MERLOT and AAEEBL Sign MOU

We are pleased to announce that AAEEBL and the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to co-promote and to begin a series of collaborations on academic initiatives.  AAEEBL and MERLOT enjoy a natural affinity in their goals for opening up education in ways that fit the spirit and capabilities of the time.

MERLOT’sgoal is to improve teaching and learning by providing open educational resources (OERs), high quality, peer-reviewed online materials that can be used in courses.  A free and open online community of resources designed primarily for faculty, staff and students of higher education from around the world, MERLOT is a leader in providing a user-centered collection of catalogued learning materials.  MERLOT holds an annual international conference and publishes JOLT (The Journal of Online Learning and Teaching).  MERLOT’s activities are based on collaboration with individual members, institutional partners, corporate partners, and editorial boards and include conferences, faculty development support services, online teaching and learning initiatives, and building and sustaining online academic communities.

“Having OERs available through a worldwide organization like MERLOT is ideal for the eportfolio community of practice,” said Trent Batson, AAEEBL executive director.  “One of the characteristics of the eportfolio movement is more emphasis on learner agency in their own learning.  Learners benefit from MERLOT’s extensive digital library that is searchable, open and free.  The OER movement is ideal for those using electronic portfolios to learn formally or informally.” 

AAEEBL and MERLOT, recognizing the spirit and reality of the Internet age, demonstrate a key aspect of digital-based knowledge processes:  knowledge is more than "content." Knowledge is constructed socially, in community through sharing.  AAEEBL and MERLOT will share in a number of collaborations to be announced in the coming months.

AAEEBL-MERLOT Resources

The MERLOT-AAEEBL eportfolio portal is somewhat of a landing website to enable people to share each other's resources easily and reliably.

Explore the MERLOT collection of eportfolio resources.

AAEEBL and MERLOT are building an "intersection" website within MERLOT on eportfolios that will make it easier for AAEEBL and MERLOT members to cross paths and resources.

Help build the open collection of resources about eportfolios.

(JWB - 6/7/11)