Before you start creating your own Open Educational Resources (OER), it is advisable to clarify the following questions:

• Which target group do I want to reach?
• What (learning) goals do I want my learners to achieve?
• What content is necessary to achieve the goals? Which key topics need to be communicated?
• Does the resource I need already exist or could I convert some of my teaching materials into an OER?

Other aspects to consider when creating your own OER materials:Bevor Sie mit dem Erstellen eigener Open Educational Resources (OER) beginnen, empfiehlt es sich, folgende Fragen zu klären:

• Project planning
• Licensing or copyright. Only by choosing the right licence, you do create a proper OER.
• Make content accessible: Make the content of your OER easily accessible to all learners. If you consider this from the beginning, it is easier than after the fact. There are checklists to help you do this.
• Design adaptably: The more modular your content is structured, the easier it is for others to re-use it in the future. For example, if you record a 15-minute video and want to change it later, you may have to redo the whole video. If you have created three small videos of five minutes each, you can make updates without having to redo everything. If possible, make your resource available in an open file format that is sustainable in the long term.
• Credits: If other people contribute to the OER, clarify which naming is desired (for example, all individual names or a team name).
• Evaluate and seek feedback: Consider the creation, but also the adaptation and updating of OER as an iterative and interactive process. It can be helpful to discuss your OER with colleagues before publishing to ensure high quality. Evaluate your resource yourself and ask colleagues to evaluate your resource using a checklist for example.
• Make accessible/discoverable through publication: Think about how you want to disseminate your OER.

A host of tools can support you in creating OER. There is also a wide range of training materials for creating OER.

Tip: You can get a first overview for planning an OER project with the OER Canvas (PDF). The canvas should be printed out in A3 format and is filled in, starting with the project title, first on the left-hand side (more detailed description of the planned educational resource), then on the right-hand side, which is more devoted to the aspects of project management. Especially for larger projects with many stakeholders, the Canvas can be a good basis for discussion.