In the previous 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. 

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

• Determine reasons for adapting & creating 

• Apply needed steps for adapting & creating OER with proper attribution and licensing

• Recognize the considerations in choosing a license for your work

• Recognize the variety of creation and authoring tools available

• Create your own 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. This is possible because the copyright holder already has granted permission by releasing their work using an open — or Creative Commons — license.

Before you get started...

If you are considering making changes to an open educational resource, such as an open textbook, ask yourself the following questions:

• How much content do I wish to change? Do I want to remove chapters, reorganize chapters, or rewrite entire chapters of content?

• What technical format is the original textbook - an MS Word doc, Google Doc, or a PDF? A Word document is much easier to modify than a PDF document.

• What type of license is the content released under? Does it have a Creative Commons license that allows for modification or adaptation of the content?

• How comfortable are you with using technology and creating content?

• How will my students access the content? Will it be available in Blackboard, Canvas, Google Classroom, OER Commons, or another online hosting service? 

6 Steps for Adapting

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?

The video outlines 5 tips for creators:

1. Determine how your OER will meet your course needs 

2. Check if you've already created something you can use as a base for your OER

3. Evaluate tools and determine where you will build your OER

4. Consider what license you will apply to your OER

5. Decide where and how you want to share your 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. 

Middlesex Community College uses OER Commons, Massachusetts Community Commons OER Hub.

https://www.oercommons.org/groups/middlesex-community-college/3388/

You can also make use of other open platforms such as:

• Google Docs

• Google Sites

• Google Slides

• Adobe Spark

• Pressbooks

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.

If you need help during your creation of open educational resources, reach out to staff at your institution, who may include but are not limited to Instructional Designers, Librarians, and Instructional Web/Technology staff.

Concept Review 

The last exercise for these modules is for you to create your own OER.  This will allow you to apply all that you’ve learned.

Choose one of the three prompts to create an open educational resource about the topic of this module. This can be a blog, vlog, libguide page, a slide deck, a short video, a handout, or other. For this exercise, be sure your resource is licensed CC BY. Here are some topic ideas; feel free to create your own based on your department culture or course needs. The goal is that you will use this OER!

1. Create an OER which reflects something you need for your course – start small, such as one teaching unit

2.  Create an OER that informs faculty or students on the importance of active and engaged teaching

3. Create an OER on five (or so) tips you deem important for faculty to ensure they are following best practices in regarding adopting, adapting, or creating OER

You will add a license to your work in the next module.

Attributions

Texas Learn OER by Carrie Gits for DigiTex which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License CC BY 2020. 

"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

"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