Welcome to OER 101
This is a self-paced, unfacilitated introductory course created by Open UAS, a program of Egan Library and The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT). If you are interested in a facilitated training or want to learn more about OER consultation services, contact Jonas Lamb, j.lamb@alaska.edu.
A professional development acknowledgement (Open Access Champion letter) will be provided to all UAS Faculty who:
- complete all course modules and submit their “next step” goals to encourage action towards embracing OER.
- take a colleague out for coffee (via Zoom if necessary) or schedule a time to discuss OER and share “next step” goals .
So, what is this course all about?
This course walks you through techniques to incorporate Open Educational Resources (OER) into your teaching practice. The course will cover the fundamental aspects of OER including open licensing and public domain. It focuses on providing practical guidance in locating and applying openly available resources. It is expected that upon completion of this course participants will be able to:
- Gain fluency in defining open education, including its core benefits, challenges, and potential.
- Differentiate the concepts of open licensing, public domain, and all rights reserved copyrights.
- Identify resources that are openly licensed or in the public domain.
- Distinguish the different types of Creative Commons licenses.
- License works using a Creative Commons license.
- Find open educational resources and properly attribute a work offered under a Creative Commons license.
Why Should I Participate?
The purpose of the course is for faculty to learn about affordable and no-cost alternatives to costly textbooks (OER). The overall hope is to reduce the cost of higher education for students by eliminating the cost of instructional materials from all courses in which free, high-quality options are available. The incorporation of OER into teaching practices is complementary to the objectives of the UAS Strategic and Assessment Plan and the UAS Mission. At the heart of both these philosophies are the guiding values of:
- Excellence through continuous improvement and innovation in teaching….
- Access to programs and services through use of technology, innovative and creative practices, and personalized services.
Faculty use of OER represents one strategy in a growing area of Open Education, a suite of learner-centered, innovative teaching practices (Excellence). Use of free, openly licensed course materials which may be customized to be culturally relevant, and available to students on day 1 represent a simple strategy to provide equitable access to higher education (Access).
Good luck, have fun, and keep pushing yourselves!
Jonas Lamb
Open UAS Coordinator
“OER 101” by Open UAS is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 / A derivative from original works by Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges and California State University, Fullerton.