About FavOERites

Background

The Dynamic Learning Maps (DLMs) project developed a system which allows navigable maps of the curriculum and personal learning to be produced. One of the key elements of any map is the ability to connect topics within the map to resources. The facility to do this through DLMs has worked for the small number of resources included in the pilot phase of DLMs. However, we believe that in order to take this forward it is necessary to extract this element from within DLMs and utilise a bespoke tool developed especially for referencing educational resources.

The Project

In the OER Bookmarking Project we will develop a tool that we believe will provide the solution to this issue for DLMs, while providing a service to the wider educational community. The OER Bookmarking system will allow end users to store references to resources easily outside of any system, with the ability to then pull these into third party tools such as DLMs.

The project team draws together expertise in OER (Medev Subject Centre has led 4 major OER projects) and extensive technical interoperability experience (including JISC CETIS work in Leap2A, XCRI and other specifications). Wider input from the PORSCHE and ACTOR (OER projects) and DLMs teams will enhance the delivery of this project.

Aims of the Project

The key aims of this project are as follows:

  1. To develop a non-proprietary social bookmaking service to enhance resource discovery across the community. This will be designed specifically for OERs.
  2. To provide an openly available and well documented API, enabling 3rd party systems to access and add to the resources and associated ‘paradata’.
  3. To pilot the API and system in Dynamic Learning Maps. This will harvest resources for specific topics and add descriptors and links to these within personal and curriculum maps.

Outcomes

The key outcomes of the project are as follows.

  1. We developed a system called "FavOERites" which allows bookmarks to be captured.
  2. We have released the source code for this system
  3. We have developed a rich API so that other systems can interact with FavOERites
  4. This site is a public demonstrator of the FavOERites system

For more information on the JISC OER Bookmarking Project, please fill in the contact form over at learning-maps.ncl.ac.uk