The aim of this publication is to present how Open Educational Resources (OERs) are being strongly promoted at all levels of education. This book presents a select number of case studies from contributors to the Irish National Digital Learning Resources (NDLR) service. The NDLR service was launched as a pilot project in 2005 and in the last 7 years has grown significantly. Its mission is to promote and support Higher Education sector staff in the collaboration, development and sharing of learning resources and associated teaching practices for the advancement of academic scholarship in Ireland. The NDLR is a unique inter-institutional community, fostering the sharing and exchange of teaching and learning experiences, practices and resources, and collaborative research and development initiatives across the Irish Higher Education sector. The service promotes and supports the sharing and creation of OERs amongst the academic community in Ireland. The NDLR, through the local Institutional representative, provides support and encourages the development and sharing of reusable teaching and learning resources to members of academia through the coordination of a number of local initiatives and local supports across 21 Irish Higher Education Institutes.
About the Author: Dr Ann Marcus Quinn is the Open Educational Resources Advocate for the NDLR. She is responsible for the day to day operation of the NDLR service. Her research interests include usability, instructional design and the use of ICT at post-primary level. Ann's research area is ICT at post-primary and third level. Catherine Bruen is the NDLR Project Manager and coordinates the overall operation of the NDLR service. In particular, she manages the NDLR core team and the NDLR across all HE universities and Institutes of technology. Catherine is responsible for reporting the NDLR operations to the NDLR oversight committee and has financial responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the NDLR. Her research interests include technology enhanced learning, Communities of Practice, Open educational resources, social learning, cloud computing for education, adaptive hypermedia, personalised learning and simulations based learning. Catherine is currently studying for a DEd in personalised learning. Miriam Allen is the Training Coordinator with the NDLR. Her role involves supporting the academic community by coordinating training in the various tools and practices of elearning development. Miriam has worked with multimedia and Internet technologies in the broadcasting and education sectors for nearly 20 years in Ireland and internationally. Her research interests include development. Miriam has an MSc in Multimedia and her research interests include usability and design in OER. Aisling Dundon is the PR Coordinator for the NDLR. Her primary role is to inform people about the NDLR, promote the use of the diverse range of resources available within the NDLR and also encourage new contributions. She supports the academic community through the organising of events of interest, broadcasting of new and interesting resources, and regular communication of relevant information. She is currently studying for a MA in the area of use and users of digital resources in higher education in Ireland. Yvonne Diggins is the ICT Policy Advocate for NDLR and provides digital resource development support and uploading assistance to academics. Yvonne's role involves NDLR repository and portal management, development and administration; along with the coordination of online communication and collaboration across the NDLR client base through the NDLR's social networking technologies. Her PhD research is in the area of ICT policy for higher education teaching and learning.