The OnCoRe Blueprint Project

The OnCoRe (Online Content Repository) Blueprint is a guide to groups who are developing a statewide, educational repository. Repositories are systems created to house and manage digital resources, facilitate the discovery of existing resources, and enable their sharing and reuse. Because such repositories are often quite large, encompassing statewide, regional, or national systems, multiple levels of appearance, accessibility, and control mechanisms are important issues.

A commonly cited reason for creating a repository is the need to efficiently and economically share information and resources. Often groups within a state suffer from a "silo effect" in which many groups are functioning independently-frequently on similar projects-without any knowledge of what work others may be doing in the same area. Each group generates resources and stores the output in "silos" accessible only by the group members and possibly a few others. Such a system fosters a lack of communication among communities and institutions working similar projects, creates barriers to collaboration, and results in duplication of efforts. Unfortunately, this situation is typical of most states' attempts to share digital resources. Many teams at various statewide institutions are engaged in similar efforts to produce digital content aimed at teaching the same or similar concepts. Repositories allow the central storage of digital products from a variety of institutions, organizations, and disciplines. The repository then becomes a searchable "warehouse" for statewide users to search for, locate, and use or adapt its resources to meet their instructional or institutional needs.

Consider this example of this "silo vs. warehouse" approach. A professor at a university creates a computer animation illustrating a specific concept in mathematics. If the animation remains stored on the faculty member's computer and used only in his courses, its full benefit as a resource to the education community is not realized. A math instructor at a community college looking for material on that same content in her class may devote time and energy to either searching the Web for content or creating her own substantially similar resource. A statewide repository serving all educational institutions would enable the university professor to make his animation not only accessible to the community college instructor, but to anyone else teaching the same concepts. The community college instructor could easily locate the resource and use it as-is or adapt it to meet her particular needs. If she adapts the resource, she can place her adaptation in the same repository to share with others. Thus, the state eliminates the duplication of effort in recreating existing digital content, and instructors use their time and energies more efficiently.

With such a repository, an unlimited number of educators share quality, reusable learning resources, enabling students at multiple levels to understand a specific concept. For example, a lesson on algebraic equations could be used in an advanced middle school or high school Algebra class, a community college nursing course, an evening GED class, or even in an entry-level business course.With digital learning resources, instructors may use a variety of visual, auditory, or tactical/kinesthetic teaching strategies to present and explain difficult concept-of great assistance to students who may not all learn the same way.

The Blueprint facilitates resource sharing by assisting others in their creation of educational repositories available to all stakeholders in a state's higher education system. The Blueprint is organized into three major sections arranged chronologically in the progression of the creation of a repository:

• Planning
• Initial Implementation
• Growth and Sustainability

Within each section are recommended steps and the expected results, as well as links to any relevant resources. Each section of the Blueprint uses actual experiences from the Orange Grove and other repository projects to illustrate how ideas discussed in the Blueprint were applied.

As your group will discover in examining these resources, different repositories have taken a variety of pathways to implementation. Each project's context, resources, and goals are different. We, therefore, urge your group to carefully examine each recommended component and consider its value to your state's project. We also invite you to share any insights your group may gain during your project, including additional steps, resources, or case examples that will help this Blueprint continue to flexibly conform to a changing repository landscape and be an ongoing, useful resource.