📖 What is OER?
The term Open Educational Resources (OER) was introduced at UNESCO's 2002 Forum on Open Courseware. It refers to:
"Teaching, learning, and research materials in any medium—digital or otherwise—that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license permitting free access, use, adaptation, and redistribution with no or limited restrictions."
In short, OER empowers educators and learners by removing barriers to knowledge.
🎯 Our Goal
The PolyU OER Portal is an ongoing service from the Pao Yue-kong Library. It is designed to help the PolyU community discover, share, and apply open-licensed teaching and learning resources. By connecting educators and learners to high-quality, freely accessible materials, the portal aims to enrich students' learning experiences and inspire innovative teaching practices.
🌐 A Collaborative Knowledge Hub
The portal is built collectively by the PolyU community:
- Professional Librarians curate high-quality OER from renowned repositories such as MERLOT, OER Commons, OpenStax, and MIT OpenCourseWare.
- Students recommend useful OER based on their learning experiences.
- Faculty members contribute tailor-made OER designed to support teaching and learning at PolyU.
All resources are carefully classified into ten disciplines, reflecting the ten faculties and schools of PolyU, ensuring easy navigation and relevance.
🎓 Special Features
- PolyU Distinguished Lectures A dedicated section archiving lectures delivered by renowned speakers, offering valuable insights and inspiration to the academic community.
- Teaching and Learning Discipline A special category designed to support educators, providing resources that encourage innovative lesson design and enhance teaching effectiveness.
🔧 How Instructors Can Use the Portal
Adding or replacing a learning object without considering lesson design may not improve teaching—and could even hinder learning. To make OER truly effective, consider these essential steps:
- Identify Difficulties – Pinpoint where students struggle (concepts, procedures, theories, techniques).
- Clarify Needs – Determine what support students need most (explanations, demonstrations, discussions, collaboration).
- Search the Portal – Browse OER resources that align with those needs.
- Check Context – Ensure the OER fits your teaching environment and connects smoothly to the next stage of your lesson.
- Evaluate Outcomes – Plan how you will assess student learning and use insights to refine future lessons.
