Learning Objectives

• Identify sources for high-quality instructional materials, including those labeled open access.
• Explore INFOhio's sources for finding high-quality instructional materials. 

Open access instructional materials and Open Education Resources (OER) are prevalent on the web. These are freely available from a variety of sources, including FishTank Learning, ReadWriteThink, and iCivics. Open access materials  don't necessarily include a Creative Commons license. Users may not be able to revise, remix, or redistribute these materials. OER include a license and educators can revise, remix, or resubmitt them.

Finding and using the best instructional materials for students can be difficult. Using the Instructional Materials Rubric, INFOhio has evaluated many of these materials to streamline their use in classrooms. Learn more about INFOhio's collections of reviewed instructional materials from INFOhio and how to share them with other educators. 

Find these INFOhio tools by clicking on Educators on the homepage of the INFOhio site. 

Ohio Quality Instructional Materials Hub

Quality instructional materials key in ensuring each child is successful in school.  The Ohio Quality Instructional Materials Hub includes reviewed and endorsed, high-quality curriculums as well as supplemental open-access instructional materials.

This hub is a part of Open Space, INFOhio's instructional material creation and curation space. To learn more about creating an account and using Open Space, take the Open Space class. 

The Ohio Quality Instructional Materials Hub includes endorsed instructional materials that have been carefully reviewed by trained Instructional Materials Reviewers. These reviewers are educators from around Ohio. As materials are submitted to Open Space, the Instructional Materials Reviewers evaluate the materials using the Ohio Quality Instructional Materials Rubric. Their goal isto determine whether they meet the needs of students, including standards alignment, research-based strategies, usability, and flexibility. 

The Hub includes only Reviewed items that have earned an endorsement. There are two possible endorsements based on the strengths of the materials. Some items receive both endorsements.  

Educators can search for the right instructional materials to supplement their curriculum using keywords. Using limiters such as standards, content areas, and providers to refine these searches provides the best results. 

To explore the resource, click View Resource. The Hub epmphasizes the endorsed content, placing the resource in easy reach when browsing or searching. 

Educators can study the resource’s full review for more information that helps them decide whether to include this supplemental lesson. The review will include helpful information, including the criteria that will support the individual needs of an educator and their students. 

Instructional Materials Reviews 

Instructional Materials Reviews is a collection of all reviewed instructional materials, while the Hub includes only those with endorsements. This collection allows educators to search by keywords using the rubric category as a limiter.  

The reviews take center stage in this collection. Quick views of the critieria met will help busy educators decide whether to use the instructional material, or leave it out. For example, if a curriculum director has been tasked with providing instructional materials tied to research-based strategies, using this tool will lead them to appropriate resources. 

 Deciding Which Tool to Use

Consider this chart when you need to find an instructional material to supplement your curriculum. Each tool has its own strengths, though they share common features.

Reflecting on Your Learning

1. Think of a lesson for which you need supplemental instructional materials to support or scaffold learning.
2. Search the Ohio Reviewed Instructional Materials Hub and Instructional Materials Reviews by keyword. Use the limiters to explore instructional materials that are high quality and can supplement your lesson or curriculum.