3.6b Review of OER Referatories and Repositories

There are many websites that can point you to or provide OER. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. In this section of the course, we'll review some of these items. By sharing our reviews, we can quickly help other users determine whether the site will meet their needs.

Referatory or Repository?

OER Commons logo When searching for OER, you'll encounter a couple of terms that seem to be used interchangeably, but which actually denote different things. As a practical matter, you don't need to worry about the different meanings, but if you're speaking with a data analyst, librarian, or OER evangelist, be prepared to use the accurate term.

Referatory means a database-driven website. This website offers information such as the name and description, reviews, and hyperlinks to resources or learning objects. Think of a referatory as a kind of listing, or catalog. It points to content that actually sits in repository. A repository contains the files of the actual resource. Think of a repository as a kind of container. It houses the content.

Instructions

Select one of the referatories/repositories below. Please put your name by the selected resource, so that we don't all end up reviewing the same site. You can do this by clicking "edit" in the upper right corner of this page.
Test out the repository.
1. Try to find different types of materials. How easy is it to find what you need?
2. Is the repository geared towards certain disciplines, types of content, types of courses, etc.?
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the repository?
4. Answer these questions in Google Docs or on a web page that can be hyperlinked in the course.
Hyperlink your review to your name below, as you did on the previous wiki page.

How do I create a hyperlink using the Rich Content Editor? Links to an external site.