What is a digital course pack you say?
A digital course pack contains all the information you need to create learning resources for your students keeping in mind the cognitive load theory, best practices for a reading list, currency, accessibility, inclusivity and diversity perspectives. The pack also includes information on Open Education Resources (OERs). An OER is any educational material such as textbooks, lecture notes, exams, syllabi in any format or medium which can be freely shared, redistributed, repurposed and modified (UNESCO, 2022). OERs enhance equity and accessibility of education, especially for disadvantaged groups, such as HEPPP identified students. HEPPP students are those who are from low SES backgrounds, remote and / or regional areas or identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
OER Directory
The OER directory contains a collection of search engines and databases to help you find suitable OERs for your unit, as well as UNE subject specific OER textbooks that have been curated by the library. Most of the OERs are peer reviewed and currently being used by other universities. The beauty of OERs is that many can be modified to suit any context, depending on the resource’s licence. For example, if an OER was created in North America and all the examples in it are relevant to the North American context only, then, depending on the resource’s licence you may change the examples to suit the Australian context. However, OERs are not limited to textbooks, they can be any other kind of learning resource, such as, lecture notes, exam banks, glossaries and so on.
Who can use the Digital Course Pack?
From 2024, any and all unit coordinators! The digital course pack and OER directory has been created as part of a 2023 library HEPPP project ‘Accessible Digital Learning Resources for HEPPP students.’ While the digital course pack was created under the HEPPP project for a pilot unit, it will be published on the library website and catalogue in 2024 for all UNE unit coordinators to access and incorporate into their own unit. The coordinators of the pilot unit for the 2023 library HEPPP project have used the digital course pack to source and curate learning resources which are fully digitally accessible and free of cost to students. The pilot unit’s traditionally prescribed commercial textbook has been flipped from required to recommended, making the unit zero-cost for students.
How can you get involved?
Have you created, or used an OER created by someone else for your students? Have you wanted to move away from your required commercial textbook to compile a suite of learning resources for your students that are more relevant, free, current and accessible? If yes, then we want to hear from you. Contact Trishita C. Kordyban and Loretta S. Khanna at copyright@une.edu.au for more information or to discuss your ideas.