition)? Doing so sends a request to the administrator of the OER Research repository to consider your materials for inclusion.

If you aren't sure whether or not you checked this box, log into your IssueLab Research Contributor account and click on the "Add/Edit Research Listings" link. You should see the title of the materials you'd like considered on this page. (If you don't see your title - please contact IssueLab.) Click the "Satellite sites" link next to the title you'd like to have considered for inclusion in the OER Research repository, check the box next to "OER Research", and submit your request.

If your title meets the OER Research repository's administrator's criteria and s/he wants to carry your title, it will become available through this web site.

Also please note: all materials submitted through an IssueLab Research Contributor account are first checked by IssueLab to ensure that supplied links lead to actual web sites and downloadable content and that digital material is not corrupted or otherwise compromised. IssueLab does its best to get material that should be considered for inclusion in the OER Research repository queued for the repository administrator's consideration as soon as possible after receiving it. If you haven't seen your material within 48 hours of posting it, feel free to contact IssueLab.

I have teaching and learning materials (syllabi, course modules, lesson plans, etc.) that I'd like to contribute. Is this the right place to do that?

This web site is not the place to share OER resources such as syllabi, course modules, or the like. A great place to share those types of materials is the OER Commons run by ISKME.

I'm having trouble creating/logging into my Research Contributor account. What should I do?

Problems creating an account:

  1. Ensure that you are creating a free Research Contributor (not a free LabRat) account with IssueLab. Visit this page to get started with Research Contributor account creation.


  2. IssueLab sends a verification email to the email address you supplied during account creation. You must complete the verification process to activate your account. If you haven't received this verification message, please check your email program's spam filter -- it may have been stored there. If you still can't find this email message, please contact IssueLab.

Problems logging into your account:

  1. IssueLab's login page is located at http://www.issuelab.org/log. Visit this page to get started with logging into your Research Contributor account.

  2. If you've forgotten your password, use the password finder located at http://www.issuelab.org/log/findPassword. The password finder just needs the email address that you used to create your account to retrieve your password. If you do not know which email you should input, please contact IssueLab.

If none of the above helps solve your problem, please just get in touch with us. We're happy to help!

I have a question that isn't answered in this FAQ. What should I do now?

Get in touch! Send a note or give a call to Gabriela Fitz () or Lisa Brooks (), co-directors of IssueLab (phone: 773-649-1790).