Overview
This article provides an overview of features included in the 2024 Q3 release of the OER Exchange (OERX). We’ll release new documentation as new features are added. Please note that the OER Exchange is still in a beta phase, so it’s only available to Site Admin and any users Site Admin elect to give access to.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- What is the OER Exchange? What's included in this release?
- What's coming in future releases?
- How To Access the OER Exchange
- How to Select Collections to Share
- How To Explore Collections
- How to Subscribe to Collections
- How to Map Metadata
- How to Review and Publish
What is the OER Exchange? What's included in this release?
The OER Exchange provides a cross repository search and discovery experience, built with a community driven mindset. So how does it work?
Share a Collection with the Community
All Microsites have access to the OER Exchange by default. Site Admin can select collections from their library to share to the Exchange. Once a collection is shared, it becomes discoverable on the Exchange, and other sites can Subscribe to the collection.
Search Shared Collections
Search collections shared by OER Commons and all of our partner microsites. The Exchange provides a search experience very similar to what’s available on OER Commons. The key difference is that you can expand and filter your search across all repositories that have shared content to the Exchange.
Subscribe to a Collection
Subscribing to a Collection automatically transfers all existing records to your own site, as well as sets up a connection that will automatically transfer all new records as they are added. You don’t have to worry about duplication, because the system is intelligent enough to recognize duplicates. We’ll only transfer new records.
Map Metadata
Once a Collection has been transferred to your site, you will be prompted to review the metadata mapping that has been automatically generated by the system. The metadata map is created using a machine learning algorithm, and everytime you make corrections or changes to the automated mappings, the system becomes smarter and more accurate over time.
Review and Publish Imported Content
Once a collection has been transferred to your site, you can review and publish items in your Site Admin Panel by reviewing Course Related Materials and Courseware Items in the Imported status. If you are using this beta, make sure to check back at least once a month to review newly imported content. In future releases, we’ll send you notifications as soon as new content is available for your review.
What's coming in future releases?
Releasing a beta version of a service means that not yet fully complete, but the basic features are ready to be tested "in the wild". With that in mind, here are some things that will be coming in future releases.
Notifications
- See notifications in the OER Exchange when collections you subscribe to have new items to review
- See notifications in the OER Exchange when content in your microsite has been automatically updated. (See list of advanced preferences below for details)
- Set email notification preferences
Set Advanced Preferences
- Allow the Exchange to automatically deaccession records in your microsite when records are deaccessioned by the collection owner in collections you subscribe to
- Allow the Exchange to automatically update URLs in your microsite when records are updated by the collection owner in collections you subscribe to. For example, collection owners may update URLs when fixing 404 and 302 statuses.
- Allow the Exchange to automatically transfer Reviews, Comments, and Endorsements to your microsite from the collection owner. You may want to accept and publish review information from collection owners' sites if you think this review information may be relevant to your users.
- Allow the Exchange to automatically update Open Author materials on your microsite when the original author publishes edits.
- Allow the Exchange to automatically update metadata on your microsite when collection owners add or change subjects, education levels, material types, or media formats.
How To Access the OER Exchange
The OER Exchange is still in a beta phase, so it’s only available to Site Admin and any users Site Admin elect to give access to.
To find the OER Exchange, navigate to your homepage and click OER Exchange in the global navigation.
Grant Additional Users Access to the OER Exchange
As a Site Admin, you can give access to the OER Exchange to select users by navigating to your Site Admin Panel -> Find and Click on the OER Exchange Feature Flag -> Select additional users you’d like to have access
How to Select Collections to Share
Navigate to My Library and click on Shared Content. Next, click on Add a New Collection to Shared Items. This will bring up an alphabetized list of all collections available to share from your microsite. You can use the scroll buttons to look for collections manually, or you can type in a search term if you know exactly which collection you would like to share. If you are using this beta, be sure to type your search term in all lower case letters. We'll fix this bug in an upcoming release.
Things to Consider when Selecting Collections to Share
The OER Exchange provides an opportunity for all of our partners to share their unique content with the OER Commons as well as with the broader OER community. You'll want to select collections that are unique to your site, that others will find valuable.
Remember to write a description for your collection before you share, if you haven't already. This will help others understand both the quality and contents of the collection. Based on user research, we know that important quality indicators include information about the credentials and institutional affiliation of content authors, curators, and reviewers, as well as the process by which content has been reviewed.
Here's a few suggestions to consider when thinking about which collections to share:
Collections of OERs produced by faculty or educators at your home institutions
Perhaps this is content produced by grantees, professional learning fellows, or curriculum specialists. These unique collections may help to fill gaps in others' libraries, and/or add depth and breadth to others' existing collections.
Collections of OERs that cover topics unique to your cultural histories or geographic regions
You may think these OERs aren't relevant to others, but we'd encourage you to consider how valuable it can be to participate in providing opportunities for learners to have access to information about customs and places from a range of diverse communities.
How To Explore Collections
The newest collections on the OER Exchange will be displayed via the homepage banner. To explore All Collections available on the OER Exchange, click the Explore in the left hand navigation menu.
On the Explore Page, you can browse All Shared Collections or select a specific Microsite to explore.
Click on a Collection Card to browse content in the collection. This will allow you to use search terms or filters to explore the specific resources within a collection. We've also added handy Collection Summaries at the top of each collection page that provide information about the education levels represented, a textual summary that has been provided by microsite admins, and information about when the collection was last updated.
Explore All Collections
Explore Collections By Microsite
Review Collection Content
How to Subscribe to Collections
Once you've identified a Collection you would like to Subscribe to, click the Subscribe button at the top of the Collection page. This will launch a Collection Transfer Confirmation Screen, where you'll be able to see a progress bar as the collection is transferred from the OER Exchange, to your site.
Most collections will take awhile to complete the transfer process. You can stay on the Collection Transfer Confirmation Screen until the process has completed, but that isn't necessary. Once the collection is done processing, you'll receive an email with instructions about how to review your Metadata Map and where to find your new collection in your Site Admin panel.
You can see all of the Collections you're subscribed to by navigating to My Library -> Subscribed Content
Begin Collection Transfer Process
Email Received When Collection Transfer is Complete
Review Collection Subscriptions in My Library
How to Map Metadata
Once the Collection Transfer is complete, you'll receive an email with details about how to review the Metadata Map that was automatically generated by the system for the specific Collection. You can accept and save the metadata map as is, or you can make changes. Every time you make a correction to an automatically generated metadata map, you'll teach the system to be smarter over time.
You can always review your Full Metadata Map (mappings for all collections you've Subscribed to) by navigating to My Library -> Subscribed Content -> Preferences. You may decide to leave some metadata vocabularies unmapped, and that's ok. When you decide to leave vocabularies unmapped, that metadata will simply be dropped from records when they are transferred.
Map Metadata After Collection Transfer
Review Full Metadata Map
How to Review and Publish
When content is transferred from the OER Exchange, by default, that content stays in the Imported Status. Before you can see published content for a Collection from the OER Exchange, you will need to review and publish each piece of content in your Site Admin Panel.
To review imported content navigate to Course Related Materials -> Filter for Imported -> Select Date Imported. You can choose to publish in bulk, or you can choose to review each individual resource.
Do the same in Courseware, to ensure publication of any Open Author materials that have been transferred to your site. Navigate to Courseware -> Courses/Units/Lessons -> Filter for Imported -> Sort by Date Descending and continue to review and publish.