Hi Geeta, BIG thanks for your help in supporting your peers on this course. It’s refreshing to see learners sharing their experience for the benefit of others taking this course. Thank you!
To add to the conversation, while it is “convenient” and easier to keep the same password for multiple sites, we don’t recommend this as good practice. Part of the DS4OERS course is to help participants improve skills for online hygiene and security.
A good practice it to ensure a unique (different) password for every website where you have an account. This can be a challenge for your memory, so we recommend the use of a password manager. Bitwarden is a good open source alternative we can recommend.
Perhaps we need a short course on using password managers
I do agree about not having the same password but when I started this course it was like going round and round and not achieving much at the beginning so that was the best I did to go forward…I can understand what some of the DS4OERS students must be going through. Also thanks for recommending password manager which I have been using. Yes surely I have learnt so much of ICT terms, platforms, free software and technology in the past three weeks which has been useful for our teaching and learning
Yes, I emphathise with the initial conclusion working with multiple websites. But you succeeded! Well done.
Our philosophy is to build digital fluencies using the tools of the internet. The internet comprises millions of websites, so building practical experience in managing multiple passwords is a valuable skills for the future.
Thanks for your committed and positive engagement throughout the course and hope to see you online in the future.
Digital skills refer to the ability to confidently and effectively use digital technologies including the internet to enhance teaching, learning, assessment, and professional practice. It refers to the technical ability to use digital tools from a practical perspective, for example navigating a digital platform or using social media for learning.
Digital literacy on the other hand refers to the broader ability to critically understand, evaluate, and create digital content and participate in digital environments, for example evaluating the credibility of online resources or creating meaning digital content for teaching and learning.
In summary, digital skills refers to the “how” - i.e how to used digital tools. Digital literacies refers the the “why” and “what it means” to use digital tools thoughtfully, responsibly and critical.
Living and working in a digital age means that both teachers and learners need to build digital skills and digital literacies as members of society.
In Teaching:
A teacher with digital skills can run a Zoom class and share resources online.
A teacher with digital literacies can teach students how to navigate online information responsibly, manage their digital identity, and collaborate effectively in digital environments.
Both are essential, but digital literacies go deeper — embedding skills in a framework of understanding, critical thinking, and responsible use.
This is my first time doing an online course like this. I’m trying to do the tasks given, but I feel lost while moving around this forum. Can you please guide me on how to follow the steps properly and where to find the right place to post or complete each activity?
Quality assurance refers to the systematic processes and practices a school uses to ensure that teaching, learning, and administrative activities meet established standards and continuously improve to support student success.
Consequently, quality assurance in digital learning ensures that online education is effective, accessible, and continuously improved to meet learners’ needs as well as pedagogical and institutional standards. In other words, quality assurance should be applied to both classroom and online teaching.
Thank you for your question. We do not require participants to purchase any software because the course is based entirely on free and open source software.
Hi everyone!
One course-specific question I have is: “What are the best practices for ensuring accessibility when creating and sharing Open Educational Resources (OERs)?”
I’m really curious about how we can make sure that OERs are inclusive and usable by learners with different needs and abilities — especially when using digital tools.
Also, I’d love to contribute a tip I’ve found helpful: Using Creative Commons licensed images from platforms like Pixabay or Unsplash makes it easier to keep your resources open and properly attributed.
Looking forward to learning and sharing more with you all!
Good question and thanks for posting here on the general support forum.
Accessibility and usability is equally important for OER. Per definition, OER is more accessible than closed proprietary resources because they are freely available, and in most cases educators will have the freedom to adapt tha materials to improve accessibility.
Iowa State University have published a resource on Accessibility and Usability of OER- this is a good place to start with the answer to your question.
I’ve been thinking a lot about accessibility in OERs and wanted to ask: What are some best practices for ensuring our resources are usable for learners with diverse needs and abilities? Digital tools offer great opportunities — how can we use them effectively?
Just realising that I am so inept when it comes to digital-skills, adjusting to a virtual-classroom takes time. I’m familiar with Moodle but OERS is a “different kettle of fish” altogether for me. I think OERS should be a full program & not just a short course as such. I feel there is so much to learn, much to adapt to and much more to master and since technology keeps evolving, we have to keep up at the same time. Tis overwhelming!
I do agree about not having the same password but when I started this course it was like going round and round and not achieving much at the beginning so that was the best I did to go forward…I can understand what some of the DS4OERS students must be going through. Also thanks for recommending password manager which I have been using. Yes surely I have learnt so much of ICT terms, platforms, free software and technology in the past three weeks which has been useful for our teaching and learning 
