{"id":1737,"date":"2012-02-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-02-14T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/an-oer-toolkit-for-expanding-blended-learning\/"},"modified":"2019-12-16T12:53:51","modified_gmt":"2019-12-16T17:53:51","slug":"an-oer-toolkit-for-expanding-blended-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/an-oer-toolkit-for-expanding-blended-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"An OER Toolkit for Expanding Blended Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Late last month, I blogged<\/a> about the Utah State Office of Education\u2019s new initiative to support open\u00a0textbooks, a type of open educational resource (OER) enabling learning materials to be made available\u00a0online for free through open licenses.<\/p>\n

This week, while attending the Next Generation Learning Challenges <\/a>(NGLC) Wave I grantees convening\u00a0in Austin, Texas, I had the opportunity to learn about an open toolkit resource to aid in the development\u00a0and scaling of blended learning programs.<\/p>\n

The OER project, created by the University of Central Florida (UCF<\/a>) and the American Association of\u00a0State Colleges and Universities (AASCU<\/a>), with funding from the NGLC, is called the \u201cBlended Learning\u00a0Toolkit,\u201d which seeks to provide higher education institutions and instructors with a guide for developing\u00a0and managing blended and online learning programs.<\/p>\n

Yet, while the Blended Learning Toolkit<\/a> may have been developed by university experts for higher\u00a0education, it also serves as a valuable resource for school districts and teachers interested in\u00a0implementing blended and online learning programs in K-12 education.<\/p>\n

Pointing out that there is no \u201cone size fits all\u201d process for developing a blended or online learning course,\u00a0the OER project provides useful insights, examples and approaches to consider when establishing a\u00a0program. The toolkit resources include:<\/p>\n