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14. OER Workflow

How to use this activity

This activity supports practical application of the concepts in your lesson.

  1. Download this activity as a docx file
  2. Work through the activity step by step. Keep your answers concise and focused
  3. Return to your lesson when you are done.

What to do: Work through your OER decisions — from context and evaluation to adaptation, creation, sharing, and sustainability

Expected output: A documented set of OER decisions covering reuse, licensing, adaptation, creation, sharing, and maintenance

Approximate time: 20-30 minutes per section

Used in

Before you start

You will typically need:

  • Outputs from earlier activities (if applicable)
  • Notes from your current lesson
⬇ Download as .docx

Instructions

This activity supports an iterative workflow across Part 2. You will not complete everything at once. Each lesson directs you to a specific section — start there, and revisit earlier sections as your design evolves. Treat this as a living document.

You will use

1. Context

This context will guide your decisions about whether to reuse, adapt, or create materials.

  • What material are you working on? (e.g. activity, slide deck, dataset, full module)
  • What learning outcomes does this support?
  • Who is this for? (primary audience and, if relevant, secondary audience)
  • What context will it be used in? (e.g. location, access, tools, constraints)

Based on this context, what constraints or requirements might affect whether you can reuse, adapt, or need to create this material?

2. Find and Evaluate Resources

Evaluate at least one resource using the prompts below. Duplicate this block for each additional resource.

  • Source / link:
  • What it covers:
  • Relevance to your outcomes:
  • Clarity and usability:
  • Accessibility:
    • Format and devices — does it work on the devices your learners have?
    • Bandwidth — does it require large downloads or streaming?
    • Language — is it in a language your learners are comfortable with? Would translation be needed, and would meaning be preserved?
    • Assistive technology — is it structured for screen readers? Are images described?
  • License (if known):
  • Allowed actions (reuse, adapt, share):
  • Decision: Reuse / Adapt / Do not use
  • Notes:

3. Design Decisions

For the material you are developing:

  • What will you reuse as is?
  • What will you adapt?
  • What will you create from scratch?

Where relevant, consider whether localisation (adapting to context) or translation (adapting language) will be needed.

Why are you making these choices? Refer to your learners, outcomes, and context. Consider effort, relevance, clarity, and contextual constraints.

If you are creating from scratch: What made creation the right choice? Was nothing suitable available, or would adaptation have taken more effort than starting fresh? What gap does your new material fill?

Hidden assumptions

Identify anything in your chosen resources that may limit reuse:

  • Prior knowledge assumed:
  • Tools or technology required:
  • Language or terminology:
  • Context-specific examples:

What will you clarify or make explicit?

4. Adaptation and Localisation Log

Duplicate this block for each resource you are adapting.

  • Original resource:

What did you change and why?

  • Content: What changed? Why?
  • Structure or sequence: What changed? Why?
  • Examples or context: What changed? Why?
  • Level of difficulty: What changed? Why?
  • Accessibility (format, language, devices, alternative versions): What changed? Why?
  • Language or localisation: Did you translate the material or adapt it for a specific context? What changed and why?

Attribution

Record the creator, title, source, license, and a note about what you changed.

What remains context-specific or may need future adaptation?

5. Prepare for Sharing

These choices should reflect your intended audience — where they are most likely to look and how they are most likely to use your materials.

  • What will you share? (e.g. full module, activity, dataset, slides)
  • Format(s): (e.g. Markdown, Word, slides, HTML — include editable source where possible)

Documentation

  • Description:
  • Instructions for use:
  • Context:
  • Required materials or tools:
  • Expected outputs:
  • Intended audience:
  • Assumptions and requirements:
  • License: (e.g. CC BY, CC BY-SA)
  • Where will you share it? (e.g. repository, website, institutional platform)
  • Accessibility check: Are your materials usable across devices, bandwidth levels, and with assistive technology?
  • Attribution included and visible: Are all adapted materials properly credited and easy to identify?

6. Sustainability and Improvement

Feedback

  • During delivery: How will you collect feedback?
  • After use: How will you collect feedback?
  • From other facilitators or users: How will you collect feedback?

Maintenance

  • What will you update over time? (content, examples, structure — be specific)
  • Who is responsible for maintaining this material?
  • How often will you review or update it? (after each use / periodically / when needed)
  • Maintenance level: Active / Occasional / Archive

Versioning

  • How will you track changes? (e.g. version naming, changelog, where versions are stored)
  • What counts as a new version?

Reflection

  • What improved most through this process?
  • What would you do differently next time?
  • What would make this easier to find and understand for another facilitator?