Resource making

What is it?

Resource making integrates learning with the creation of a product that can act as a reference for the group or for the use of future students. The resource can be anything from a knowledge base to a video designed to assist students to practise a particular skill. Building a wiki, for example, can involve students researching information and applying knowledge collaboratively within a document template to create a resource such as a topic guide or a ‘how to ...’. Audiovisual media can be produced by students as a highly engaging way for them to practise and then demonstrate best practice of a skill. Social bookmarking sites can create comprehensive and organised references, which in turn become a resource for research or keeping up-to-date.

Pros and cons

The process of building a resource leads to higher levels of engagement with the subject matter than when students are presented with existing resources as references for assessment.
Allows students the chance to practise other vital skills while simultaneously learning about a given topic. For example, the building of a resource involves a myriad of skills such as critical analysis of material, organisation and time-management skills, teamwork and written and verbal communication.
The resource created can be maintained for use and comparison by future student groups.
Asking students to build their own resources can be far more time consuming than the alternative of presenting them with prepared resources. The approach is more suited to complex subjects where a deep level of learning is involved.

Fit for purpose?

Appropriate for use with more difficult topics or skills. Having to explain something to someone else can help students to understand which aspects of the subject they have not fully grasped.

If longevity of the resource is required, this approach is better suited to fairly static subject matter.

Find out more

For more ideas of how this strategy can work in practice, go to the following case studies:

Podcasting – Sharing and creating with podcasts, Rosa Ochoa
Podcasting – Oral history with podcasts, Phil Wood
Social bookmarking – Sharing and making resources with social bookmarking, Peter Shanks
Wikis – Sharing and making resources with wikis, Andrew Kidd
Wikis – Resource making and media sharing with wikis, Glen Campbell