Interested in no-cost, open resources? Explore the OER Toolkit

Whether you’re looking to replace an existing textbook, or you’re trying to fill gaps in your content, finding the right resources can be challenging. You want informative, engaging resources that will help students absorb the course material. On the other hand, some textbooks can be prohibitively expensive for some students, so adding any supplementary resources may seem out of the question.

Fortunately, there are resources available that can address this dilemma. Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials that exist under an open license. You can use or modify these resources at no cost, with limited restrictions, meaning you can add them to your course while saving students money. Whether you’re already familiar with OER, or this is a new concept for you, the OER Toolkit in the Faculty section of The Learning Portal can help you better understand OER, why they’re useful, and how you can use or create them. In the OER Toolkit, you can learn about the following topics.

About OER

I’ve included a brief explanation of OER above, but the About OER module gives a more comprehensive overview. This page is your introduction to OER as a type of resource.  It explains what is considered an OER, gives examples of the types of materials that can be OER, and explains what is not an OER. It lists why OER matters, and includes some useful resources. It also includes a Faculty Quick Start Kit (and one for Libraries), that guides you through the process of using OER.

Teaching

Integrating OER into teaching and learning practices may require a shift in the way we think about learning resources. The Teaching module explores Open Pedagogy to help educators create a culture of sharing and active learning through OER. It explains what Open Pedagogy is and why it matters, and provides real-world examples of educators using OER in their courses. It also includes some of the ways that library staff can help faculty members implement Open Pedagogy.

Curating

There are many OER available online, but finding the ones you need requires a careful process of selection. The Curating module covers how to select content and evaluate it for a specific purpose. It includes reputable sources for OER, and provides tools and resources to help you evaluate, adopt or adapt, and share the resources you find.

Creating

One of the great things about OER is that you can create or adapt them yourself. Faculty can create content that that suits the needs of their students, while sharing that resource with a wider audience. If you have a resource that you have already created, you might want to share it as an OER. The Creating module can help you develop your own OER. It includes guides to help you get started, and a list of authoring and hosting tools.  

Licensing

OER are created and shared under a set of permissions that allow for this type of use. Whether you are using existing OER or creating and sharing your own, it is important to have an understanding of the open licenses under which they fall. The Licensing module covers copyright and its open resource cousin, ‘copyleft’. It can help you understand Creative Commons licenses, which are the licenses for open resources, and the conditions of these licenses.

Collaborating

OER invites collaboration among faculty, students, library staff, and institutions. Each group brings something different to the process. The Collaborating module outlines ways to collaborate and covers what students, faculty, and library staff bring to OER. It also includes tools to help you collaborate on OER, as well as lists of initiatives and listservs so you can stay informed about OER.

Advocacy

The use of OER has the potential to change education, but we need to communicate their value. The Advocacy module will help you communicate the value of OER to decision makers. It can help you tap into core advocacy skills, understand the policy context and the potential barriers to OER adoption, tailor your message for specific groups, and identify your high-impact strategies.

Sustainability

Faculty and library staff can impact the longevity and success if OER on their campus. The Sustainability module covers how you can help make OER projects sustainable by impacting policy, identifying funding opportunities, and training others. It includes Policy Quick Start Tips and a tool to help you develop policy. It gives suggestions as to where to seek funding and outlines the steps involved in planning your OER training.