Searching and Metadata

OER Commons is built on a collection of metadata. This means we structure descriptive terms that allow searching and finding a resource. An OER item is required to have a Title, Subject Area, Institution and Collection name, URL, Abstract or summary, Grade Level, and Keywords, to be included in and pointed to by the OER Commons search and browse system.

OER become easier to find and use when this basic set of descriptive terms is enriched and enhanced by additional metadata. OER Commons encourages the use of additional metadata fields by its Content Providers, including Conditions of Use, Author, Date, Regional Relevance, Notable Hardware, Software, or Network Requirements, Media Formats, and Available Material Types, which describes the components of a course or other resource.

In addition to this data coming from the Content Provider, OER Commons encourages you, the user, to add searchable metadata, such as Tags, which creates your own keyword vocabulary, your Ratings, Reviews, and annotations to OER items. Through use and shared use, OER become enhanced, and therefore, more useful to more people.

While there are competing metadata standards and protocols in the wider web and educational landscapes, we have built on existing standards with metadata fields that are largely translatable to other standards, such as Dublin Core. Currently, we import metadata in two XML formats and CSV format.

To learn more about metadata or becoming a Content Provider, email us.