LibGuides: Open Educational Resources: OERs

Why OERs Matter?

Finding OER

Open Textbooks have been released with an open license (usually a Creative Commons license) which allows them to be copied, shared and revised.

OER Repositories contain more than just open textbooks. They also have other digital learning materials such as:

full courses
modules
syllabi
lectures
homework assignments
quizzes
lab activities
games
simulations

Open Educational Resources (OER) are "teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others."

From The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

OER allow users to:

Retain -- users have the right to make, archive, and own copies of the content
Reuse -- content can be reused in its unaltered form
Revise -- content can be adapted, adjusted, modified, and altered
Remix -- original or revised content can be combined with other content to create something new
Redistribute -- copies of the content can be shared with others in its original, revised or remixed form.

What are OERs

Faculty Webinars: Open Ed Week 2020

Course: MAN2021 - Principles of Management / Professors: Dr. Christina Goodell and Dr. Andrea McKeon

Faculty Webinars: Open Ed Week 2019

Course: AMH2092 - African-American History and Culture (Origins to 1877) / Professor: Dr. Scott Matthews

Course: AST1002 - Intro to Astronomy Laboratory / Professor: Dr. Mike Reynolds

Course: GEB1011 - Intro to Business / Professors: Dr. Christina Goodell and Dr. Andrea McKeon

Faculty Webinars: Open Ed Week 2018

Course: AST1002 - Intro to Astronomy / Professor: Dr. Mike Reynolds

Course: ENC1101 - English Composition I / Professor: Dr. Shep Shepard

Course: ENC1102 - Writing With Texts / Professor: Dr. Dan Powell

Course: HUM2210 - Humanities: Prehistory to the 15th Century / Professor: Dr. Scott Cason

Course: MAC1105 - College Algebra / Professor: Dr. Caroline Sampson

Course: MAT1033 - Intermediate Algebra / Professor: Jerry Shawver

OER Student Data

U.S.PRIG: 2020 Fixing the Broken Textbook Market
So, how are high course material costs affecting students today? The Student PIRGs implemented a national survey in Fall 2019 to find out. We asked nearly 4,000 students to share their experiences with us, across 83 institutions serving over 500,000 students. We found that despite publishers’ talking points that access codes and other digital materials have answered student’s cries for help over costs, there has been little measurable improvement in key textbook affordability measures over the last six years since our last national survey. The broken textbook market continues to fail to meet student needs, and leaders at institutions of higher education should take further action to aid students.
2018 Student Textbook and Course Materials Survey: Results and Findings
In this survey, students were asked to use their recent personal experiences to provide insight on how the cost of textbooks and course materials impact their education, purchasing behaviors, academic completion and success, the study aids they find most beneficial to their learning, and their use of financial aid to address these costs.
Freeing the Textbook: Educational Resources in U.S. Higher Education 2018
From the Executive Summary- "The 2017-2018 survey on teaching materials in U.S. higher education shows a steady growth in awareness of open educational resources (OER). Responses from over 4,000 faculty and department chairpersons paint a picture of steady improvement, with almost 50% of faculty now reporting OER awareness."
Covering the Cost
More than a decade ago, the Student PIRGs launched our campaign for textbook affordability to call attention to high prices and to highlight potential solutions to the problem. However, no research to date — including our own — has attempted to investigate the degree at which prices actually affect student’s financial standing and behavior. This report aims to fill that gap, and make the case for urgent action around high textbook prices.
What Are the Impacts of Adopting OER?
The OER Adoption Impact Calculator helps you understand many of the potential impacts of adopting OER instead of traditionally copyrighted learning materials. The values in the Settings on the left are set to defaults based on the published research referenced below. Change the Settings on the left so that they match the situation at your institution in order to see how replacing traditionally copyrighted materials with OER might benefit your students and institution. The information below will update in real time as you make changes.