Navigating a rich collection of open educational resources can raise a simple question: Where to start?
The Camerise Communities Collection has been designed precisely with this challenge in mind, by providing a variety of easy access points. And thanks to a partnership between York University and eCampusOntario, the collection is available through the eCampusOntario Open Library.
Whether you’ve just started your training, you’re early in your career or you’re an established teacher, the collection provides access to resources grounded in the realities of teaching French. Meanwhile, the platform offers multiple options for intuitive navigation.
Getting Started
There are two main ways of accessing the collection, depending on your preferences.
- For direct access, follow this link to browse all available resources: Explore the Camerise Communities Collection
This approach provides an immediate overview of the resources in all their diversity, and allows you to navigate smoothly between different pieces of content. - Alternatively, you can search by keyword on the main page of the eCampusOntario Open Library to find resources related to a specific need or theme: https://openlibrary.ecampusontario.ca/
This approach is especially useful when looking for a resource related to a particular task, such as assessment, supporting interculturality or digital integration.
A Rich and Diverse Collection
The Camerise Communities Collection reflects the diversity of practices currently used in teaching French. It covers a wide range of themes, such as interculturality, skills assessment, planning cultural experiences, innovative teaching methods and using digital technology.
Resources are available in a variety of formats:
- Videos based on actual classroom practices
- Interactive materials designed using the Pressbooks platform
- Learning activities featuring H5P content
- Other formats adapted to different teaching and training contexts
For example, the collection includes:
Enseigner le français langue seconde en Ontario, an interactive resource in H5P format for exploring the structure of the education system in Canada and Ontario, understanding the basic features of different French Second Language (FSL) programs in Ontario, and discovering the steps for becoming an FSL teacher in Ontario. Available here: https://h5pstudio.ecampusontario.ca/content/93721
La scénarisation en pédagogie, a Pressbook resource based on EduTechWiki content hosted by the University of Geneva. It introduces the concept of scenario-based learning through a structured plan for the design, arrangement, and implementation of learning scenarios. Rich graphics support a visual understanding of concept maps. Discover the resource here: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/scenariopedagogique/
AO Scenario Web: Les clubs parascolaires – Core 8, a downloadable and easily printable PDF resource. Part of the Action-oriented Scenarios Collection, it was created by the CEFR Eastern Region Working Group. Available here: https://openlibrary.ecampusontario.ca/item-details/#/1ef7ee84-80e1-48d1-82e9-32e456d06b00. The included action-oriented scenarios are aligned with the different learning levels in the Camerise Communities Collection.
The range of teaching content makes it easy to find resources suited to a specific context, while also exploring new approaches and adopting new practices.
An Approach to Navigation Rooted in Practice
The eCampusOntario Open Library is more than just a resource repository. It is designed to encourage exploration, as the navigation experience itself supports learning and professional development.For many users, exploring the Camerise Communities Collection in the eCampusOntario Open Library becomes an ongoing process. Although they arrive looking to address an immediate need, they gradually discover additional opportunities.
As Marie-Joëlle Lahoud, a student at York University, points out: “For aspiring FSL/FAL/FI teachers who face numerous requirements when applying to school boards, the Camerise Collection addresses a genuine need. As I prepare to start my teaching career, I feel lucky to have access to a bilingual collection of open educational resources that are free, openly accessible, shareable, reusable and adaptable, and that have been developed by classroom teachers and experts on the teaching of French. These reliable, classroom-ready resources help me gather information, build my toolkit and design better lesson plans. They provide examples of tried and true practices that I can use for inspiration, while adapting them to my learning objectives and the diverse needs of my students. In the process, I gain confidence in my ability to design more authentic, inclusive and engaging activities. Furthermore, communities of practice like Camerise Communities allow me to discuss the resources I’ve selected from the Camerise Communities Collection in the eCampusOntario Open Library, as well as any adaptations I’m considering or implementing. This makes it possible to receive feedback, improve my scenario-based teaching strategies, and continue learning alongside other aspiring teachers and researchers interested in the teaching of French.”
For Gabrielle Faion-Kralik, an educational consultant and resource teacher at the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), the Camerise Communities Collection provides much more than just access to resources: ”Search, translate, adapt, clarify, assess… then start all over again the next day! I know exactly what that’s like. After moving from the classroom to my current role as an educational consultant for our K-12 FSL programs (Core French, Extended French, French Immersion), I was able to see firsthand how the workload continues to grow. As we juggle ministry directives, curriculum expectations and diverse student needs, we spend an enormous amount of time creating or translating resources. That’s where the Camerise Communities Collection in the eCampusOntario Open Library comes into its own. No need to keep creating everything from scratch!
Far more than just a directory of reliable open educational resources (OERs), it truly serves as a community hub. In addition to allowing us to download resources, the collection helps us collaborate with teachers from our school board and from across Ontario, promote inclusion, and adapt resources to classroom realities. It’s great to be able to share what we discover. But having a dedicated space for discussion, adaptation and co-creation? That’s truly transformative!”
Based on his experiences in the classroom and providing K-12 FSL/FAL/FI program support at the Bluewater District School Board (BWDSB), Philippe Morin also finds it important that his school community has access to a collection dedicated to professional learning: ”From my perspective, I can really appreciate the sheer variety of relevant resources available as part of the Camerise Communities Collection in the eCampusOntario Open Library. The rapidly expanding catalogue has what it takes to respond to the needs of the moment: the ability to not only share educational resources, but also exchange ideas, engage in discussion, brainstorm, and improve how we teach by sharing and using OERs.
By helping build the Camerise Communities Collection, Camerise Communities therefore represent much more than a set of OERs available through an open library. They extend access to resources through a dynamic process of professional collaboration. For instance, you can ask questions, receive feedback, reflect on the adjustments required to meet individual student needs and support teachers in their work. It’s not like a library where you’re asked to keep quiet. Sharing is great. Working together to create and improve OERs is even better.”
These testimonials highlight the fact that the collection’s value lies not only in the resources themselves, but also in how they can be explored and applied to different contexts.
Behind the Collection: Supporting Discovery
The collection has been structured through the collaborative efforts of eCampusOntario teams and Camerise Communities, with a view to making the resources accessible and easy to navigate.
As Brett Phillipson, an eCampusOntario librarian, explains:
” You don’t visit a library—and especially not an open, online library—just to find quick answers. You browse it. As for a collection, it’s something you discover. You might start with one type of resource, then follow links to other formats, until you eventually find an approach that makes sense. Among other formats, the Camerise Communities Collection features videos, interactive materials (Pressbooks) and H5P activities. These options ensure everyone can find a starting point adapted to their preferences and realities. Often, it’s best to start with a resource that meets a concrete need. From there, the platform’s design naturally encourages you to branch out.”
Beyond the Collection: Creating New Resources
Our efforts to promote open educational resources extend beyond the dissemination of existing materials. As part of the partnership between eCampusOntario and Camerise Communities, a micro-credential program titled Open Education for Teaching French is currently in development. Divided into four modules, it focuses on the creation and adaptation of open educational resources.
The program is currently in the prototype phase and will soon be available for testing, before being rolled out to a wider audience.
This initiative aims to support Francophone teachers and education students as they develop skills related to the creation, adaptation and sharing of open resources. In this way, the collection serves as more than just a means of navigating resources that already exist. It also plays an active role in resource development.
Access the Camerise Communities Collection in the eCampusOntario Open Library.
The integration of the Camerise Communities collection into the eCampusOntario Open Library and the creation of the micro-credential entitled Open Education for French Language Teaching, were made possible through the financial contribution of the Ontario Ministry of Education and the Government of Canada under the Canada–Ontario Agreement on Minority-Language Education and Second Official-Language Instruction.
