GoOpen.us

Welcome to the #GoOpen National Network

A national community of educators and leaders who use and support open educational resources and practices (OER/OEP) to equitably improve teaching and learning for all.

#GoOpen National Network Launches Platform and Policy Action

2022 is a landmark year for the "refreshed" #GoOpen National Network. The #GoOpen Hub is now launched to facilitate a collaborative community that works to elevate and broaden participation in K-12 open education nationally.

Concurrent with the launch of a centralized online hub, the #GoOpen Steering Committee released a Policy Action Guidance and Letter for state leaders related to the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”, P.L. 117-58), requiring State Digital Equity Plans to identify barriers to broadband and device equity and accessibility. The goal of our network action is to advocate for requiring or encouraging open licensing of digital materials, such as high-quality educational materials, as a powerful policy strategy for magnifying the educational and other social impacts of broadband access and inclusivity. The #GoOpen National Network encourages state broadband, IT and education leaders to discuss the potential role of open educational resources (OER) and other openly licensed materials as a key element of your state’s Digital Equity Plan.

Equity and Inclusion As Urgent Drivers of Change

The pandemic and other educational disruptions experienced by communities during the past several years has generated new urgency about identifying innovative strategies for delivering universal access to digital learning. Open Educational Resources (OER) provide a way to address the shortfall of quality digital educational content. We call on leaders and educators at all levels to consider ways to integrate OER to provide access to high-quality, adaptable, accessible and sustainable digital resources, using open licensing such as Creative Commons, to enable free and equitable access to instructional materials for all learners.

Open educational resources (OER) offer the benefit to increase access to high-quality education opportunities for all.

Students have equitable access to up-to-date, relevant, and sustainable content

Teachers are empowered to tailor learning materials to student needs

Education systems are able to reallocate textbook dollars to other pressing needs

What are OER?
OER are teaching and learning materials in any format that reside in the public domain or are released under an open license that permits and encourages use, re-use, repurposing, adaptation, and redistribution by others. The low cost and free and open licensing of OER make them a solution for expanding access economically, as well as for easing the acquisition and creation of accessible materials for students with disabilities as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and other civil rights laws.