OER Authoring Tool

The Digital Marketplace has partnered with an OER authoring tool provider, SoftChalk, making it easier for faculty to create their own OER materials and store them in the CSU repository, the Works.

With SoftChalk, faculty can create, publish, and share content as open educational resources (OER). If you choose, you can publish your materials on the web for easy discovery and peer review within the MERLOT community, and/or store them in the CSU repository, the Works. The DM authoring tools are also design to produce instructional materials that are accessible – section 508 compliant and can be "packaged" as IMS Common Cartridges for easy integration into learning management systems.

The CSU also supports two free OER authoring tools:

Pachyderm external link - an open source, server-based development system that grew from a partnership led by The New Media Consortium(NMC) and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), and funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Pachyderm can produce accessible online learning materials when authors follow accessibility guidelines. Pachyderm is the authoring tool used to create video stories for the MERLOT ELXIR external link project.

MERLOT Content Builder external link –a set of free, web-based tools that are designed for people just beginning to author online content. The MERLOT Content Builder has been adapted by MERLOT from the Carnegie Foundation’s KEEP Toolkit and can be used by any registered MERLOT member. The Content Builder can produce accessible online learning materials when authors follow accessibility guidelines and enables authors to apply Creative Commons licenses easily.

For more information, contact Lou Zweier.