Open Educational Resources (OER)

What Are OERs?

Open Educational Resources (OERs) are freely available teaching and learning materials that carry open licenses, granting users the ability to:

• Retain: Make and own copies of the materials.
• Reuse: Use the materials in diverse settings, from classrooms to study groups.
• Revise: Adapt or modify the content to fit specific needs.
• Remix: Combine the material with other resources to create something new.
• Redistribute: Share the original or modified materials with others.

OERs encompass a wide variety of resources, including textbooks, assessments, assignments, videos, case studies, and tutorials.

Benefits of OERs

1. Affordability: OERs reduce or eliminate textbook costs, making education more accessible.
2. Adaptability: They are dynamic and can be updated to stay current or relevant.
3. Inclusivity: Faculty can tailor OERs to include diverse perspectives and cultural contexts.
4. Accessibility: High-tech and low-tech options ensure equitable access to learning materials.
5. Empowerment: OERs invite collaboration, enabling students and educators to create and share knowledge.

What is Open Pedagogy?

Open pedagogy is a teaching and learning approach that emphasizes collaboration, student agency, and the use of openly licensed resources to create a participatory and inclusive educational experience. While it is closely linked to Open Educational Resources (OER), it extends beyond content by fostering student co-creation, knowledge-sharing, and public engagement.

Defining “Open” in Open Pedagogy

A key question in open pedagogy is: What are we opening, how are we opening it, for whom, and why? Unlike Open Access or OER, which have clearer definitions (e.g., UNESCO defines OER as openly licensed educational materials that anyone can legally use, adapt, and share), open pedagogy is more fluid and contextual. It involves various degrees of openness, depending on instructional goals, learner needs, and ethical considerations.

Key Aspects of Open Pedagogy

Open pedagogy can involve any combination of the following:

1. Open Content and Student-Generated Materials
   • Using OER to reduce textbook costs, increase accessibility, and encourage adaptation.
   • Students curating course materials, creating open textbooks, or building knowledge repositories.
   • Challenges: High-quality OER may not always be available, and open resources may not fully reflect marginalized perspectives.
2. Open Teaching and Transparency
   • Instructors publicly sharing syllabi, lesson plans, and reflections.
   • Soliciting student input on course structure (e.g., a “liquefied syllabus” where students co-create learning objectives or assignments).
   • Engaging in open scholarship through blogs, social media, and participatory networks.
3. Public and Sustainable Student Work
   • Encouraging students to create work with lasting value beyond the course (e.g., blogs, podcasts, Wikipedia edits, open assignment banks).
   • Ensuring students have choices regarding privacy and participation in public-facing assignments.
4. Student Networking and Community Engagement
   • Connecting students with experts and broader communities through social media or collaborative projects.
   • Using networked learning approaches like Domain of One’s Own, where students build personal digital identities.
   • Engaging in socially just open practices, such as feminist Wikipedia editathons.

Ethos of Open Pedagogy: Openness and Social Justice

Many proponents argue that open pedagogy embodies two major values:

• A belief in openness and sharing to improve learning
• A commitment to social justice and equity

Not all open pedagogy practices achieve both. Some emphasize openness for accessibility (e.g., free textbooks), while others focus on equity by centering marginalized voices and questioning power structures in education.

Challenges and Ethical Considerations

• Student agency vs. power imbalances – Giving students choices in assignments and content creation can empower some but exclude others.
• Privacy and digital safety – Working openly means considering risks, including the potential for student data to be monetized or misused.
• Institutional barriers – Grading systems, tenure expectations, and course structures may limit how openly educators can teach.

Evolving and Iterative Nature of Open Pedagogy

Open pedagogy is not a static framework; it evolves with practice and context. As more educators experiment with openness, they refine their understanding of its benefits and limitations. The goal is not just to open up content but to open up possibilities for learning in ways that are meaningful, inclusive, and sustainable.

ETSU Open and Affordable Course Materials Awards Program

ETSU Open and Affordable Course Materials Awards Program

Textbook costs are a major barrier to student success. The ETSU Open and Affordable Course Materials Awards Program supports instructors in adopting, adapting, or creating free or low-cost learning materials for their courses.

Who Can Apply?

Awards are available for individual instructors and cohorts (multiple instructors teaching the same course).

Funding Levels

• Tier I ($500–$2,000): For instructors adopting, adapting, or creating open/affordable materials in a course currently using costly textbooks or a new course.
• Tier II ($500–$2,000): For instructors updating or modifying previously adopted open/affordable materials.

What Qualifies as Open or Affordable?

• Open materials are free and openly licensed for reuse, revision, and sharing (e.g., Creative Commons).
• Affordable materials are free for ETSU students but not openly licensed (e.g., library resources).

Important Notes

• Funds cannot be used for commercial e-textbooks or rentals.
• The award is funded by the Student Library Fee and co-managed by Sherrod Library and the Center for Teaching Excellence.

See Some Examples

Browse OERs created by ETSU instructors with support from this program in Digital Commons.

How to Apply

For details and applications, visit ETSU’s OER site or email oer@etsu.edu.