2. Open Educational Resources (OER)¶

2.1. Vision¶

WHG aims to elevate its educational resources from internal Lesson Plans to formal Open Educational Resources (OER) Publications, enhancing visibility and accessibility while participating in the broader open educational materials ecosystem.

2.2. Strategic Goals¶

Become a node in the Open Metadata Exchange (OME)
- Integration with the OME network as outlined in WHG PLACE Issue #76
- Enable discovery of WHG OER through federated search
- Contribute metadata to the commons
Align with OER standards and best practices
- Adopt Creative Commons licensing
- Implement structured metadata (schema.org, LOM, Dublin Core)
- Enable reuse, remix, and redistribution
Increase discoverability
- Indexable by OER repositories (MERLOT, OER Commons, OpenStax)
- Searchable via specialized OER search engines
- Linked from discipline-specific resources (history, geography, digital humanities)

2.3. Technical Requirements¶

2.3.1. OER Metadata Schema¶

2.3.1.1. Required Fields (schema.org/Course and schema.org/LearningResource)¶

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Course",
  "name": "Mapping the Silk Road: Networks and Trade",
  "description": "A digital history lesson using WHG data to explore...",
  "courseCode": "WHG-OER-001",
  "provider": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "World Historical Gazetteer",
    "url": "https://whgazetteer.org"
  },
  "educationalLevel": ["undergraduate", "graduate"],
  "timeRequired": "PT2H",
  "inLanguage": "en",
  "learningResourceType": ["lesson plan", "tutorial", "interactive exercise"],
  "about": ["history", "geography", "digital humanities", "linked data"],
  "teaches": [
    "spatial analysis of historical trade networks",
    "working with linked place data",
    "temporal querying of historical sources"
  ],
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "isAccessibleForFree": true,
  "datePublished": "2026-03-15",
  "dateModified": "2026-04-10",
  "author": [
    {
      "@type": "Person",
      "name": "Jane Scholar",
      "affiliation": "University Example"
    }
  ],
  "hasPart": [
    {
      "@type": "CreativeWork",
      "name": "Dataset: Silk Road Cities",
      "url": "https://whgazetteer.org/datasets/12345"
    },
    {
      "@type": "CreativeWork",
      "name": "Place Collection: Trade Routes",
      "url": "https://whgazetteer.org/collections/67890"
    }
  ],
  "educationalUse": ["assignment", "group work", "research project"],
  "interactivityType": "mixed",
  "isBasedOn": {
    "@type": "CreativeWork",
    "name": "WHG Place Collection",
    "url": "https://whgazetteer.org/collections/67890"
  }
}

2.3.1.2. Open Metadata Exchange (OME) Specifics¶

Based on OME documentation, WHG needs:

OAI-PMH Endpoint (Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting)
```
https://whgazetteer.org/oer/oai-pmh
```
- Serves OER metadata in Dublin Core and schema.org formats
- Supports selective harvesting (by date, by collection)
- Implements resumption tokens for large result sets
LOM (Learning Object Metadata) Support
- IEEE LOM or LOM-compatible metadata
- Export as XML for OER repositories
LRMI (Learning Resource Metadata Initiative) Properties
- Use schema.org/LRMI vocabulary
- Educational alignment (to standards, competencies)
- Accessibility metadata

2.3.2. Data Model Extensions¶

2.3.2.1. New Django Model: OERPublication¶

class OERPublication(models.Model):
    """
    Represents a publishable OER based on WHG resources
    """
    # Core metadata
    title = models.CharField(max_length=500)
    description = models.TextField()
    course_code = models.CharField(max_length=50, unique=True)  # WHG-OER-###
    
    # Educational metadata
    educational_level = ArrayField(models.CharField(max_length=50))  # undergraduate, graduate, etc.
    learning_resource_type = ArrayField(models.CharField(max_length=50))  # lesson, tutorial, etc.
    time_required = models.DurationField()  # ISO 8601 duration
    language = models.CharField(max_length=10, default='en')
    
    # Content metadata
    subject_keywords = ArrayField(models.CharField(max_length=100))
    learning_objectives = ArrayField(models.TextField())
    educational_use = ArrayField(models.CharField(max_length=50))  # assignment, group work, etc.
    interactivity_type = models.CharField(max_length=50)  # active, expositive, mixed
    
    # Licensing
    license = models.CharField(max_length=200, default='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/')
    is_accessible_for_free = models.BooleanField(default=True)
    
    # Authorship
    authors = models.ManyToManyField(User, related_name='oer_publications')
    organization = models.CharField(max_length=200, default='World Historical Gazetteer')
    
    # Dates
    date_published = models.DateField()
    date_modified = models.DateField(auto_now=True)
    
    # Relationships to WHG content
    based_on_collection = models.ForeignKey(Collection, null=True, blank=True)
    uses_datasets = models.ManyToManyField(Dataset)
    references_places = models.ManyToManyField(Place)
    
    # OER-specific
    oai_identifier = models.CharField(max_length=200, unique=True)  # oai:whgazetteer.org:oer:001
    educational_framework = models.CharField(max_length=200, blank=True)  # e.g., "Common Core", "ACRL"
    target_audience = ArrayField(models.CharField(max_length=100))
    
    # Files/resources
    lesson_plan_pdf = models.FileField(upload_to='oer/lesson_plans/')
    supplementary_materials = models.FileField(upload_to='oer/supplementary/', blank=True)
    
    # Status
    status = models.CharField(max_length=20, choices=[
        ('draft', 'Draft'),
        ('review', 'Under Review'),
        ('published', 'Published'),
        ('archived', 'Archived')
    ])
    
    # Usage tracking
    views = models.IntegerField(default=0)
    downloads = models.IntegerField(default=0)
    
    class Meta:
        ordering = ['-date_published']

2.3.3. API Endpoints¶

2.3.3.1. OAI-PMH Endpoint¶

GET /oer/oai-pmh?verb=ListRecords&metadataPrefix=oai_dc
GET /oer/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&identifier=oai:whgazetteer.org:oer:001&metadataPrefix=oai_dc
GET /oer/oai-pmh?verb=ListIdentifiers&from=2026-01-01&until=2026-06-30
GET /oer/oai-pmh?verb=ListSets

2.3.3.2. RESTful OER API¶

GET /api/oer/                    # List all published OERs
GET /api/oer/{id}/               # Get specific OER with full metadata
GET /api/oer/{id}/schema-org/    # Get schema.org JSON-LD
GET /api/oer/{id}/lom/            # Get LOM XML
GET /api/oer/search?q=silk+road  # Search OERs
GET /api/oer/by-level/{level}/   # Filter by educational level

2.3.4. Frontend Components¶

2.3.4.1. OER Gallery Page¶

https://whgazetteer.org/oer/

Features:

Browse published OERs with rich previews
Filter by subject, educational level, resource type
Search across metadata
View usage statistics
Download in multiple formats (PDF, web, LOM, schema.org)

2.3.4.2. OER Detail Page¶

https://whgazetteer.org/oer/{course-code}/

Includes:

Full metadata display
Embedded lesson plan viewer
Links to associated WHG collections/datasets
Download options
Citation information
Related OERs
Usage/remix examples (if available)
Embedded schema.org JSON-LD for SEO

2.3.5. Integration Points¶

2.3.5.1. With Existing WHG Features¶

Collection Groups → OER Publications
- Outstanding student collections can be elevated to OERs
- Instructor-created collections become lesson plans
- Add educational metadata during elevation
Place Collections → OER Components
- Collections serve as foundational content
- OER wraps collection with pedagogical framing
- Collection remains independently accessible
Dataset Collections → Case Studies
- Multi-dataset gazetteers become research examples
- Demonstrate data integration workflows
- Teach reconciliation and data quality

2.3.5.2. With External OER Repositories¶

Submission workflow:

MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching)
- Manual submission with WHG OAI-PMH identifier
- MERLOT harvests metadata
- WHG page becomes authoritative source
OER Commons
- API-based submission
- Metadata push via OER Commons API
- Automatic updates on revision
OpenStax
- Partner integration for discipline-specific resources
- History and Geography sections
Discipline-specific repositories
- H-Net (History)
- AAG (Geography)
- DHCommons (Digital Humanities)

2.3.6. Workflow for Creating OERs¶

graph TD
    A[Instructor creates Collection] --> B[Request OER elevation]
    B --> C[WHG Staff Review]
    C --> D{Approved?}
    D -->|Yes| E[Add educational metadata]
    D -->|No| F[Provide feedback]
    F --> A
    E --> G[Generate lesson plan template]
    G --> H[Instructor completes pedagogy]
    H --> I[WHG editorial review]
    I --> J{Publish?}
    J -->|Yes| K[Publish as OER]
    J -->|No| F
    K --> L[Register with OME]
    L --> M[Submit to OER repositories]
    M --> N[Monitor usage]

2.3.8. Success Metrics¶

Discoverability:

Number of OER repositories indexing WHG resources
Search engine referrals to OER pages
OAI-PMH harvest requests per month

Usage:

OER page views
Lesson plan downloads
API requests for OER metadata
Remixes/derivatives created

Community:

Number of published OERs
Number of contributing instructors
Instructor satisfaction scores
Student collection elevations

2.3.9. Sustainability Considerations¶

Content Maintenance:

Annual review of published OERs
Update outdated examples
Refresh links to WHG collections (may have been updated)
Revise based on user feedback

Technical Maintenance:

Monitor OAI-PMH endpoint uptime
Update metadata schemas as standards evolve
Maintain compatibility with OER repository harvesters
Archive retired OERs (but keep metadata harvestable)

Funding:

Seek OER grants (e.g., Hewlett Foundation, Creative Commons)
Partner with libraries and academic institutions
Integrate with library OER programs

2.3.10. Documentation Needs¶

For Instructors:

“How to Elevate Your Collection to an OER”
“Writing Learning Objectives for WHG OERs”
“Choosing the Right Creative Commons License”

For Developers:

“OAI-PMH API Documentation”
“Integrating WHG OER into Your LMS”
“Harvesting WHG Metadata for OER Aggregators”

For Administrators:

“OER Review and Approval Guidelines”
“Managing OER Lifecycle”
“Monitoring OER Impact”