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{{Navigate|Prev=Professional learning communities|Curr=Building a personal digital library|Next=ICT for generic resource creation}}

{{Navigate|Prev=Professional learning communities|Curr=Building a personal digital library|Next=ICT for generic resource creation}}

As a 'global digital library, the Internet has information on almost every topic. This changes the way we can think of learning and the skills of learning. Skills of accessing information, organizing, evaluating information are very important. While the Internet is a continuous learning resource and there is a lot of content you can access, to make the resources useful, you need to organize it well, and have a clear unit plan on how to integrate multiple resources for teaching. While there are many tools for teaching learning, no single tool will be fully adequate for learning; we have to use a library of tools and materials.<br>

 

 

 

This chapter discusses how teachers can access available OER from the internet and create their own digital libraries on their computers for different topics of their interest. As a 'global digital library, the internet has information on almost every topic. This changes the way we can think of learning and the skills of learning. Skills of accessing information, organizing, evaluating information are very important. While the Internet is a continuous learning resource and there is a lot of content you can access, to make the resources useful, you need to organize it well, and have a clear unit plan on how to integrate multiple resources for teaching. While there are many tools for teaching learning, no single tool will be fully adequate for learning; we have to use a library of tools and materials.<br>

Information can be accessed in multiple ways from the Internet and we need to know how to search for information on the Internet.  Sources of information, even if freely available on the Internet, needs to be acknowledged. Resources are available in different formats on the Internet- images, videos, audio files etc.  We must be aware of Internet safety while accessing images, videos and other information on the Internet.  We already saw that each website is a page on the Internet and has an address.  We can either copy and paste the link directly in the address bar of the browser (shown above).  Another way of finding information on the Internet is through the use of a search engine.

Information can be accessed in multiple ways from the Internet and we need to know how to search for information on the Internet.  Sources of information, even if freely available on the Internet, needs to be acknowledged. Resources are available in different formats on the Internet- images, videos, audio files etc.  We must be aware of Internet safety while accessing images, videos and other information on the Internet.  We already saw that each website is a page on the Internet and has an address.  We can either copy and paste the link directly in the address bar of the browser (shown above).  Another way of finding information on the Internet is through the use of a search engine.

===Objectives of a personal digital library===

===Objectives of a personal digital library===

You can build a resource library through the following :

A personal digital library can store information on different topics of interest to you. It is 'personal' meaning it is available on your own computer, for your use anytime. It is 'digital' it is available in a digital format, which is easy to edit, store and share. Most importantly, it is a 'library' meaning the digital resources are organised meaningfully, for you to easily access information when you want it.

#identify, classify and organizing learning resources for self learning) and for the classroom

 

#identify appropriate ICT resources for various learning needs - analyzing and abstracting, evaluating and problem solving

===How to access information on internet - Accessing text, image, audio and video resources===

#develop a concept map of learning outcomes and map to resources

 

The Internet is a rich source of text OER. It is important to access OER while creating your own because you cannot use content not licensed for reuse.  You could either access popular known OER repositories or you could search the internet for resources you want. One method of accessing existing OER is to search some text repositories.  The most popular text OER repository is the digital encyclopedia, Wikipedia. You can search for your topic in Wikipedia, by simply typing this text in the search bar. We will do this for ‘Digital Story Telling’ (DST) which is the OER proposed to be created as an exemplar by this tool-kit.  Wikipedia is available in more than hundred other languages, so you may also be able to search for text OER in Telugu or Urdu.

 

 

 

Like [https://en.wikipedia.org Wikipedia] is a popular text OER repository, Wikimedia commons is a repository of media (images, audio and video).  You can search for your topic in Wikimedia Commons, by simply typing the topic name in the search bar. [https://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/ Flickr] is also another popular source of OER images. You can use a search engine such as [https://google.com Google search engine] or [https://duckduckgo.com/ DuckDuckGo] search engine to search for image OER.  As in the case of text, you can select images that are licensed for reuse by specifying the search settings.

 

[https://freesound.org Freesound] and  [http://Soundcloud.com Soundcloud] are  audio OER repositories. You can use a search engine such as  [https://google.com Google search engine] or [https://duckduckgo.com/ DuckDuckGo] search engine, to search the web for audio resources.

 

==== Accessing video resources ====

[http://Youtube.com Youtube] is a popular repository for videos, it contains both OER and non OER videos. It is the largest collection of videos in the world.  If the video is downloadable, you will always see a download button; right click will usually give download option. You can search for videos on [[Learn_Youtube|Youtube]] also. When you search, all videos will be listed. Right click on any link and click on "download as". # It will save in downloads folder; you can copy and paste into your folder

Vimeo and [http://commons.wikimedia.org Wikimedia] are also audio and video repositories. A google search on ‘OER Videos’ will also give you a list of sites to explore. In the search engine, you would need to specify "videos" as a filter for search results. You cannot insert videos into a text document, so inserting the link to the file, will provide the information to play the video.

# You can search for videos on [[Learn_Youtube|Youtube]] also. When you search, all videos will be listed.  Right click on any link and click on "download as". # It will save in downloads folder; you can copy and paste into your folder

# Alternately, when you search on you tube, you can right click on any link and click on "copy link location". This link can be put in text document. You cannot insert videos into a text document, so inserting the link will provide the information to play the video.

===How to evaluate an Internet resource===

===How to evaluate an Internet resource===

#Whose website? (check the 'About Us' link that is usually provided on a web site to get this information)

#Whose website? (check the 'About Us' link that is usually provided on a web site to get this information)

#What kind of web site - commercial, educational, etc. Educational sites or non-commercial sites may be more reliable, generally

#What kind of website - commercial, educational, etc. Educational sites or non-commercial sites may be more reliable, generally

#What kind of resources? Is the information reliable - always check more than one site

#What kind of resources? Is the information reliable - always check more than one site

#Does it allow for a discussion? Or does it only provide one-way information

#Does it allow for a discussion? Or does it only provide one-way information

# How to contact the website owner/manager?  

# How to contact the website owner/manager?  

====For teaching-learning resources - In addition to the above, '''the following points are to be considered''' ====

====For teaching-learning resources - In addition to the above, the following points are to be considered====

#What is the website about?  

#What is the website about?  

#Is the information reliable - always check more than one website

#Is the information reliable - always check more than one website

===Steps in creating a personal resource folder===

===Steps in creating a personal resource folder===

There are several steps in creating a resource folder. The specific technology actions for each of these steps, is available under the relevant application in the [[Explore_an_application]] page   

There are several steps in creating a resource folder. The specific technology actions for each of these steps, is available under the relevant application in the [[Explore an application]] page.    

#Make a [[Learn_Ubuntu#Functionalities|folder]] on the computer by topic

#Make a [[Learn_Ubuntu#Functionalities|folder]] on the computer by topic

#Create a [[Learn_LibreOffice_Writer#Functionalities |'meta' document]] which will provide your thoughts on the topic and link the resources you have collected to these thoughts

#Create a [[Learn_LibreOffice_Writer#Functionalities |'meta' document]] which will provide your thoughts on the topic and link the resources you have collected to these thoughts

The set of resources downloaded in your folders for the given topic, along with your 'meta document' constitutes your personal digital library for the topic. You can build such libraries on any topic you are interested in, and build your own knowledge in a structured manner. Since the internet has resources on almost all topics, you have an opportunity to keep learning, that too on topics of your interest. The topic or area need not be only one of theoretical interest or only to build your knowledge. You can also work on building skills since there are likely to be videos available for helping you learn a new language, or even a skill like swimming. You can also share this personal digital library with your colleagues so that they can also benefit. When teachers share their personal digital libraries / resources from their library with their colleagues, cumulatively, it creates a resource rich environment. Try creating a personal digital library on a topic or issue you have always wanted to learn about.  

The set of resources downloaded in your folders for the given topic, along with your 'meta document' constitutes your personal digital library for the topic. You can build such libraries on any topic you are interested in, and build your own knowledge in a structured manner. Since the internet has resources on almost all topics, you have an opportunity to keep learning, that too on topics of your interest. The topic or area need not be only one of theoretical interest or only to build your knowledge. You can also work on building skills since there are likely to be videos available for helping you learn a new language, or even a skill like swimming. You can also share this personal digital library with your colleagues so that they can also benefit. When teachers share their personal digital libraries / resources from their library with their colleagues, cumulatively, it creates a resource rich environment. Try creating a personal digital library on a topic or issue you have always wanted to learn about.  

===Contributing to the Global Digital Library===

===Contributing to the Global Digital Library===

You can register on Wikipedia. Create articles in Telugu ([http://kn.wikipedia.org http://te.wikipedia.org]) and add to existing articles. This will be a valuable contribution to OERs in your language. (You can also do this for [http://ur.wikipedia.org Urdu], [http://en.wikipedia.org English], [http://hi.wikipedia.org Hindi] or any of the Indian languages) as well. You can also register on the TROER and contribute resources.

You can register on Wikipedia. Create articles in Telugu ([http://kn.wikipedia.org http://te.wikipedia.org]) and add to existing articles. This will be a valuable contribution to OER in your language. (You can also do this for [http://ur.wikipedia.org Urdu], [http://en.wikipedia.org English], [http://hi.wikipedia.org Hindi] or any of the Indian languages) as well. You can also register on the TROER and contribute resources.

You should also, as a matter of habit, release the resources created by you as OER, by sharing it in the Subject Teacher Forums, or publishing on the internet on the OER repositories mentioned in this chapter.