PSCC Libraries: Open Educational Resources (OER): Home

from WikiMedia

Dean of Libraries

Mary Ellen Spencer

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(865) 694-6517

About Open Educational Resources

Open Education "...is the simple and powerful idea that the world’s knowledge is a public good and that technology in general and the Worldwide Web in particular provide an extraordinary opportunity for everyone to share, use, and reuse knowledge.

Open Education Resources are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others. Open educational resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge." - The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Examples of OERs include:

Electronic textbooks (peer-reviewed and updated) with accompanying learning materials such as quizzes, worksheets, multimedia resources, and lecture materials
Full university courses including presentations, reading materials, lecture notes, videos, and homework assignments
Interactive mini-lessons and simulations about a specific topic,

An introduction to OERs:

Open Educational Resources Educator Handbook
via WikiEducator

CC - Creative Commons
This symbol shows that the document, course, image, music, or art has a creative commons license.
CC - BY
This license lets other distribute, remix, tweak and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licenses offered. Recommended for maximum dissemination and use of licensed materials.
CC - SA
If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
CC - ND
This license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to you.
CC - NC
The work may not be used for commercial purposes.

A small working group from the Iowa Open Education Action Team has recently developed a new resource for Open Education support staff, faculty, and advocates: Open Education in Promotion, Tenure, and Faculty Development. This new resource aims to help faculty and staff advocate for themselves and others in discussions around open education work in promotion and tenure.

A critical part of sustaining Open Educational Resources (OER) in higher education is recognizing the contributions by instructors who create and improve them as part of their professional work. In order to aid this effort, Driving OER Sustainability for Student Success (DOERS3) has developed an adaptable advisory model to help guide faculty as they attempt to include their OER work in their tenure and promotion portfolios. Visit the OER in Promotion and Tenure Matrix.

Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) simply means that students do not incur costs for purchasing or accessing course materials. Zero cost to students does not guarantee zero cost to the institution. For example, instructors may use library subscription databases, platforms, or equipment that require licensing or purchase by the College.

To create a ZTC course, instructors might use open educational resources, open access materials, materials that use Creative Commons licenses, works in the public domain, resources owned or licensed by the Libraries, or teacher-created materials.

(Adapted from "Open Educational Resources @ MJC" by Modesto Junior College, under CC-BY-NC 4.0)

InclusiveAccess.org
Inclusive Access, also known as automatic textbook billing, is a sales model for college textbooks. Digital content is delivered to students by the first day of their course, often through a learning management system. Students have a period to “opt out” before they are automatically billed for the content as part of their tuition and fees. Students typically lose access to the content at the end of the course. While Inclusive Access is intended to address high textbook costs, it also creates challenges for students and faculty. InclusiveAccess.org is a community-driven initiative to raise awareness of the facts about automatic textbook billing.
Automatic Textbook Billing
From the Student Public Interest Research Groups, examines negative outcomes for students associated with Inclusive Access, First Day Access, and Equitable Access programs. Includes information for students, faculty, and administration.
Decoding "Inclusive Access"
From the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), explains why inclusive access is not so inclusive. Includes information about the Free the Textbook initiative.

Openwashing: "having an appearance of open-source and open-licensing for marketing purposes, while continuing proprietary practices."
--Audrey Watters

What is 'Open'? Openwashing and the Half-Truths about Openness
Henry Kronk
ELearning Inside, January 1, 2018

Authoring Open Textbooks
This guide is for faculty authors, librarians, project managers and others who are involved in the production of open textbooks in higher education and K-12. Content includes a checklist for getting started, publishing program case studies, textbook organization and elements, writing resources and an overview of useful tools.
7 Things You Should Know About Open Textbook Publishing
By Educause
Fixing the Broken Textbook System
2014 report by U.S. PIRG about how textbook cost is affecting student success in higher education
Why Open Education Matters
By Creative Commons
Open Textbook Alliance
A nationwide project of the Student Public Interest Research Groups that unites student leaders who are working to bring open textbooks to college campuses and protect students in the textbook market.