This short commentary about the African Health OER Network was published by the African Journal of Health Professions Education, December 2010, Vol. 2, No. 2.
Its purpose is to provide readers with a quick and user-friendly introduction to Open Educational Resources (OER) and some of the key issues to think about when exploring how to use OER most effectively. The second section is a more comprehensive analysis of these issues, presented in the form of a traditional research paper. For those who have a deeper interest in OER, this section will assist with making the case for OER more substantively. The third section is a set of appendices, containing more detailed information about specific areas of relevance to OER. These are aimed at people who are looking for substantive information regarding a specific area of interest. Originally published 2011; Revised 2015.
These guidelines have arisen from the University of Western Cape (UWC) Faculty of Dentistry's experiences of participating in the African Health OER pilot project. It covers copyright policy, attribution and acknowledgement procedures, and the peer review process for content released as Open Education Resources (OER).
Understanding the impact of OER
This guide provides an introduction to Open Educational Resources (OER) for students in post-secondary and higher education. It is aimed at helping you, as students, to explore the value of good quality OER, and provides an introduction to how to find and use OER. It intends to serve primarily as a source of reference for students in the Small States of the Commonwealth, but we hope it will be useful to students from any country.