OER Checklist: Design and sharing considerations

Learning frameworks and equitable design

When designing your OER, consider basing it on a learning framework that provides a foundation for developing effective and engaging learning experiences. At UTS, refer to:

• UTS Model of Learning and the learning.futures strategy
• LD Quality Framework

Outside UTS, you could also look at this OER Quality Framework: Evaluation Tool which considers learning supports, instructional supports and assessment practices in an OER. For an overview of OERs more generally, take a look at What Makes an Educational Resource Open?

Design for accessibility

Equitable design ensures that your resources are accessible and inclusive, enabling all learners to engage meaningfully. Accessibility allows all learners, including people with disabilities, to fully engage and benefit from the content.

• Make sure all content aligns with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for digital accessibility. Not sure how to do this? Check the LX Accessible Content Practices Resource.
• Avoid images of text and include an accessible text version of any graphics with meaningful content.

Design for inclusivity

Inclusive design practices create learning environments where all students feel respected and valued, regardless of their background or abilities.

• Use images that represent people from diverse backgrounds and abilities to reflect a wide range of identities. Here’s some more guidance: Visual Inclusivity Guide.
• Employ language that acknowledges and celebrates intersectionality, and linguistic and cultural diversity. Not sure what this looks like? The American Psychological Association has an Inclusive Language Guide.
• Apply Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles by providing multiple means of engagement, input formats and opportunities for students to respond in a variety of ways to support varied learning preferences and needs. To find out more, explore UDL in Higher Ed.

Prioritise sustainable design

When creating an OER, consider how presentation and format influence the experience of users who wish to reuse, remix and revise the resource. Prioritise design choices that ensure the resource remains accessible, relevant, and easy to update over time. Follow these guidelines for sustainable design.

Design for adaptability

Ensure the tools and formatting allow users with limited technical skills to adapt the resource.

• Use a ‘less is more’ approach by sticking to simple page layouts. Avoid foldouts or tabs when designing in a learning management system (LMS) as these can break when edited.
• Use colours minimally to support easy integration of the resource into existing subjects or learning experiences.
• When using an LMS like Canvas, ensure content is editable via the user interface without requiring HTML.
• Choose interactive tools like H5P that offer adaptability and reusability, over non-editable options like Genially.

Design for easy maintenance

Enhance your OER by thoughtfully incorporating multimedia assets such as images, videos, podcasts and interactives, to support learning objectives. These resources must comply with copyright and sharing guidelines.

• Plan and implement periodic updates to maintain content relevance and accuracy.
• Use multimedia that is widely supported and easy to update. For example, embed videos from a trusted platform (like YouTube, Vimeo) where they can be updated without affecting the overall resource structure.
• Whenever possible, use Creative Commons-licensed media which is shareable and can be freely used with proper attribution. The CC Search Portal is a tool for finding content you can share, use and remix.

Invite feedback

Feedback is invaluable when creating inclusive content as we each bring our own perspectives and design lenses. By inviting input from a diverse range of users, you can make your OER more equitable and diverse.

• Seek feedback from colleagues, students and community to help identify areas for improvement to enhance your resource.
• Include a feedback mechanism like email or a feedback form.

Design for shareability

Fundamental to the principles of Open Education is that OERs can be reused, remixed and revised. This means that we must design our OERs with shareability built in.

Rights and attribution

If you have included content from other sources, check you have the right to include the content and you add an appropriate attribution.

• Use the Copyright Toolbox from UTS Library to help you add an attribution.
• Effective attributions should include the title, author, source and licence of the work.
• When reusing, remixing and revising Creative Commons (CC)-licensed material, use the wiki Recommended practices for attribution. Works that are CC-Licensed with the no derivatives (ND) requirement cannot be modified.

Licensing

Copyright is automatically applied to original works of authorship. Licensing your OER with a CC License is a standardised way to indicate that you grant permission to reuse your work.  

• Consider whether you’d like to permit the OER to be revised or remixed, and if commercial uses are allowed.
• Keep in mind that not all material is appropriate for an OER.

Policy and procedure

Make sure you comply with any applicable Intellectual Property and OER policies and procedures. At UTS you should refer to:

• Intellectual Property Policy and Teaching and Learning Intellectual Property Procedure
• Open Access Policy and Teaching and Learning Open Access Procedure