Open Educational Resources (OER): Finding, Evaluating, and Adapting OER

All things via the Internet are not OER. Some works described as “open” may not have the legal permissions to exercise the 5Rs. That said, how do you recognize and choose which OER will work best in your class?

Locating the right resources for your students is your first step to bringing OER into your classroom. Fact: discovery is one of the primary barriers to educators using OER. Fortunately, there are many established ways to search for OER.

Please watch this short, enlightening video on how to find OER, “How can I find OER?” Video by Council of Chief State School Officers, CC BY 4.0. Music by Lahaina by Blue Dot Sessions: CC BY NC 4.0

• Is this freely available to all students?
• Can students keep a copy of this resource forever?
• Does the class have the legal rights to fix errors, update old or inaccurate content, improve the work, and share it with other educators around the world?
• Can students contribute to and improve our learning resources as part of their course work?

If the answer to these questions is “No” – you’re likely working with learning resources that don’t provide the legal permissions you and your students need to do what you want to do.

Professor Penelope Pincher & the Search for Affordable Content

This eText, created by Emily Hunt, Indiana University Information Technology Services Unizin Initiatives Liaison, was designed to assist faculty in determining what eTexts and digital affordable content to adopt