Scholarship about OERs
Journal of open educational resources in higher education (JOERHE) by Call Number: ONLINEPublication Date: 2022-- WeberWeb: Creation of an OER on Sociological Theory in Collaboration with Undergraduate Students byPublication Date: Jan 26, 2024An article describing the creation of an OER with undergraduate students
OER Basics
Open Educational Resources (OER), a type of Open Access publishing, are
- materials for learning and teaching, including: textbooks, books, journals, primary sources, reference materials, assessments, assignments, case studies, courses, simulations, tutorials, tests, and audio/video files
- in the public domain or have been published under an open license
- provide everyone free use and perpetual permission for others to engage in the 5R activities
- available at zero cost for students
The 5 Rs
- Retain – permission to make, own, and control copies of the content (e.g., download, duplicate, store, and manage)
- Reuse – permission to use the content in a wide range of ways (e.g., in a class, in a study group, on a website, in a video)
- Revise – permission to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself (e.g., translate the content into another language)
- Remix – permission to combine the original or revised content with other material to create something new (e.g., incorporate the content into a mashup)
- Redistribute – permission to share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others (e.g., give a copy of to a friend)
"Defining the 'Open' in Open Content and Open Educational Resources." by David Wiley is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Common Misconceptions
Advocates for OER often encounter the same arguments or misunderstandings when introducing OER to other librarians and educators.
- "OER Mythbusting (PDF)" by SPARCFrom October 25, 2017. This publication from the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition's (SPARC) addresses the top seven misconceptions about OER. (licensed under CC BY 4.0)
Zero Cost to Students - Resources Compared
Material |
Free to Students |
Open License |
Modifiable/Editable |
|---|---|---|---|
OER (Open Educational Resources) |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
Open Access (OA) |
Yes | Maybe | Maybe |
Library Licensed |
Yes (Library pays for access) | No | No |
Why Choose Open Educational Resources?
- Average Cost of College Textbooks (Education Data Initiative)"The cost of college textbooks ballooned for years, but increased use of eBooks has reduced the cost to the consumer; the average eBook is 31.9% less expensive than its hard copy counterpart."
- Open Textbooks: The Billion Dollar Solution, 2nd edition• "{S}tudents spend more than $3 billion of financial aid dollars a year on course materials."
• "In 2019-20, 65% of students skipped buying or renting a textbook and 2% reported that they skipped buying an access code"
• "OER improve end-of-course grades and decrease DFW (D, F, and Withdrawal letter grades) rates for all students. They also improve course grades at greater rates and decrease DFW rates at greater rates for Pell recipient students, part-time students, and populations historically underserved by higher education. OER address affordability, completion, attainment gap concerns, and learning." - Commercial Textbooks Present Challenges in a Virtual Environment from University of Guelph Library"Approximately 85% of existing course textbooks are simply unavailable to libraries in any other format than print."
- 2018 Student Textbook and Course Materials Survey: Results and Findings ReportA few key findings: The cost of textbooks continues to negatively impact student access, success, and completion. More required textbooks were purchased but not always used in course instruction. Students in Associate or Bachelor’s degree programs spent more on textbooks than students in Master’s or Doctorate degree programs.
Advantages of OER
The reduction in costs for students is a major benefit of OER and they are more flexible than commercial textbooks.
- Immediate and continued access: Students can access OER anywhere in the world, at any time. This includes both before courses start and after courses end.
- Enhancement of regular course content: You can use different types of materials, including multimedia, to help engage students. OER can be useful supplementary material when students need background information or are interested in extending their knowledge.
- Adaptability: You can add, remove and edit content to suit your needs. If you're using an OER textbook you don't need to worry about using the whole book to justify the cost to students.
- Increased diversity: You can use a selection of resources to include a wide range of perspectives, such as Indigenous voices, and/or edit resources to ensure language is inclusive and relevant to your students.
- Continual improvement: OER can be quickly improved through direct editing or via feedback and any mistakes can be corrected without needing to wait for a new edition or going through a lengthy review process.
