Have you Considered Using Open Education Resources?

Imagine being able to create a perfect resource for your specific course objectives, tailoring it to your student’s learning styles and incorporating different perspectives. This is possible if you think beyond the traditional textbook and consider the use of free-to-access or open resources. Free-to-access and Open Education Resources (OER) are teaching resources that are free of copyright and available for all to use.

Textbooks have traditionally been used to provide a consistent structure for a course and add details to the class content. The selection of a course appropriate textbook can sometimes be a difficult process requiring faculty to balance factors such as: the alignment of the textbook content with the course objectives; the accuracy and currency of the content; the clarity of the writing and the experience of the student with the textbook content including whether it interactive and accessible. Once these factors have been considered and a textbook becomes a contender for a course resource, the high cost of some textbooks can cause faculty to gasp and begin to look for other options. One of those options is the use of free-to-access or Open Education Resources.

Although both free-to-access resources and OER’s are great for options, there is a difference. Free-to-access resources may have a cost in the future, while OER’s remain perpetually free and come with permission to retain, reuse, revise, remix and redistribute. Although it is often the cost that motivates faculty to consider using OER’s, the value of being able to customize the materials to create a perfect resource for your specific course objectives and students is where the true value lies.

Considering an OER to replace the textbook for your course is just one part of the magic of OER’s. They can also provide smaller pieces of content that will enhance the student’s learning. OER’s can be a valuable addition to the course by adding further insight to a topic or a chapter. Often interactive, OER’s videos or activities can be found that will further engage your students in the learning process. And, perhaps most importantly they can provide a voice or perspective that may be missing from your course. Considering an OER for a smaller piece of content is a great way to begin your OER journey!

For more information about OER and where to find them, visit the OER: Open Educational Resources – Faculty Guide by the Libraries and Learning Centres. It is an excellent resource that provides foundational information on OER to get you started.

The following activities take you through the steps to create your personalized OER vision, prepare you to search for OER’s and develop a plan to incorporate accessible, open OER’s within your course.