LibGuides: Faculty Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER): Open Educational Resources (OER) Home

Welcome!

This guide was created by Maria Sclafani and Victoria Koger, Open and Alternative Textbook (OAT) Faculty Fellows at Wichita State. It is designed to help faculty find, evaluate, incorporate, and create open educational resources (OER). This guide includes resources in a variety of formats, including short introductory videos, checklists, handouts, and eBooks about finding, adopting, adapting, and creating OER. Feel free to contact your subject Librarian with questions about OER, who you can locate in the Subject Library Directory.

What, Why, How of OER

Open

Unlock by Ahmad Roaayala from the Noun Project

"Open" means openly licensed, meaning they are in the public domain or the copyright holder has abridged rights to eliminate barriers to access/use/derivative works.

image credit: Unlock by Ahmad Roaayala from the Noun Project

Freely Available

Open Educational Resources Most are legal to copy, adapt, and redistribute semester after semester.

CC Licensed

creative commons icon

Often contains a Creative Commons license. Check each resource for use rights.

Adapted from A Quick Guide to Open Educational Resources by Georgia State University Library, which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution and Non-Commercial (BY-NC) International License.

Immediate Access

Calendar by Hrbon from the Noun Project

Course materials are freely available on the first day of class.

Increase

in retention, completion, and grade point averages.

Innovative Teaching

Expands opportunities for creativity, collaboration, and innovative teaching.

Image credits: Calendar by Hrbon, increase by kareemov1000, and innovation by Made x Made from the Noun Project

Revise, Reuse, Remix, Retain, Redistribute The terms "open content" and "open educational resources" describe any copyrightable work (traditionally excluding software, which is described by other terms like "open source") that is either (1) in the public domain or (2) 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)
Revise - edit, adapt, and modify your copy of the resource (e.g., translate into another language)
Remix - combine your original or revised copy of the resource with other existing material to create something new (e.g., make a mashup)
Reuse - use your original, revised, or remixed copy of the resource publicly (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)

This material is an adaptation of Defining the "Open" in Open Content and Open Educational Resources, which was originally written by David Wiley and published freely under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license at http://opencontent.org/definition/

Image credit: OER Student Toolkit eBook by BCcampus Open Education