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There are numerous places that OER can be found, many of which are used every day by instructors, librarians, teachers, and researchers. Examples of OER include: C-K12, OpenStax, Pixabay, Flickr, Khan Academy, Curriki, and MIT OpenCourseware, to name a few. Simple searches on the internet can reveal various OER depending on materials sought. While there is not an all-encompassing list of where to find materials, many libguides from various library and universities have lists that are available to search. East Carolina University provides a libguide of internet sources that contain OER available as well.
OER are usually found with a Creative Commons or public domain license. Searching for materials under a Creative Commons License (CCL) is the most comprehensive of the ways to find OER that can be modified and used in course materials. CCL materials are becoming more common and it is likely that many have seen these materials without even realizing it. These materials can be searched for using various methods. For example, TED Talks are licensed under Creative Commons. YouTube now has CCL options instead of only a standard license, and even board games, such as ‘Cards Against Humanity’ are licensed under Creative Commons. There are a few different places where one can get help with finding CCL materials, but there should never be an assumption that all generated search results are automatically under Creative Commons. CCL provides a search tool on their website, creativecommons.org, that allows for the search of licensed materials in various places such as Flickr, Open Clipart, CCmixer, and Pixabay.
For example, a simple search on Pixaby for “Cape Fear River” will provide images that are a CC0 licensed and are therefore available to use, modify, and share. in CC0 works, the creators have waived their copyright to the work in order to contribute to public domain materials (Creative Commons, n.d.). Both YouTube and Google have an advanced search for finding and identifying CCL materials, along with the Mason OER Metafinder that will search a plethora of open repositories. A search for “Emerald Isle Waves” with a CCL will provide various videos that can be reused and freely shared. Whereas a search within the Mason Metafinder for “Lumbee” will provide OER linked to open repositories that include photographs, papers, and videos. Again, it is crucial that each search result is checked for a Creative Commons License. Please refer to Chapter 3 for more information on CCL.
Just like any resources found during a search, they must be evaluated for accuracy and credibility. There are a rubrics designed to help researchers and educators to evaluate OER. However, they are not unlike the ones that would be used to verify the credibility of any other resource. One of the most common rubrics used to evaluate OER is the ACHIEVE rubric, synthesized from Eight Rubrics developed by Achieve (Achieve, 2011). Since the rubrics are under a CCL, the researcher can modify it specifically to meet their needs and can distribute it to others (as long as attribution is given). We have provided this rubric as part of this handbook in the Appendix.
Quotable Quotes
“For too long, our educational systems have operated with a fundamental disconnect between practices left over from the analog world, and the vast potential of technology and the Internet to support more affordable, effective teaching and learning. The movement for Open Education seeks to close this gap (SPARC, n.d.).”
Did you know?
New York has allocated 8M in funding for OER development and implementation for the second year in a row in 2018. By the Spring of 2019 this initiative will cover over 260,000 students and will have a total savings of more than 28 million dollars (N.Y. Governor’s Press Office, 2018).
Additional OER Resources
Accessibility checkpoints and instruction guide
http://support.skillscommons.org/home/contribute-manage/prepare-materials/ada-requirements/
ECU Open Educational Resources LibGuide
OER evaluation criteria
https://libguides.cmich.edu/OER/evaluating
OER Mythbusting
https://mythbusting.oerpolicy.eu/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/OER_Mythbusting.pdf
OER Evaluation Rubric
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8htrN_MakT9SHJmUjc3TFVzaEk/edit?pli=1
References
1.Achieve. (2011). Achieve OER Rubrics. Retrieved from https://www.achieve.org/publications/achieve-oer-rubrics.
2. Creative Commons. (n.d.). Public domain: CC0. Retrieved from https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/.
3. N.Y. Governor’s Press Office. (2018). Governor Cuomo announces 8 million open educational resources initiative at SUNY and CUNY to cut high costs of textbooks. Retrieved from https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-8-million-open-educational-resources-initiative-suny-and-cuny-cut-high.
4. SPARC. (n.d.). Open education – SPARC. Retrieved from https://sparcopen.org/open-education/.
