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Faculty Services

Creating OER

If you have searched for an OER and were unable to find one, consider creating your own. After completion you can add an open license and distribute your content.  

Why Create OER?

  • Assures you can customize content to your specifications 
  • Extends your academic profile
  • Provides more relevant and engaging materials for students
  • Reduces costs for students

 

Creating your own Pressbooks account

eCampusOntario allows Pressbook accounts to be created at no cost to educators affiliated with one of Ontario’s public postsecondary institutions. 

Introduction to Pressbooks

This webinar is part one of two that will discuss how to use Pressbooks to create and share open educational resources (OER). 

Merlot's Content Builder

Templates for creating tailored websites with a variety of designs, including e-portfolio structures, lesson plans, online courses, and others.

OpenAuthor

Adapt your own resources, as well as resources from its affiliated OER Commons library, to create new or remixed OER.

Accessibility Checklist (PDF 736KB)

The Learning Portal's Accessibility Checklist includes elements to be conscience of while creating or adapting an OER.

 

Top 10 Myths About Open Educational Resources (OER). 1 My institution is not ready for OER. 2 Open and tuition-based education are not compatible. 3 Use of OER requires complex policy change. 4 OER are not high quality resources. 5 OER require more investment for infrastructure. 6 Open textbooks will reduce our bookstore revenue. 7 Cost of resources is a student issue. 8 OER are not sustainable. 9 Our educators are already too busy. 10 OER require professional learning to use. eCampus Ontario

Dispelling Open Educational Resources (OER) Myths. 1. Any institution can begin to take the initial steps towards including OER to better serve student needs. Through collaborative policy development, funding, and course development support, administrators can help create interest and participation from departments and instructors to use open educational resources. 2. Use of OER in tuition-based teaching and learning is not the same as “open education” in terms of offering courses for free. OER are meant to substitute or supplement course content as part of regular, tuition-based on-campus and/or online courses. 3. The licensing structure of OER means that anyone can use them without additional permissions or new policies. 4. Collaborative authoring, rigorous design, and peer review processes help ensure that OER meet the same high standards as traditional academic resources. 5. OER are primarily digital content available in many formats. They are compatible with existing infrastructure and can be embedded in learning management systems. They can also be printed if desired. 6. Many bookstores have been transitioning to products other than textbooks. Publisher textbook margins, in terms of institutional revenue, are likely small. 7. The overall cost of higher education, including resources, raises issues of access, retention, and completion. There is growing evidence that use of OER contributes positively to all three issues. 8. A variety of models are evolving to help ensure OER are maintained over time. These include students as co-creators and collaborative editing among educator/users. 9. Educators review new textbook editions and add diverse resources frequently. OER represent an opportunity to customize and localize resources to suit the needs of learners. This can be small-scale. 10. Many educators are already using OER in their courses as supplemental materials (images, videos, open access readings, etc.). Some are using open textbooks and revising syllabi and assessments. There are a variety of well-designed OER support materials available to guide use and adaptation. Top 10 Myths for Administrators by Jenni Hayman, Olga Perkovic, and Nada Savicevic is licensed under a CC BY SA 4.0 International License

Top 10 Myths for Administrators by Jenni Hayman, Olga Perkovic, and Nada Savicevic is licensed under a CC BY-SA 4.0.

Why Create OER text a derivative of BCOER Poster, by BCcampus, licensed under CC BY 4.0.