Radical Online Resource: MERLOT

In today's blog post, I'll be discussing a wonderful and jam-packed tool called Merlot. I was introduced to some of the wonderful features of this resource at a recent Online Learning Consortium conference and have been in love with it ever since. Learn more about it in today's blog post.

The MERLOT system provides access to curated online learning and support materials and content creation tools, led by an international community of educators, learners and researchers. It is an amazing Open Educational Resource that can be used by educators and students alike.

Some of the wonderful features of MERLOT are:

• A huge database of resources that can be searched by keyword, type of resource, and more
• The ability to create custom collections of resources
• Tools for creating and sharing learning materials

I have even used the MERLOT repository to create an e-portfolio with samples of some of my innovative teaching practices that I plan to use in my tenure and promotion package.

I have found textbooks, syllabi, lesson plans, activities, and more in the MERLOT database. And because it is open source, anyone can upload materials to share. So if you can't find what you're looking for, you could always create it yourself and upload it for others to use.

This is also a great system to allow students to upload their own OER documents and curate information from as well as I suggest in a previous blog post.

One of the additional features that I recently became aware of is the Virtual Speakers Bureau that they also provide. This is an excellent tool to browse when looking for a gust speaker for your class and one I will certainly be using in the near future!

The possibilities with MERLOT are truly endless!

What do you think of this resource? Do you have any other great resources on plagiarism or proper citation? Let me know in the The Online Nurse Educator Facebook group!