Evaluating OER

Not all Open Education Resources (OER) are created equal. Assessment is still key to your decision to adopt an OER, just as it is with publisher or Internet content.

There are several rubrics and checklists to assist your assessment of resources, OER or otherwise. BC Campus has a set of criteria to use when reviewing and open textbooks.  The Commonwealth of Learning has guidelines for OERs in Higher Education.

Howard Rheinglod’s Compendium of CRAP detection resources is a useful reference guide as you explore resources on the web.  It lists a wide range of tools to assess the quality of online information.

One widely used way to assess online resources is the C.R.A.A.P. test. First developed by librarians at California State University—Chico, institutions across the globe have adopted it as a framework for evaluating sources.

CRAAP refers to Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy and Purpose

The C.R.A.A.P.  Test

Currency = the timeliness of the information

When was the OER published or posted?

• • • Has the OER been revised or updated?
    • Does your topic require current information?
    • Are the links functional?

Relevance = the importance of the information for your needs

Does the OER relate to your needs?

• • • Who is the intended audience?
    • Is the information in the OER at an appropriate level for your learners?

Authority = the source of the information

Who is the creator?

• • • What are the creator’s credentials or organizational affiliations?
    • Are the creators/collaborators contributors qualified to write on the topic?

Accuracy = the reliability and truthfulness of the information

Is the information supported by evidence?

• • • Has the OER been reviewed or refereed?
    • Does the language or tone seem unbiased and free of emotion?
    • Are there spelling, grammar, or typographical errors?

Purpose = the reason the information exists

What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform, teach, sell, entertain or persuade?

• • • Is the information fact, opinion, or propaganda?
    • Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?

For more information on how to use the C.R.A.A.P. test to evaluate OER before adapting or adopting please see the following video,  Evaluating Sources, produced by Western University Libraries.

For more information about evaluating OER, the BCOEL Librarians have developed a useful guide to assist faculty with the open textbook and OER evaluation process. This Faculty Guide for Evaluating Open Education Resources has been released under a CC BY 4.0 International license.

For more information about how to adapt an open textbook from eCampusOntario’s Open Library, please visit the eCampusOntario Adapt an OER page by eCampusOntario  or the BC Open Textbook Adaptation Guide by BCcampus.

For more complete information about and instruction on how to adopt an open textbook from eCampus Ontario please visit the eCampusOntario Open Library. For information about how to adopt an open textbook from BCcampus please visit the BC Open Textbook Adoption Guide by BCcampus.

For a list of open textbooks that have been evaluated and are available for adoption and adaptation, please visit eCampusOntario’s Open Library or BCcampus’ OpenEd. This list of reviewed resources is available in the eCampusOntario Open Library and this list of textbooks has been reviewed by BC post-secondary faculty.