When creating resources, I make use of a selection of sources to inform my resource development, the first is the course/unit syllabus and I use this as a starting point in my research but also to include the specific criteria on each of the resources. This is overall an excellent source of information as it comes directly from the awarding body; however, there have been instances where the terminology on the syllabus is confusing for students, or even incorrect.
Using the information from the syllabus I will then research the requirements for the specific criteria. I will make use of websites like the British Computing Society, Institution of Engineering and Technology, Association for Computing Machinery and other websites specifically for the unit subject, e.g., php.net for a web unit. Overall, the websites I use are respected and are considered a good source of reliable information; however, not all websites are considered a good source of reliable information, such as Wikipedia. I use this information to formalise my existing knowledge and experience. The Computer Journal aims to serve all branches of the academic computer science community; it is released monthly and is the standard in terms of broad computer science journal. The Programming Journal is released quarterly and is free of charge with all articles released under the Creative Commons license; as a result, it doesn’t have the same credibility of other journals and doesn’t feature such prominent research. I will also consult my technical book collection, especially on very technical subjects which I may not have covered for several years. These books also form the basis for my reading list for each of my units. I also discuss resource material with colleagues, this can be in the form of asking for feedback on a particular resource or asking for guidance on what should go into a particular resource, I always attempt to locate a colleague who has experience in the specific area, although this is not always possible, it is also not always possible for the colleague to provide the information I require.
