Category Archives: Uncategorized
Kurzgesagt Video Series added to the OER collection of NCLOR
Today over 90 video resources were added to the open educational resources collection from Kurzgesagt.org. Kurzgesagt – German for “In a nutshell“ is a Munich-based YouTube channel and design studio with a unique perspective on design, color and storytelling. They want their work to raise awareness for topics from the fields of science, space, technology, biology, history and philosophy. Their goal is to inspire people to learn – and believe humor and a good story to tell are just as important as straight facts.
Example: Building a Mars base is a Horrible Idea: Let’s do it!, Kurzgesagt YouTube Channel, Feb 3, 2019
The NCCCS courses that could be enhanced by using these resources are: ANT-220 Cultural Anthropology, AST-111 Descriptive Astronomy, BAF-110 Principles of Banking, BIO-090 Foundations of Biology, BIO-145 Ecology, BIO-250 Genetics, ENV-110 Environmental Science, ENV-255 Envir/Public Hth.Pathogen, GRO-120 Gerontology, PHI-215 Philosophical Issues, PHS-130 Earth Science, PHY-110 Conceptual Physics, and SAB-110 Substance Abuse Overview.
Accessibility Statement: All of the videos and/or learning objects in this series are closed captioned or have links to the text version of the video narration on of each activity.
To access this series, you can do any of the following:
- Log into the NCLOR and click on “Browse by Resource Series” and then the Kurzgesagt – In a nutshell series.
- If you are NCCCS faculty, you can add the links to the resources directly to your LMS based course. (learn how)
- Simply, click Kurzgesagt – In a nutshell to view the series as a guest.
Python Programming Resources Added to NCLOR OER Collection
Today, ninety-two resources from Pythonlearn.org were added to the OER collection of the NCLOR. These resources are a set of generic Python Learning Resources to allow self-paced learning of the Python language. The materials from the site are collected from several courses at the University of Michigan. The instructor for this course is Chuck Severance of the University of Michigan. This content covers both 2.x and 3.x versions of Python. The content includes two open courses that cover many programming topics some of which include the following topics: Functions, Loops, Strings, Files, Lists, Dictionaries, Tuples and Using Web Services.
The two courses available are:
Example: Python for Informatics: Chapter 2 – Expressions Video, Chuck Severance. Jan 15, 2013
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
The NCCCS courses that these resources may supplement are; CSC-121 Python Programming and CSC-122 Python Application Development.
To access these resources, you can do any of the following:
- Since these resources are open, you can access the series via Guest Access here: Pythonlearn.org.
- Also you may log into the NCLOR and click on the More button on the left menu bar. Then click the Resource Series link and click the series of your choice.
- If you are K-14 faculty, you can add the links to the resources directly to your LMS based course. (learn how)
Three New Open e-Textbooks Series Added to the NCLOR OER Collection
Today, fifty-one new open e-textbooks were added to the open educational resources collection available within the NCLOR. The e-textbooks have been created by The University of Wisconsin, The University of Minnesota, and Oregon State University. The textbooks were created under a creative commons license and are free and open to use.
The subject included in this addition are: Accounting, Biochemistry and molecular biology, Biological and life sciences, Business administration, Change management, Climatology, Communication & Media, Cultural studies, Economics, Educational technology, Finance, Fisheries and wildlife sciences, Geography , Geology, Government, Human relations, Human resources, Information systems, Law, Linear Algebra, Marketing, Materials science, Organizational development, Physiology, Psychology, Social science, Sustainable agriculture, Technology and civilization, Web technologies, and Writing.
The University of Minnesota collection of Open Textbook collection states its mission as “promoting access to higher education and collaborating to advance knowledge benefiting communities, the state, and world.”
The some of open textbooks available from The University of Minnesota are:
- Principles of Economics
- Principles of Macroeconomics
- Principles of Management
- A full list of available titles can be found here: University of Minnesota Libraries Open Textbooks
The Open Oregon State collection is an part of OSU’s open educational resource initiative.
The some of open textbooks available from Open Oregon State are:
- Introduction to Permaculture
- The Joy of Cryptography
- Introduction to Climate Science
- A full list of available titles can be found here: Oregon State Open Text
University of Wisconsin – Madison has made small set of open textbook available for use.
The some of open textbooks available from University of Wisconsin – Madison are:
- 13 Principles of Good Learning in Games – Applied to Teaching
- Creators, Collectors & Communities – Making Ethnic Identity Through Objects
- Developing Your Web Presence
- A full list of available titles can be found here: University of Wisconsin Pressbooks
The works listed above are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License.
The NCCCS courses that these resources may supplement are; ACA-111, ACC-120, AGR-139, AGR-300, BIO-165, BIO-175, BUS-110, BUS-137, BUS-153, BUS-237, BUS-255, BUS-260, CHM-130, CJC-131, COM-150, CSC-211, ECO-151, ECO-252, EDU-271, ENG-011, FWL-142, GEL-120, GEO-111, GEO-130, GIS-121, LIB-112, MAT-280, MEC-265, MKT-120, POL-120, PSY-150, PSY-237, SOC-210, and WEB-210.
To access these resources, you can do any of the following:
- Since these resources are open, you can access the series via Guest Access here: Oregon State Open Textbooks , University of Minnesota Open Textbooks , University of Wisconsin Pressbooks.
- Also you may log into the NCLOR and click on the More button on the left menu bar. Then click the Resource Series link and click the series of your choice.
- If you are K-14 faculty, you can add the links to the resources directly to your LMS based course. (learn how)
NCLOR service is now available
The NCLOR service is back up and running after brief maintenance down time. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Thanks,
NCLOR System Admin
NCLOR will be unavailable from 4:15 to 5:00 3/27/18
The NCLOR will be unavailable for a short time at 4:15 – 5:00 tonight for system maintenance.
Thank-you,
NCLOR Admin
UMass Boston – OpenCourseWare Added to OER Collection
Today, 43 new courses from UMass Boston – OpenCourseWare were added to the open educational resources collection within the NCLOR. UMass Boston OpenCourseWare is a free and open educational resource for faculty, students, and self-learners world wide. The idea behind University of Massachusetts Boston OCW is to make University of Massachusetts Boston course materials that are used in the teaching of undergraduate and graduate subjects available on the Web, free of charge, to any user anywhere in the world.
This series includes a wide variety of course topics but the content focused on biology, chemistry, math, education, as well as arts & sciences and engineering.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
The NCCCS courses that these resources may supplement are; BIO111, BIO112, CHM132, CHM132, CHM151, CHM151, CJC213, ENV236, FOR173, GEL230, HEA3029, HIS121, HIS212, HIS212, HIS216, HUM115, MAT271, MAT272, MSC160, MSC160, MUS110, MUS111, SGD125.
To access these resources, you can do any of the following:
- Since these resources are open, you can access the series via Guest Access here: UMass Boston OpenCourseWare or log into the NCLOR and click on the More button on the left menu bar.
- Then click the Resource Series link and then click the UMass Boston OpenCourseWare link.
If you are K-14 faculty, you can add the links to the resources directly to your LMS based course. (learn how)
Georgia Virtual Learning Content Added to OER Collection in NCLOR
Today, over 1100 individual learning modules were added to the open educational resources collection within the NCLOR. This series has been made available from the Georgia Department of Education. The Georgia Virtual Learning (GVL) is a large online repository of learning content used for online instruction. The virtual courses included in this series serve a wide array of student learning styles through interactive and engaging learning content that’s designed for best practice and flexibility. The resources included in this series are the “shared” or the open educational resources created for the Georgia Virtual Learning instruction. There are 94 complete courses included in this collection, in subjects such as: Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education, Fine Arts, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences, and World Languages.
The courses were created by Georgia Department of Education faculty. They are organized in modular format (SoftChalk) with audio/video interactive features and built in navigation. Specific attention was paid regarding ADA compliance with the inclusion of closed caption/audio features as well as universal design.
The courses included in this series are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License.
In the NCLOR, the courses are sorted by subject area, course name and then module order. Click a subject area listed below, to view the full list of courses available.
Subjects
- Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education
- Fine Arts
- Language Arts
- Mathematics
- Science
- Social Sciences
- World Language
Example: “Introduction to Digital Design” – Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education
The NCCCS courses that these resources may supplement are; ACC-125, AIB-110, ART-111, ART-114, ART-115, AST-111, ATR-282, BAF-110, BIO-106, BIO-110, BIO-111, BIO-163, BIO-165, BIO-280, BUS-110, CHM-090, CHM-131, CIS-070, CIS-110, CIS-111, CIS-115, CIS-3100, CJC-111, CJC-251, CJC-5001, CJC-5070, COM-120, DET-112, DMA-030, DME-110, DME-140, ECO-251, EFL-093, ENG-231, ENG-241, ENG-261, ENG-271, ENV-110, ENV-120, FLI-3712, FLI-3714, FLI-3715, FLI-3720, GEL-111, GEO-111, GEO-112, GEO-113, HIS-111, HIS-112, HIS-131, HIS-132, HRD-3008, HUM-130, JOU-110, LAT-111, LAT-112, MAT-110, MAT-121, MAT-122, MAT-171, MAT-271, MKT-227, MUS-110, MUS-121, NUR-3100, PHY-101, PHY-110, PHY-131, PHY-132, POL-120, PSY-150, SGD-112, SGD-3200, SOC-210, SPA-110, WEB-210, and WEB-3000.
Technology Note: Many of the resources in this series use embedded Flash elements within the modules. You should be sure to configure your web browser to accept embedded Flash content.
To access these resources, you can do any of the following:
- Since these resources are open, you can access the series via Guest Access here: Georgia Virtual Learning or log into the NCLOR and click on the More button on the left menu bar. Then click the Open Educational Resource Series link and then click the Georgia Virtual Learning link.
- If you are K-14 faculty, you can add the links to the resources directly to your LMS based course. (learn how)
NCLOR Tutorials Updated
Recently the NCLOR tutorials have been updated with new assessment material. At the end of each tutorial, a page named “Check Your Understanding” has been added. The check your understanding assessments are for user guidance only and meant to reinforce important NCLOR concepts.
The new “Check Your Understanding” assessment pages have been added to the following tutorials:
- Using the NCLOR with Blackboard 9.1x
- Using the NCLOR with Moodle 2.8 & Higher
- Using the NCLOR with Canvas
- Searching the NCLOR Using Basic, Advanced and Browse
- How to Contribute
- Resource Management
The instructions below explain some the features within the assessments and how to access the exercises from the tutorials.
On any tutorial, click “Check Your Understanding” link and then click the “Start the exercise” link.
After the quiz page is displayed, click the “Next” button to begin the exercise.
After submitting the exercise, you can review your results by clicking on the “View your score” link or you can click the “Submit another response” to complete the exercise again.
Near the top of the results page, you can view your score for each attempt.
Passing the assessments is not a prerequisite for NCLOR access but is recommended for user success.
All scores are anonymous and are not shared with any third party.
NCLOR Slowness Reported
The NCLOR server is performing slowly this morning. The NCLOR team is currently investigation the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
NCLOR Manager
NCLOR Application Update Complete
The NCLOR Equella application update scheduled for 5:10 pm, Tuesday, January 3rd completed without incident. The repository is functioning normally in version 6.4. QA3.
Thank-you,
NCLOR Staff
