LoyalistLibrary: Personal Support Worker: Open Educational Resources

What are Open Educational Resources?

"Open Educational Resources, or OER, refer to any teaching and learning materials that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license, such as a Creative Commons License or GNU General Public License, that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution with no or limited restrictions".

(Source: The OER Toolkit, Colleges Library Ontario)

Where can I find OERs for my course?

There are a variety of sources for OERs! This is only a small selection. For more, check the Library's OER Research Guide.

AMSER (Applied Math and Science Education Repository)
"AMSER (the Applied Math and Science Education Repository) is a portal of educational resources and services built specifically for use by those in Community and Technical Colleges but free for anyone to use." -- website
B.C. Open Collection (formerly BC Campus OpenEd)
"The B.C. Open Collection is a curated selection of open educational resources (OER) that can be accessed by educators in B.C. and beyond to use in the classroom, in an institutional learning management system, or on other teaching and learning platforms. All materials are openly licensed. This means they are free to use, customize, and share. The collection includes courses and textbooks, and new resources are being added all the time." -- website
Directory of Open Access Journals
"DOAJ is a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals." -- website
eCampus Ontario Open Textbook Library
"In partnership with BCcampus, and in the footsteps of other provincial online learning centres like OpenEd Manitoba, eCampusOntario has created this new virtual Open Textbook Library, established to offer learners a repository of resources which are licensed to be freely used, adapted, and distributed." -- website (A link to eCampus is also available at LoyalistLibrary.com, under the Collections tab.)
OER Commons
"OER Commons offers a comprehensive infrastructure for curriculum experts and instructors at all levels to identify high-quality OER and collaborate around their adaptation, evaluation, and use to address the needs of teachers and learners." -- website
Open Educational Resources Research Guide
The Loyalist Library has its own guide to open educational resources. This guide acts as a starting point, with background information, links to OER's, and more.
Open Textbook Library
"Textbooks in the Open Textbook Library are considered open because they are free to use and distribute, and are licensed to be freely adapted or changed with proper attribution." -- website

Selected OERs for Personal Support Workers

Anatomy and Physiology
"Anatomy and Physiology is a dynamic textbook for the two-semester human anatomy and physiology course for life science and allied health majors. The book is organized by body system and covers standard scope and sequence requirements. Its lucid text, strategically constructed art, career features, and links to external learning tools address the critical teaching and learning challenges in the course." -- website
Clinical Procedures for Safer Patient Care
"This open educational resource (OER) was developed to ensure best practice and quality care based on the latest evidence, and to address inconsistencies in how clinical health care skills are taught and practiced in the clinical setting." -- website
General Nutrition Textbook
Northern and Indigenous Health and Healthcare
"The provision of northern health care entails many unique challenges and circumstances that are rarely represented in mainstream health sciences education. This open access, online resource consists of 38 short chapters from a variety of experts, academics, and practitioners in northern and Indigenous health and health care from around the Circumpolar North on the following themes: health issues in northern and Indigenous communities; health systems and governance; the social determinants of health in northern and Indigenous communities; culture and health; and professional practice in rural/remote/isolated communities. The learning objectives for this open textbook include: understanding the unique healthcare needs and professional responsibilities that result from remoteness and population sparsity; identifying the social, environmental and cultural aspects of a community that inform and impact care needs; appreciating traditional and Indigenous medicines and approaches to healing as part of a holistic care system; and exploring the similarities and differences in northern health care across the circumpolar region." -- website
Supporting Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities & Mental Illness
"This multidisciplinary resource develops topics of interest to all those who care about and for individuals with co-occurring intellectual disabilities and mental illness." -- website

Journal of Geriatric Mental Health
"Journal of Geriatric Mental Health, a publication of Indian Association for Geriatric Mental Health, is a peer-reviewed online journal with Semiannual print on demand compilation of issues published. The journal allows free access (Open Access) to its contents and permits authors to self-archive final accepted version of the articles on any OAI-compliant institutional / subject-based repository." -- website
Society, Health & Vulnerability
"Society, Health & Vulnerability aims to contribute to our understanding of vulnerability and marginalization in society in light of health-related factors. The journal provides a multi-disciplinary publication outlet for research on vulnerability in the context of health and its relationship to working life conditions, family, social status, socio-economic status, social situation and other factors." -- website

What are Apps?
Apps are small software applications that allow you to customize a mobile device and perform a variety of activities and functions. Some apps are free, while others are fee-based, so it is important to read terms and conditions carefully. Additionally, some apps are initially free, and then require in-app purchases if more features and functionality are desired. The Library does not endorse any fee-based apps nor it is liable for reimbursement of any apps paid for by patrons.

(Source: Austin Community College Library)

Anatomy Lite (iOS)
"This application provides a good reference for people who want to know more about Human Anatomy or study in General Human Anatomy." -- website

Applied Math and Science Education Repository "AMSER (the Applied Math and Science Education Repository) is a portal of educational resources and services built specifically for use by those in Community and Technical Colleges but free for anyone to use." -- website
MedlinePlus :Genetics (formerly Genetics Home Reference) Genetics Home Reference is now part of MedlinePlus, an online health information resource from the National Library of Medicine (NLM). Information from the Genetics Home Reference website is available in a new section called MedlinePlus Genetics. With the inclusion of Genetics Home Reference, MedlinePlus adds detailed information about the effects of genetic variation on human health to its extensive collection of health and wellness information. Patients and their families and friends can now find even more easy-to-understand health information in one place at the NLM. The Genetics Home Reference pages included in MedlinePlus cover more than 1,300 genetic conditions and 1,400 genes, all of the human chromosomes, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Also included is a richly illustrated genetics handbook, Help Me Understand Genetics, which offers basic explanations of how genes work and how mutations cause disorders, as well as current information about genetic testing, gene therapy, genetics research, and precision medicine.
Health Education Assets Library (HEAL) "The Health Education Assets Library (HEAL) is a collection of over 22,000 freely available digital materials for health sciences education. The collection is now housed at the University of Utah J. Willard Marriott Digital Library." -- website
Learn Genetics

Personal Support Worker: Open Educational Resources

What are Open Educational Resources?

Where can I find OERs for my course?

Selected OERs for Personal Support Workers

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