Module 8: Adapting, Creating & Sharing OER

In the previous seven modules, you’ve learned a great deal about open educational resources and how they can be used as effective teaching and learning material in your courses. In this module, you will gain experience in applying what you’ve learned to successfully adopt, adapt, and create an OER.

Adapting an Existing Open Educational Resource

The term adaptation is commonly used to describe the process of making changes to an existing work. We also can replace “adapt” with revise, modify, alter, customize, or other synonym that describes the act of making a change.

One advantage of choosing an open educational resource is that it gives faculty the legal right to add to, adapt, or delete content from the open work to fit their specific course without obtaining permission from the copyright holder. As you learned in Module 7, this is possible because the copyright holder already has granted permission by releasing their work using an open — or Creative Commons — license.

If you decide to adapt an existing open resource, here are six recommended steps to follow:

• 1. Check the license of the work - does it allow for modifications or derivatives?

  2. Check the format of the work - common formats are HTML files (webpages), Word or open documents (Google Docs), Text files, ePub, LaTex files (if the original book includes math or science formulas and equations).

  3. Choose tools for editing an open textbook (or other open resource) - there are many available. Your choice of editing tool may vary depending on the original format of the resource.

  4. Choose the output for the work - students like having material in multiple formats. This allows them to choose what works best for them. Some may prefer printed versions of the textbook; others will prefer using a website. Still others will like to use an e-reader or e-reading software. By offering multiple formats you are making your content more accessible.

  5. Determine access for the work - how will your students access the content? Will it be available in an LMS, Google Classroom, OER Commons, or another online hosting service?

  6. Choose a license - the open license you choose will depend on how the textbook you adapted was licensed. For example, if the original textbook was licensed with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license, then you must release your book with the same license to ensure it is compliant with the terms of use.

Creating Open Educational resources

The ALMS Framework

For work to be truly “open” and allow the 5R permissions, the work should be meaningfully accessible and editable. How can you ensure adopters can easily reuse, revise, remix, redistribute, and retain the work? The ALMS framework, established by Hilton, Wiley, Stein, and Johnson (2010), highlights the vital importance of offering source files and creating work in easily adoptable formats.

• • • ACCESS: Offer in a format that can be easily edited with freely accessible tools

    • LEVEL: Format should not require advanced technical expertise to revise content

    • MEANINGFUL: Offer in an editable format

    • SOURCE: Source file that is accessible and editable

Using the ALMS framework offers OER creators a structure guiding the openness of the content while ensuring access to adopters in a meaningful way. When creating work, consider sharing it in several formats that permits accessible classroom adoption: MS Word, PDF, and Google doc.

Which source file do you prefer to use?

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for OER

This code was mentioned previously in Module 4. In this module, we will look at it in more detail. As a creator of an OER, if you find yourself asking - can I use that copyrighted image, text, or video in my OER? This code can help guide you to an appropriate decision and provide you with an understanding of how fair use may or may not apply.

The detailed code does not provide rules on the application of fair use for creators. Nor does the code describe all situations in which fair use may be available to someone creating, modifying, or adapting an OER. Instead, through the most common scenarios and examples the code describes an approach and framework for creators to use when considering the inclusion of third-party copyrighted resources (described as 'inserts' in the code) into their OER. The code breaks down a series of four common situations by discussing:

• description of the OER and work to be incorporated

• principles that reflect best practices from the OER community in applying fair use in repeated scenarios

• considerations for the creator to examine when applying the principles outlined

• hard cases which reflect agreement about some situations in which educators relying on fair use should exercise special care

The common four situations discussed in the code and relevant to creators of OER include:

1. Using inserts as objects of criticism and commentary

2. Including inserts for the purpose of illustration

3. Incorporating content as learning resource materials

4. Repurposing pedagogical content from existing educational materials

Review the video below to get a brief introduction to creating OER.

Resources for Creating OER

There are low tech, medium tech, and high tech tools and authoring platforms available to create your OER. Consider the tips previously mentioned and determine which tool best meets your needs. Check with your institution about institutional licenses and access to technology that can support your creation. Listed below are some widely used tools:

• • Google Docs

  • Google Sites

  • Google Slides

  • Adobe Spark

  • Pressbooks

  • OER Commons Open Author

Whichever creation tool or authoring platform you choose, be aware of any restrictions this tool may have on how the final work may be published or shared. Before creating your work, look closely at the terms of use for that product.

Licensing Your Work

Don’t forget to choose a license for your work! Look at this extensive list of considerations for licensors and licensees before deciding which license to apply to your work. Use the Creative Commons license chooser as well.

One Last Reminder:

Creative Commons licenses are non-revocable. This means that you cannot stop someone who has obtained your work under a Creative Commons license from using the work according to that license. You can stop offering your work under a Creative Commons license at any time you wish, but this will not affect the rights associated with any copies of your work already in circulation under a Creative Commons license. So, you need to think carefully when choosing a Creative Commons license to make sure that you are happy with people being able to use your work consistent with the terms of the license, even if you later stop distributing your work.

Sharing Your Work

Are you interested in sharing your material? Do you have an engaging course activity, image, assessment item, video, or a whole course that might be beneficial to other faculty in your discipline? Sharing your work is a personal choice and can be daunting, but it also can be rewarding. Sharing your work with others allows for increased use as well as opportunities for collaboration, enhancement, and improvement of your work. You can start small by sharing your work with others in your department or just at your institution. Or, if you are ready, you can share it globally with other educators and students, thus contributing to the open education community at large.

Whether you share it locally or globally as an OER, consider the following steps as your guide to sharing your work.

Step 1: Terms of Use

Decide on the terms of use. Do you wish to release your work under Creative Commons license or in the public domain? Please make sure to review the difference between these two copyright terms:

• • By releasing your work under a Creative Commons license, you retain ownership while allowing others to use your work (as long as they attribute it to you) without needing to ask permission of you directly.

  • By releasing your work in the public domain, your copyright ownership is waived. It is as if you are GIVING your work to the public as a gift. Users may still cite you when adopting your work, but they are not required to do so.

Please see “What is the difference between public domain and open license?” in Module 4 for details.

Step 2: Seeking Copyright Clearance

Be sure that the work is eligible to be shared. To release your work with a CC license or in the public domain, your work should be cleared from all copyright issues. To do so, your work should be one or a combination of the following types:

• 1. your original work,

  2. built from open resources,

  3. built from the public domain,

  4. built from copyrighted work that you obtained permission to use and distribute for the life of your openly licensed work, or

  5. combination of above works

Note: For any third-party materials, whether openly licensed or copyrighted, those materials need to be attributed as not governed by the CC license you chose for your work, but under different terms and by different authors.

Getting Permission to Use Copyrighted Materials

If you must use any items that are copyrighted with all-rights reserved, please be sure to obtain the permission letter(s) from the author(s). Please find a sample permission request email.

Step 3: Selecting a Repository

For Images

Consider Flickr or Wikimedia Commons. As you upload your image to these repositories, you will see the option to select the terms of use. Open Washington has created simple instructions if you need help in uploading an image to your Flickr account and marking it with a CC license.

For Videos

Consider YouTube or Vimeo. For help, consult these instructions created by Open Washington for uploading videos in Youtube. Always provide captions to your videos. YouTube automatically creates captions; always verify that captions are correct. They can be edited easily, by following these simple instructions.

For Course Materials

Consider OER Commons or OERTX. If your institution has an institutional repository, work with your librarians to add your work to your institutional collection. Alternatively, web storage space like Google Drive allows for easy and free access. If you choose a web storage space, make sure to (1) manually mark your work as CC-licensed or the in public domain by placing the copyright notice somewhere visible and (2) make the link accessible by the public.

Attributions

Information for this module was consulted and adapted from

"6 Steps to modifying an Open Textbook" by BC Campus is licensed under CC BY 4.0

"Adaptation Guide: What is an Adaptation" by BC Campus is licensed under CC BY 4.0

"Considerations for licensors and licensees" by Creative Commons is licensed under CC BY 4.0

"Creating Open Educational Resources: Tips for New Creators" by Abbey Elder is licensed under CC BY 4.0

"Modifying an Open Textbook: What You Need to Know" by Open Textbook Network is licensed under CC BY 4.0

"Module 4: Copyright & Open Licensing - Assignment: Create OER" in the Open Education Primer by SPARC is licensed under CC BY 4.0

"Module 8: Sharing OER" by Open Washington is licensed under CC BY 4.0