NDLR FAQs

 

Q1. What is the NDLR?

The NDLR is a HEA funded pilot project between Irish Universities and the Institutes of Technology to support the collaboration and sharing of learning and teaching resources. The NDLR project is investigating a framework to enable development and sharing of digital learning resources between the seven Universities of Ireland, Dublin Institute of Technology and the thirteen Institutes of Technology.  The NDLR is a free and open online community of resources designed primarily for faculty of higher education in Ireland to share their learning materials and pedagogy.

The NDLR project goal has not changed significantly from the pilot phase of the project. The project remains focussed on:

• Producing a full ongoing repository service for “Teaching and Learning Resources”
• Developing and supporting communities of academics in different academic disciplines

Q2. Is the NDLR free?

A. Yes, NDLR is a free online service providing access to teaching and learning resources available for everyone.

Q3. Do I need to register to use the NDLR?

You are required to register for the NDLR. You can either sign in using the educate agreement this means that you sign in using your institutional email and password. The second option is to register for an account. You can do this by providing your email and you will receive log in details to your email account.

Q4. Who can use the NDLR?

The NDLR collection is free to use for everyone, resources have been offered by staff or Institutions from institutes of Higher Education in Ireland (7 universities, DIT and the 21 ITs).

Q5. What are the copyright terms of use?

The NDLR service is based on the delivery, development and support of open educational resources (OER1). To facilitate this, the NDLR now supports the use of Creative Commons (CC) Licenses and thus is aligned with the core principles ofccLearn2. The fundamental change to the usage of the NDLR is provided by the ‘open access’ to its resources via a new environment.

This means that anyone, anywhere may view and utilise the resources therein under the CC Licence permissions. Looking to the future, the NDLR OER Service should enable the collaborative development of resources across the education sector in Ireland and internationally, embracing partnerships with research and industry. To facilitate the cross walk from the pilot to the new service a number of pathways have been established.

• Review License Conditions
• Open Educational Resources and Creative Commons Licensing

Q6. How can I deposit a resource?

A quick guide on depositing resources into NDLR is available here: http://www.ndlr.ie/artefact/file/download.php?file=625

Q7. Who can upload resources to the NDLR?

Teaching and support staff can upload resources to the NDLR.

Q8. What sort of resources can I upload?

Users can upload a variety of resources ranging from simple one-file assets and links (for example a single photograph or graphic), to more complex learning objects (for example audio files and video clips). 

Q9. Is there a restriction on file sizes and file types?

If your resource type is not listed, the NDLR team still may be available to ingest it into the repository upon request. NDLR is flexible in the size of files that can be contributed. However, for larger files (greater than 20 MB) the NDLR team will work in consultation with the depositor of that material, for example someone who wished to deposit large video files. Email helpdesk@ndlr.ie so that we can get in touch and discuss your needs.