Existing OER Projects

Naturally when undertaking a new project, it's only smart to look around at existing projects. By no means is this the first project to undertake an introduction to OER. As Leigh Blackall pointed out, there's a great course from Wikiversity and WikiEducator. There's also some helpful information from OLCOS. 

Why this handbook is different:

1. It's designed for hand-holding - Not that other tutorials don't address the beginner, but I'm hoping this handbook will have plenty of screenshots to guide the user.
   
2. It's a handbook - Many of the resources available are in course format. Courses work great for some, but there's also a need for something that can printed off and distributed and used as a textbook.
3. It's time to take a look around - Wikiversity has great background information, OLCOS has solid terminology explanations. I think it's time to look around and bring the best of each resource together.

I'm convinced that this project can happily work with existing projects. In fact, I hope that this project will further its predecessors. The vitality of a community can be gauged by how well it accepts new members. If this project reaches its potential, I believe we will have significantly helped the OER community.

If you aren't able to help, please get the word out on mailing lists, blogs and any other method you think is appropriate. We need as much help as possible.