“Academic repositories are open source resources that are usually available for free.”
Academic repositories are open source resources that are usually available for free. When they are free, the materials they feature can be shared, adapted and reused as often as the need arises.
In case they are not free, individuals who have prospects of accessing the materials on the platforms have remit a certain amount of money to be granted access.
Over the years, numerous online educational platforms have been unveiled.
Each of them comes with its own features depending on the audience of academicians for which it is intended.
There are many facts about academic repositories that most people do not know.
The following is a collection of some of the most notable facts about repositories that most people do not know.
“Most people do realize that repositories actually require funding although they are available for free. “
They Require Funding
Most people do realize that repositories actually require funding although they are available for free.
The people that make sure such resources are available for free also spend colossal sums of money on maintaining and populating the platforms with materials.
If you have the capacity to improve such platforms, you can do well to make a donation. Some repositories may not yet be available to academicians in all parts of the worlds.
This may be due to the lack of financial resources to facilitate their expansion. Therefore, you can help to make such resources available to individuals in other parts of the world by making a donation.
Under normal circumstances, the amount money that most academicians donate is usually minimal. This is mainly because there are several others out there that are willing to make donations.
The collective efforts of many well-wishers is what leads to the fulfillment of the goals of most platforms.
They Are Usually Specific
A good number of repositories are actually very specific.
The projects are designed for specific individuals ranging from basic learners, advanced students to instructors and researchers.
Perfect examples of open online academic platforms that are specifically for certain groups of people are indicated below.
- EdX: This is a large library of courses meant for college students. The courses are made by available by some of the most reputable universities in the world including Harvard, MIT and Oxford. A good number of the course materials are readily available for sharing and reusing.
- Bridge To Success: This is a large collection of study skills that are meant for students who are about to go into college. High school students taking foundational college courses often make use of this platform.
- Freebooks4Doctors: This is online platforms that are meant for medical doctors. It features a plethora of books that are meant for medical doctors. Therefore, this site for meant for medical doctors only and is testimony to the specific nature of repositories.
They May Not Always Have Complete Resources
In case you did not know, the various online open learning platform do not always complete books.
In some cases, they actually have resources that are not available in full. A perfect example is Google Books.
This is an online resource featuring a wide pool of scanned academic documents and books. A good number of them are excerpted from the main books, while a few others are available in full. It is perfect for citation.
“You may find this shocking, but it is actually very true.”
Most Of Them Do Not Provide Learning Objects In Standardized Formats
You may find this shocking, but it is actually very true. There are countless online learning resources that are yet to adopt this manner of presenting learning objects.
A good number of open learning platforms lack this creativity and innovativeness. But, it is something that has proven to be quite reliable in as far as streamlining access to information is concerned. It enables academicians to easily access educational materials in convenient and seamless manner.
Presenting learning objects in the form of IMS packaging comes with countless advantages. First of all, it allows for the quick transfer of electronic leaning materials from one online platform to another.
This means that users can easily transfer learning materials to another platform if they see fit provided the contents of the site are in the IMS packaging format.
Another advantage that comes with the use of the IMS format is that it enables users to export or import content to and from any compatible learning management system. In this way, the materials can be edited as often as the need arises. It is worth bearing in mind the fact that IMS packaging formats are not the explicit way of presenting learning objects on an electronic learning platform. Rather, they are just some of the best ways such learning tools can be stored and made available to the intended users.
Other versions of tools or methods for presenting learning objects are in existence and are used by many open repository sites.
They Can Be Used To Obtain College Skills
Most people do not realize that there are certain open repositories that can be used to obtain skills that are otherwise available to college students. Suppose you do not have prospects of acquiring a degree in a specific field of study but you wish to use certain academic skills in your life, you can take advantage of open learning resources.
Similarly, you can also follow this course of action if you do not yet have the means of financing your studies in a particular field whose knowledge you would like to use. A good number of people around the world have been able to make use of reliable academic information despite not having a qualification in those fields.
There are various open learning platforms that you can target to achieve this. A perfect example is the MIT Open Courseware platform. It provides a plethora of learning materials for students, instructors and enthusiasts. There are learning materials in various academic fields including engineering, architecture and social sciences.