Embedded Files
Have you ever come across an online resource or part of a web page that would be perfect to use in your instruction, and you thought, "I wish I could just copy and paste this into my lesson"? But then you remember something about copyright or licenses or terms of use, so you think better of it? Or maybe lately you've been pondering the social justice issue of high textbook costs and higher education.
Well, it turns out there ARE high-quality resources available online that you can incorporate freely into your courses - no permission required AND $0 cost to the student. These resources are called Open Educational Resources, or OER.
This guide is intended to help you navigate your way to understanding and transitioning to OER in the classroom.
Guide outline:
OER movement
Definitions and benefits
Intro to Creative Commons and licenses
Suggested list of OER platforms
OER rubrics and additional resources
Summary of the OER steps:
Explore a useful OER platform
Find a resource to incorporate into your lesson
Evaluate the resource
Determine the resource's license type
Attribute the resource appropriately
The OER Movement
The OER Movement
Open Pedagogy and Social Justice
by Digital Pedagogy Lab
"When faculty use OER, we aren’t just saving a student money on textbooks: we are directly impacting that student’s ability to enroll in, persist through, and successfully complete a course. In other words, we are directly impacting that student’s ability to attend, succeed in, and graduate from college.
When we talk about OER, we bring two things into focus: that access is critically important to conversations about academic success, and that faculty and other instructional staff can play a critical role in the process of making learning accessible. "
Introducing #FreeTheTextbook
by OpenStax
"Free the Textbook is a national initiative to shake off the fine print on automatic textbook billing and advocate for wider use of free, open educational content.
"You might be thinking, “Sure open educational resources sound great, but educators can’t always find exactly what they’re looking for.” Well, open educational resources are open for change — that means you can modify them, adapt them, slice and dice, remix, and repurpose them. Anyone can modify open educational resources to fit their needs and their students’ needs. And, there are always more being created!"
"People want to learn. By providing free and open access to education and knowledge, open education helps create a world to support learning. Students can get additional information, viewpoints and materials to help them succeed. Workers can learn things that will help them on the job. Faculty can draw on resources from all around the world. Researchers can share data and develop new networks. Teachers can find new ways to help students learn.
People can connect with others they wouldn’t otherwise meet to share ideas and information. Materials can be translated, mixed together, broken apart and openly shared again, increasing access and inviting fresh approaches. Anyone can access educational materials, scholarly articles, and supportive learning communities anytime they want to. Education is available, accessible, modifiable and free."
Important Definitions
Important Definitions
Intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. IP is protected in law by, for example, patents, copyright and trademarks, which enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create.
Copyright
Copyright
A copyright is a collection of rights that automatically vest to someone who creates an original work of authorship – like a literary work, song, movie or software. These rights include the right to reproduce the work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies, and to perform and display the work publicly.
Fair use
Fair use
Fair use is a doctrine in the law of the United States that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. There are four main factors: (1) the purpose and character of the use, (2) the nature of the copyrighted work, (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used, and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
Public domain
Public domain
The public domain consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable.
Works may be used without restriction.
OER Defined
OER Defined
OER Commons
"teaching and learning materials that you may freely use and reuse at no cost, and without needing to ask permission. . . . OER often have a Creative Commons license or other permission to let you know how the material may be used, reused, adapted, and shared."
"OER Commons & Open Education" by OER Commons is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Creative Commons
"teaching, learning, and research materials that are either (a) in the public domain or (b) licensed in a manner that provides everyone with free and perpetual permission to engage in the 5R activities.
Retain – make, own, and control a copy of the resource (e.g. download and keep your own copy)
Reuse – use your original, revised, or remixed copy of the resource publicly (e.g. translate into another language)
Revise – edit, adapt, and modify your copy of the resource (e.g. make a mashup)
Remix – combine your original or revised copy of the resource with other existing material to create something new (e.g. on a website, in a presentation, in a class)
Redistribute – share copies of your original, revised, or remixed copy of the resource with others (e.g. post a copy online or give one to a friend)"
In other words, they're online educational resources that you're able to use as you see fit, and they can be highly beneficial to you and your students if you discover the right ones. You can even create and contribute your own.
OER Key Benefits
OER Key Benefits
For Faculty
High quality & continually expanding resources
|
Flexibility, customization, & time savings
|
Peer review & collaboration opportunities
|
Share and promote your own work
|
Enhance college's reputation
For Students
Free or reduced textbook costs
|
Equal access for every student on the first day of class
|
Current and relevant information
|
Enjoyable content enhances engagement & retention
|
Access material anytime - even after the class ends
OER Materials
OER Materials
eBooks | eTextbooks
Labs | Lectures | Lesson Plans
Audio | Images | Videos
Assignments | Quizzes | Tests
Complete Courses | Learning Modules
Free vs. Open
Free vs. Open
Just because a resource is free, it doesn't necessarily means it's available for you to use freely; copyright may still apply.
OER = resource is in the public domain or has an open license.
(1) Always check to make sure the resource you use is open content, (2) determine the license type, (3) and then cite the source accordingly.
What is Creative Commons?
What is Creative Commons?
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that provides standardized tools allowing creators and discoverers to:
Choose a license specifying how others may share and use the original work
Add creative works to the public domain
Share creative works on a Creative Commons platform
Search for CC content to borrow and use in projects
Understand free cultural works
License Summary
License Summary
You do not need to obtain a specific statement of permission from the licensor(s) of the content unless you wish to use the work under different terms than the license states.
Content under open content licenses may be reused without any need to contact the licensor(s), but just keep in mind that:
some licenses require that the original creator be attributed;
some licenses require that the specific license be identified when reusing (including, in some cases, stating or linking to the terms of the license);
some licenses require that if you modify the work, your modifications must also be similarly freely licensed;
Content in the public domain may not have a strict legal requirement of attribution, but attribution is recommended to give correct provenance.
"Commons: Reusing content outside Wikimedia" from Wikimedia Commons is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Scroll inside the box
Understanding_Creative_Commons_license_(infographic).pdfWhere do I find quality OER?
Where do I find quality OER?
Note that this is not an extensive list.
Bookmark useful pages for future reference.
Do you use an OER not listed below? Let us know!
OASIS Search Tool
OASIS Search Tool
Openly Available Sources Integrated Search (OASIS) is a search tool that aims to make the discovery of open content easier. OASIS searches open content from 117 different sources and contains over 388,700 records.
Lumen Learning
Lumen Learning
Scroll inside each box
OER by Discipline
OER by Discipline
Evaluating OER
Evaluating OER
Additional Resources
Additional Resources
Report abuse