1 of 65

OER 101: �Getting Started with �Open Educational Resources

Abbey Elder, Open Access & Scholarly Communication Librarian

Iowa State University

2 of 65

What are OER?

3 of 65

Open Educational Resources (OER) are learning, teaching and research materials in any format and medium that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license, that permit no-cost access, re-use, re-purpose, adaptation and redistribution by others.

UNESCO

4 of 65

What kind of permissions?

Retain - make, own, and keep a copy
Revise - edit, adapt, and modify your copy
Remix - combine your copy with other existing material
Reuse - use your original, revised, or remixed resource
Redistribute - share copies with others

5 of 65

Licensing makes permissions clear

6 of 65

“OER” can be a lot of things, �and that’s good!

7 of 65

What isn’t OER?

Anything that isn’t BOTH free and open with 5R permissions:

Library-licensed resources: free (to you) and not open
Most blogs, podcasts, & websites: free but not (always) open
Images you find on Google: free but not open (check for a license!)
Open access monographs: free and open (may not be remixable)

If something isn’t an OER, that doesn’t mean you can’t use it!

8 of 65

What are the pros �and cons?

9 of 65

Benefits of OER

10 of 65

Due to high textbook costs:

91% of students delayed purchasing required course materials
70% of students tried to pass without purchasing required materials
65% of students downloaded illegal copies of materials online
34% of students had to purchase textbooks instead of groceries
23% of students dropped a course, affecting their progress toward graduation

ISU Student Survey, 2022

(Sample size of 1,913 students)

11 of 65

In addition to being free, OER can support:

Better learning outcomes
Higher retention rates
Closer alignment with your course objectives
More flexibility in how you teach
More up-to-date content

12 of 65

How?

Access. All students can access OER used in their courses, not just those with the means to purchase.
Fit. Open content can be adapted to better fit the teaching style and learning objectives of your course.
Relevance. OER can be revised as needed, not on a publisher’s timeframe �(which may be more or less often than you’d like).
Accessibility. OER can be adapted to meet accessibility standards, if it �doesn’t already.

13 of 65

How is this good for colleges?

Providing free course materials can help current students continue in their degree path, take more courses, and progress to graduation.
Showcasing OER created at or adapted for use at an institution can help build interest in your school’s curriculum among potential future students and parents.

14 of 65

How is this good for authors?

Unlike commercial publishing, OER authors retain copyright over their work.
Going open widens the reach of a work to a global audience, for greater impact. This helps showcase an author’s expertise as an instructor and an expert in their field.
The adaptation and production of OER, and/or innovation in the classroom thanks to OER, can be leveraged in tenure & promotion discussions (oept.pubpub.org)

15 of 65

Why doesn’t everyone use OER?

16 of 65

Let’s think about it:

How many years has Pearson, the largest commercial textbook publisher, existed?

Since 1844: 179 years ago.

17 of 65

Let’s think about it:

How many years has Pearson, the largest commercial textbook publisher, existed?

Since 1844: 179 years ago.

How many years has MIT OpenCourseWare, one of the oldest sites for sharing open educational resources widely, existed?

Since 2001: 22 years ago.

18 of 65

Because OER are a relatively recent innovation,

There may be variable access to OER in:

Your discipline
The level you teach
The format you prefer

19 of 65

Most of these issues are �not inherent to OER �or only found in these materials.

20 of 65

The biggest barrier to adopting OER:

NOT content

NOT accessibility

NOT quality, but…

21 of 65

The biggest barrier to adopting OER:

NOT content

NOT accessibility

NOT quality, but…

Your Time

22 of 65

How do you find �OER?

23 of 65

Before you begin

Consider what you want
Consider what you need
Consider what you have already

24 of 65

The search process

Identify keywords
Search broadly (OASIS, BCCampus, even Google!)
Start general and then get specific
Curate content
Reflect and repeat

25 of 65

You may find a lot...

26 of 65

You may find a lot...

You may find a little.

27 of 65

Check in regularly for updates

28 of 65

Remember, OER can be any educational material, so long as it is freely shared �and openly licensed.

29 of 65

Examples of non-textbook OER

Activities: H5P exercises and quizzes
Simulations: PhET Sims
Labs: Gel Electrophoresis Genetics Lab Sim
Videos: Class Piano Tutorials
Case Studies: Food Justice Primer
Homework Software: MyOpenMath
Lecture Slides & Lesson Plans: MIT Courseware

30 of 65

You have options

This is not an “all or nothing” conversation.
You can adopt some OER without jumping in completely!
Start small and innovate!

31 of 65

How do you �evaluate OER?

32 of 65

Evaluation may be based on...

Rubrics
Processes
Your individual needs

33 of 65

Rubrics Available

Open Textbook Library Rubric (pictured right)
BCCampus Rubric [PDF]
Open Oregon Faculty Checklist for Evaluating Course Materials (not just OER)

Comprehensiveness
Content Accuracy
Relevance/Longevity
Clarity
Consistency
Modularity
Organization/Structure/Flow
Interface
Grammatical Errors
Cultural Relevance

34 of 65

Check for:

Content coverage
Alignment with your course
Accessibility
Inclusivity
Format(s) available

35 of 65

Other review processes

Unlike commercial textbooks, many open textbooks undergo peer review by subject matter experts.

Other reviews may include:

User reviews posted in repositories like the Open Textbook Library
Reviews by organizations (e.g. American Institute of Mathematics)

36 of 65

How do you integrate OER into your class?

37 of 65

Project planning

Keep a course map to structure content, assessments, and other course activities against your course learning objectives.
Leverage the support available on your campus (instructional designers, subject librarians, OER specialists, accessibility coordinators, etc)
Use the tools available to you (Panopto, Pressbooks, Manifold, Canvas, BlackBoard, etc)

38 of 65

Tips for sharing OER with students

Explain the OER to your students
Present links in an organized fashion
Be accessible
Listen to your students & be willing to change

39 of 65

Provide a syllabus statement or course tour to showcase online materials used in your class:

"The textbook for this class is an open educational resource (OER), meaning it is available for FREE online. You can access the online version of the text from the book’s landing page �[link text] or from within our LMS. You can visit the book’s landing page to download the text for free in the format that works best for you (including PDF and EPUB). The OER is openly licensed and DRM-free, so you can also print individual chapters or the entire text without restrictions.

If you prefer, you may opt to purchase a print copy for [quoted price] from University �Printing Services."

40 of 65

Example in Canvas

Ethics 101: An Example Course

Readings are linked within their assigned modules, and situated between descriptions and related assignments.

41 of 65

How do you adapt OER?

42 of 65

Considerations for adapting

What needs changing?
What software/tools do you have?
What training do you need?
What support is available for your work?

This should sound familiar.

43 of 65

Common Adaptations

Translate a work into another language
Add institutionally-relevant examples
Expand a work with additional chapters
Remove chapters not taught at the institution
Change the focus of a work to a new discipline: From “Statistics” to “Statistics for Business Students”

Since I mentioned how adaptation and remixing are major parts of what makes an OER “open,” I feel it will be useful to dive into a few examples or how this adaptation might take place. For example,

Someone may want to adapt your open textbook to translate it into French or Spanish.

You may want to adapt someone else’s OER to add institutionally-relevant examples.

Someone else may want to create a new edition of your open textbook to add more chapters and support a two-semester course.

You may want to create a version of an open textbook that removes topics and sections you do not teach in your course.

Or, from a more intensive angle, you or someone else may want to adapt an OER to change its major focus, like taking an Algebra book and converting it into an Algebra book for Natural Resources students.

44 of 65

Remix projects

Take multiple resources and combine them with your own
Combine two resources to fill a gap identified in one
Create a “reader” or “course packet” by compiling open chapters, articles, and case studies

Remixing can happen in many ways!

45 of 65

Keep your students in mind:

What learning outcomes do you expect them to meet?
What other supports could you provide?
How can your assessments engage students in the process of learning and reflection?

46 of 65

Approach adaptation like collaboration

Think of OER like a first draft someone has shared with you.
Don’t be afraid to make changes! You adapt for your course.
Reach out to the original author to share your work.
Always give attribution. It’s the law.

47 of 65

Attribution

Here is an example of attribution for an image by Flickr user Lukas Schlagenhauf (on the right).

This is an ideal attribution because it includes the:

Title: “Furggelen afterglow”
Author: “Lukas Schlagenhauf“
Source: “Furggelen afterglow“
License: “CC BY-ND 2.0”

Provide links for each to help users find the original.

“Furggelen afterglow” by Lukas Schlagenhauf is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

This information is from Creative Commons at creativecommons.org/use-remix/, licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

48 of 65

Open Pedagogy as collaborative adaptation

You can adapt during your class, too!

Open pedagogy is the process of engaging students in the co-creation of content as part of their learning, either as a way of demonstrating learning or as a way of encouraging it.

Students can annotate, comment on, or suggest edits to an open resource as part of an open pedagogy project.

Learn more at openpedagogy.org

49 of 65

Open Pedagogy Projects

50 of 65

Annotation Projects

In these web-based reading activities, learners engage more actively in knowledge creation through discussion, questioning, and building on prior experiences.

Example: Hypothesis in Pressbooks

Hypothes.is in a Canvas Course

When I’m reading I sometimes wonder, ‘Does anyone actually understand this? Am I crazy?’ With this tool I know I’m not alone.

Shannon G., undergrad student

51 of 65

Create supplemental course materials

UBC’s undergraduate Environment and Sustainability (E&S) program promotes student leadership and public scholarship on sustainability and environmental issues. This website showcases such student work.

Example: Researching Environmental Problems

52 of 65

Create core course materials

This book was written by undergraduate students at The Ohio State University (OSU) who were enrolled in the class Introduction to Environmental Science.

Example book: Environmental Science Bites

53 of 65

Other Types of Projects

Learners creating to support other learners:

writing a test bank for future learners
creating study guides to support current and future learners

Learners creating content for their portfolios:

Writing essays, op eds, or articles for publication
Promoting projects for a portfolio or website

Learners curating and reviewing existing content:

Compiling a reading list
Creating an annotated bibliography for peers

54 of 65

You might already have projects like these in your courses!

Project-based learning

Team-based learning

Active learning

Open pedagogy

55 of 65

How do you create OER?

56 of 65

Decide what to make

Format: Video, audio, text, exercises?
Type: Textbook, Lab book, Video series, Modules
Length: A single module or a whole course
Purpose: To replace commercial content or enhance it?

57 of 65

Creation tools

Tips

Use what you have
Use what you know

Platforms

Word
Overleaf
Pressbooks
Wordpress
Your LMS (Canvas, Bb, �Moodle, etc)

58 of 65

Project planning considerations

Interoperability: Aim for modular, customizable content formatting and design
Digital accessibility: Build accessibility in from the start; ask for help!
Sustainability: Plan ahead for future updates

59 of 65

Remember:

The OER you find and share doesn’t just support our students: it helps your peers, their students, and all the practitioners and learners around the world who are engaging in your field.