Using and Creating Open Educational Materials

3. Open Educational Resources (OER) Repositories

Open Educational Resources (OER) can be found or published in an institutional repository and in some of the specialized global repositories for open educational resources, such as OER Commons or DABAR.

In Croatia, the repository DABAR – Digital Academic Archives and Repositories plays a key role in the storage and promotion of open educational resources. This national system serves higher education institutions and their employees for storing various digital materials created through their work, including open educational resources. DABAR is an excellent example of the synergy of openness. It is built on open-source software, which not only reduces development costs but also encourages transparency and collaboration. At the same time, the system contributes to a significant increase in the visibility and accessibility of educational materials created within the Croatian higher education system. By searching the DABAR repository, teachers can find an abundance of high-quality open educational resources for their teaching. SRCE (University Computing Centre) is the institution responsible for the creation and maintenance of DABAR.

In the context of openness in higher education, another system maintained by SRCE also has an important task – the HRČAK system, the portal of Croatian scientific journals. HRČAK is a central portal that provides open access to Croatian scientific journals, allowing for free searching and reading of articles. Thus, it significantly contributes to the visibility of Croatian scientific production and facilitates the exchange of knowledge within the academic and wider community.

SRCE also maintains the national e-learning platform, Merlin. This platform allows institutions within the higher education system in the Republic of Croatia to open e-courses and receive support for their development and upgrade. Merlin is an important resource for the digitalisation of teaching because it is based on the open-source software Moodle. The use of Moodle provides Merlin with flexibility, adaptability, and continuous improvement thanks to the global community of developers who support it. In this way, Merlin significantly contributes to the development and implementation of modern teaching methods in Croatian higher education.

Figure 3: View of the Merlin Home Page

OER Commons is a dynamic digital library that offers free access to thousands of educational materials. It serves as a central hub where teachers, students, and self-directed learners can find, use, remix, and share open educational resources for all levels of education – from preschool to higher education.

This platform allows users to search for materials by subject, educational level, and resource type (e.g., textbooks, lesson plans, videos, interactive activities) and licences. All content on OER Commons is available under open licences, most often CC licences, which guarantees its free use, adaptation, and distribution. In addition to serving as a repository, OER Commons also encourages the creation of a community around OER. Teachers can share their own materials, rate and comment on those of others, and engage in discussions about the best practices for the application and development of open educational resources. In this way, OER Commons not only facilitates access to resources but also encourages active collaboration and knowledge sharing in a global educational context.

Figure 4: View of the OER Commons Home Page