Evaluating simple repository deposit for open educational resources

Abstract

The rise of technologies and simpler software tools have been identified as drivers for the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement. However, content creators have been slow to adopt current OER solutions, as is shown by weak repository deposit rates and activities. To begin to address this, a desktop tool that simplifies the deposit process and that can be integrated into the content creation workflow was created. The goal of the tool was to support metadata that could accurately describe OERs and to ensure that, when deposited using the tool, OERs were represented correctly in the repository. Evaluation of the tool by users showed its potential in simplifying the repository deposit process, encouraging the creation of OERs and motivating content creators to share. Furthermore, users were also able to represent OERs using the adopted metadata standard and were satisfied with the way in which their OERs were represented in the repository. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.