Highline College Library: Faculty Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER): OER Explained

What is OER?

Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials (including textbooks, courses, learning objects, tests, media, etc.) that can be freely used and reused, without charge. OER often have a Creative Commons that state specifically how the material can be used, reused, adapted, and shared.

How the Library Can Help

Attribution

Brock University Library https://brocku.ca/library/oer/

How OER Helps Students

The Future of the Public Mission of Universities
Keynote for “Making Knowledge Public,” the 2018 President’s Dream Colloquium at Simon Fraser University by Robin DeRosa.
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Copyright © 2018 actualham. All Rights Reserved.

HOW TEXTBOOK COSTS CONTRIBUTE TO BASIC NEEDS INSECURITY

According to a Fixing the Broken Textbook Market.

60% of students skip buying at least one textbook.
About 20% students skip buying access codes necessary to complete assignments.
Almost every respondent worried forgoing these materials would impact their grade.
The cost of course materials has a broad impact on the lives of students.
- 25% reported needing to work extra hours to afford course materials.
- 22% prioritized purchasing access codes over other course materials.
- 19% made decisions on which classes to take because of materials cost.
- 11% reported skipping meals due to materials costs.

Fixing the Broken Textbook Market

OER Basics

Watch this video from Open Oregon to learn more about OER (6:11).

Why Open Education Matters

Watch this short animated video about open education (2:22).

Game Changer: Open Education is Changing Rules

Learn from educators and students why Open Education matters (2:57).

By ISKME is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Open Education vs Open Access

The infographic below explains the difference between open education resources and open access.

Source: University of Michigan OER Toolkit

Creative Commons and OER

Source: "Creative Commons and OER" by Jane Park is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Creative Commons for Educators and Librarians
Knowing your way around CC will help you make the most of the Open Access (OA) and open educational resources (OER) movements. This book represents the first-ever print complement to the CC Certificate program, providing in-depth coverage of CC licenses, open practices, and the ethos of the Commons.

Open Education Organizations

Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (OER)
Our mission is to expand access to education by promoting awareness and adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER). Over 250 colleges have joined us and many more participate in our activities and use resources on the website.
ODEPO
ODEPO (Open Database of Educational Projects and Organizations) is a wiki-database of organizations involved in providing educational content online. Currently, ODEPO includes more than a thousand sites affiliated with various organizations, the majority of which were provided to us by educational repositories involved in the creation and expansion of Open Educational Resources (OER).
The Open Education Consortium
A global network of educational institutions, individuals and organizations that support an approach to education based on openness, including collaboration, innovation and collective development and use of open educational materials. The Open Education Consortium is a non-profit, social benefit organization registered in the United States and operating worldwide.
Open Education Resource Foundation
The Open Education Resource (OER) Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides leadership, international networking and support for educators and educational institutions to achieve their objectives through Open Education.
Open Oregon
Open Educational Resources Network in Oregon State - learn about OER events and Browse or search the Resources to find out what Oregon community college instructors are using to reduce textbook costs in their courses. If you see a name and email address, feel free to contact that person about their class.
OPEN Washington
This website is dedicated to providing easy pathways for faculty to learn, find, use and apply OER. The major features include:
- Learn OER: In addition to how to use open licenses and locate existing OER, the self-paced modules walk you through how to incorporate open educational resources into your teaching practice.
- Find OER: A categorized search guide for all types of OER. We’ve broken down these resources to help you choose those that best fit your needs. For each you’ll find a list of unique traits, licensing information, and an example of how to attribute the source.
- Q&A: A community help center where users can freely post questions and answers on OER topics. This knowledge base is also searchable.
- OER Stories: Our WA CTC faculty share their personal journeys in using OER. If you are interested in telling your story, please contact us.
- OER News: The OER news distribution center for WA CTC system. If you have any OER information to share or promote (or show off), such as an OER professional development event at your campus, new study results, or local OER training opportunities, please contact us.

Contact Information

Please contact us if you would like assistance or have questions:

Hara Brook
Reference Librarian
x3248

Deborah Moore
Reference Librarian
x3518

Marc Lentini
Director of EdTech
x3778

Eric Ho
Bookstore Manager
x3324

Course Materials Affordability Work Group Charter Highline College is expanding the use of low-cost and Open Educational Resources (OER) to close equity gaps in student completion. Low-cost materials allow more students to have the textbooks and resources on the first day of class. OER enable faculty to employ culturally responsive instructional practices, from customizing textbooks to creating open education activities in the classroom. The Textbook Costs Work Group is charged with developing processes and support for faculty who are moving to low cost and OER materials.

Codes of Best Practices in Fair Use

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries
From the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). This is a code of best practices in fair use devised specifically by and for the academic and research library community. It enhances the ability of librarians to rely on fair use by documenting the considered views of the library community about best practices in fair use, drawn from the actual practices and experience of the library community itself.
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video
From the American University School of Communication, Center for Media and Social Impact (CMSI). This document is a code of best practices that helps creators, online providers, copyright holders, and others interested in the making of online video interpret the copyright doctrine of fair use.
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for OpenCourseWare
From the American University School of Communication, Center for Media and Social Impact (CMSI). This document is a code of best practices designed to help those preparing OpenCourseWare (OCW) to interpret and apply fair use under United States copyright law.

Training

Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC): eLearning Training Registration
Scroll down to locate the "OER 101: How to Use Open Educational Resources" course. This 2-week, asynchronous, online course is designed for faculty and staff who have never experienced Open Educational Resources (OER) or who are just getting started implementing OER. Participants will be introduced to the basic terminologies of OER such as open license, public domain, and copyright. Participants will also have opportunities to practice applying these concepts into the practice.
OPEN Washington: Learn OER
This course walks you through techniques to incorporate Open Educational Resources (OER) into your teaching practice. The course will cover the fundamental aspects of OER including open licensing and public domain. It focuses on providing practical guidance in locating and applying openly available resources.
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This is a short course consisting of 9 modules.
Module 1: Introduction
Module 2: Understanding OER
Module 3: Open License
Module 4: Creative Commons
Module 5: Finding OER
Module 6: Sharing OER
Module 7: Public Domain
Module 8: Accessibility
Module 9: Why OER Matters
Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER): Webinars
Catch up on webinars you may have missed.
Creative Commons Certificates
The Certificate is an in-depth course about CC licenses, open practices and the ethos of the Commons. The course is composed of readings, quizzes, discussions, and practical exercises to develop learners’ open skills.

Licensing Info

Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY license.

"Faculty Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER)" by Highline College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Note: Links and embedded images/videos with a listed source may or may not be covered by a CC license.