iBerry

 Plain English      This page is written in simple English to help language translation.

• Language Translation - If English is not your first language try the 'Google Translate' gadget on the right. Select your language and Google will give a translation. It will not be perfect but it is often better than nothing!
• Reading Pages and Making Comments - Pages in this website are often displayed in the form of lists where only a part of the page is displayed (for example, the Home Page or pages in the Open Courseware Directory such as 'Software'). If you want to see the whole page or make a comment click on the red heading in the white box or on, 'Read more'.
• Help! - Help on using the Open Education Directory can always be found by following the link, 'OPEN COURSEWARE (OCW)' at the top. Help on searching for Open Courseware is also found by following the link, OCW Search, at the top.
• Help us! - Many users of iBerry do not have English as their first language and it is difficult for us to find out what their needs are. Please contact iBerry if you have any comments or questions. If you would like to help iBerry in any way, see the 'Help Us' page.
  

Learner Support brings together links and other material supporting online learners.

See also websites offering online learner support such as forums, social networking etc.

This module from Connexions, 'What are Open Textbooks?' provides an overview of what open textbooks are, how they are created, and how you can participate.

Links to websites or blogs containing listings of open textbooks covering a range of subject areas are being posted here. Links to listings for specific subjects are being placed under the relevant subject heading in the Open Education Directory. Please help by suggesting suitable websites!

• The Assayer - catalog of books whose authors have made them available for free, submit reviews, find free books about math, science and computers
• Athabasca University (CA), AU Press - An Open Access Scholarly Press: Books, Journals, Website Publications, Publish with Us, News and Events, Links
• Bookboon - download free online textbooksin PDF without registration, textbooks are legal and written by academics from different European universities, financed by a few in-book ads
• Education-Portal.com - 40 Places to Find Free Unabridged Books Online: textbooks, audio books, full-text works of fiction and nonfiction
• Flat World Knowledge - publisher of free and open college textbooks, expanding catalog of top quality books by expert authors: Business & Economics, Humanities & Social Sciences, Science, Professional & Applied Sciences, Mathematics
• InTech - Open Access Publisher - multidisciplinary Open Access publisher of books and journals covering Science, Technology and Medicine, over 700 books free for everyone anywhere in the world
  . . . . . .

These websites offer online learner support such as forums, social networking etc. that extend beyond the usual Open Courseware format of pre-recorded lectures or notes. There is considerable diversity in what is on offer and what has been achieved and so it is not easy to form a basis for comparison (as we attempted in 2009). Comment from the users or owners of these sites would be particularly valuable. Any other constructive suggestions are also very welcome.

In the review comments I am deliberately viewing 'support' sites through the eyes of an online learner looking for support beyond basic Open Courseware at university or college level (eg. MIT's OpenCourseWare). It follows that a number of sites with different priorities and emphases, while innovative and excellent for their own purposes, may be less suitable for the online learner in Higher Education.

To see the full review comments first access Learner Support Websites and then click on the red-colored headings in the white boxes or on 'Read more' for each site.