The high cost of academic textbooks continues to inflict financial strain on our students and hinders their academic success. Meanwhile, digital tools provide new, creative, and flexible options for teaching. OER can serve as essential tools in your teaching toolbox for improving student outcomes and supporting open education.
"An Introduction to Open Educational Resources" by Abbey Elder / CC BY 4.0
A lot of things are described as "Open", but what does that really mean? How do Open Educational Resources differ from resources that are Open Access or Open Source?
Open Access: free for anyone to access and use, but may NOT be changed, adapted, or republished.
Open Source: free for anyone to view, use, modify, and distribute; but primarily refers to coding and software.
Open Educational Resources (OER): free for anyone to access and use, and may be edited, expanded, remixed, or combined to meet the needs of you and your students.
Open Access books, journals, and other resources can be extremely useful, but Open Educational Resources allow you even more creative and scholarly freedom to provide the best materials possible for your courses.
Request an OER consultation.Librarians can help identify OER that might meet your needs, and also offer virtual or in-person meetings to discuss options with you.
Whether you have specific goals in mind, or have only just started to explore, we're here to help.
