New website section explaining UOC learning resources
Subject: Multidisciplinary
Find out about the UOC's learning resources with some 20 videos; see what kinds there are, and how teaching staff choose them.
This new section of the Library website also includes examples of resources in different formats, such as websites, infographics and podcasts.
The UOC's new semester kicks off with 124,353 learning resources in its classrooms. There is a wide variety of content, including books, journals, manuals and software, which students must consult in order to pass their course assignments. Want to know what these learning resources are like? Find out in the new section of our Library website, containing some 40 videos and examples.
The UOC'S resources in four minutes
"The learning resources contain everything students need to be able to learn from and pass their courses." Sigalés explained that they can be text, audiovisual or multimedia in nature, that they have been carefully selected for the classrooms and are digital, accessible "anywhere, anytime".
Learning resources are one of the cornerstones of the UOC's education model, which, as Sivera explained, puts the focus on students' activities. Teaching staff prepare educational challenges based on professional practice, and design learning contents or commission new contents for students to overcome them.
When it comes to selecting resources, teaching staff take into account the course's subject matter, the quality of the contents, the skills that need to be developed and the profile of the typical UOC student, who combines their studies with a job: "we need to select resources that are engaging and allow students to enjoy learning", noted Guàrdia.
A large amount of the resources are produced here at the UOC, as if the university was a publisher or an audiovisual production house: "the classrooms have than 27,467 materials made by the university", remarked Simón. Other resources are found on the market and, in some cases, require the purchase of licences or the management of copyright issues.
What are the highlights?
Go to the new website section and find out what four members of our university community think about its learning resources.
Carla combines her studies with her career as a dancer in Germany. She has little time during the day, so one of the things she finds useful is that the UOC's resources are multi-format and, in some cases, can be listened to.
He highlighted the range of resources in and outside of the classroom: everything from animations for learning the basics of object-oriented programming to O'Reilly's books on computer science, available from the Library.
Ester said she likes how teaching staff select the resources and the fact that some materials are more theoretical and others more dynamic in nature. She also gave examples of content she found interesting.
From her dual perspective, she said she appreciated the resources' flexibility and the fact that they are digital, meaning any student can use them, wherever they are.
The goal: global, accessible and egalitarian resources
The UOC, as a diverse, inclusive university, works to ensure its learning resources provide a better reflection of this commitment. The new website section showcases a number of projects and initiatives:
- The UOC is working to ensure its courses' contents are more diverse and global and that everyone feels represented. The resources need to show society's diversity and make it more visible, and wherever possible, they must include examples and viewpoints of other cultural and social contexts from around the world.
- The UOC's Equality Plan 2020-2024 has the mission of ensuring that all courses have resources and contents that are free of gender bias and highlight the contribution of leading women. To this end, different actions are being carried out, with the participation of the Equality Unit and the UOC Library.
- The UOC’s mission is to facilitate lifelong education for all. The resources created at the UOC are provided in different formats to foster their use by students with disabilities. At the same time, we are working on the resources' accessibility, to provide new solutions meeting the needs of all our students.
Want to know more?
The What are the UOC's learning resources like? section provides other videos with additional information. For example, have you ever wondered how a classroom resource is made? Here, we explain to you the production process behind a resource made by the UOC, step by step.