Software & platforms
These days most educational resources are digital files before they are put into print or any other format. There is a wide variety of software and platforms available to assist with creating or editing digital content that can be used for OER.
The simplest way to create or edit educational resources is to use familiar word processing tools, such as Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or Libre Office. Those tools include most of the features needed for standard content, and the file can be easily exported as a PDF or printed. For mathematics and other technical fields, another option is to use the free and open source typesetting software LaTeX, which can produce complex mathematical expressions.
Another common way to create or edit educational resources is to create a website. This could be in the form of a blog, such as a WordPress site (the platform used for this workshop); a static website, such as pages hosted by your institution; or a wiki, using Wikia or another form of wiki software. Also, some OER repositories provide authoring tools, including OER Commons, and there are proprietary authoring platforms including FastPencil and SoftChalk. Another common tool used by OER projects is PressBooks, which makes it easy to author and produce e-books and other content.
For non-text OER, there are free and proprietary tools that can assist in creating and delivering content. Videos can be filmed on simple smartphones and published on platforms like YouTube. Images can be processed using free software such as Gimp. Audio can be recorded with tools like Audacity and published on platforms like Soundcloud. For developing online learning objects try free tools such as Powtoon, and Adobe Spark and proprietary tools like Camtasia.
Beware that some authoring platforms on the market include restrictions on how the final product can be published or shared. Before beginning, it is important to ensure that you understand the terms of use and whether you will be able to move to a different platform.
Attribution
This module was created by Ching-Jung Chen. Portions of the content were adapted from:
- Open Education Primer from SPARC Open Education Leadership Program, licensed under CC BY 4.0
