The higher education (HE) health and life sciences audience is one of the largest sectors in the UK. The range of subjects is wide and departments and faculties often teach common subjects such as Biochemistry Anatomy or Physiology separately across a number of life sciences degree programmes. Within a large HE institution therefore it is not inconceivable that a subject might be covered hundreds of times a year. So the potential for reuse of educational resources is massive. On a global scale the potential is even larger with duplications of training of undergraduates and healthcare professionals. In Midwifery for example there is a nationally recognised requirement for better career promotional materials for prospective students nationally and internationally (Department of Health 2010).
In these case studies we will discuss three examples where HE institutions have developed health and life sciences resources and are releasing them as OER for cross-sector reuse. We will discuss emerging themes and make recommendations for the health-OER community.
These case studies were created by SCORE (Support Centre for Open Resources in Education) fellows as part of the joint HEA / JISC Open Educational Resources study; pedagogical development from OER practice.
