Thursday, September 27, 2018
Spotlight on Open Educational Resources
Spotlight on Open Educational Resources
The fall semester is well on its way, but it is always a good time to think about how Open Educational Resources (OER) fit with your teaching, learning or research! We have talked about OER before, but we wanted to remind you of some of the great opportunities to get involved with this exciting movement.
To catch you up, OER are teaching, learning and research materials that are in the public domain and allow for remixing, redistribution and sharing. They can include everything from entire courses to whole textbooks, various types of media, or assessment materials.
Anything that you use for teaching and learning in your courses could probably also be an OER! It is all about how others can access the content to adapt it to their context, and even share those materials after they have made those changes. This collaborative approach to learning is at the heart of the OER initiative.
Hint: This didn’t give you enough information? Watch this video to learn more
Why Do Libraries Care about OER?
Meeting the needs of our community and lowing the barrier to information is always a library's mission. For example, did you know that the University of Alberta Libraries has a textbook lending program to help lower the barriers to accessing expensive textbooks? OER are another tool in our toolbox to share new way to think about teaching and learning.Who Cares about OER ?
The most common consideration for OER is the rising cost of textbooks and the burden on students. This fall the University of Alberta Students’ Union hosted the Be Booksmart Fair to share their concerns about textbook costs.
As a large campus building up professionals for a variety of fields, the knowledge of OER is something that our students can take into their professionals lives to have continued access to scholarly dialogue and encourage lifelong learning.
"The integration of an OER in your classroom means you are removing barriers for students to connect with course content. Therefore, students are more engaged in the class, they produce higher quality work, and have an enjoyable and accessible experience at a leading institution in Canada."
The University of Alberta's VP Academic Akanksha Bhatnagar
Upcoming Events
Open Educational Resources ShowcaseDecember 30, 2018 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Cameron Basement B-12
Remixing and Revising Free Teaching Materials
November 19, 2018 12:00 PM - 1:20 PM
Cameron Basement B-12
Open Educational Resources Showcase
December 6, 2018 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Cameron Basement B-12
Taking Action
There are many low barrier ways to explore an interest with OER, or just learn about your community supports. Read more about the open education movement on the UA Libraries Open Education libguide and consider contacting our OER Subject Librarian. You may also want to check out the Centre For Teaching and Learning's Open Education page and consider booking a consultation, or join the UofA OE Interest Group.
This article is licensed under a CC BY licence. Visit Creative Commons to learn more about what this means.
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