Adopt
Adopting OER open access course materials is defined as incorporating previously published open access materials into one's class, thereby eliminating the need for students to purchase textbooks or other course materials.
Five Steps to OER Adoption by Community Colleges Consortium for Open Educational Resources is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 CC BY International License
How do I adopt Open Educational Resources at Medicine Hat College?
Step 1: Review the Materials
- Many open textbooks have been peer-reviewed by faculty or subject matter experts so you may use these reviews to narrow down choices before examining them yourself. If you want to evaluate the materials yourself, there are some existing rubrics that can guide you.
- CCCOER has published a blog series titled "Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Openness" that raises many points you will also want to keep in mind when evaluating OER.
- Also have a look at MHC's LibGuide about evaluating OER.
Step 2: Modify the OER (if necessary and possible)
- After reviewing the materials, determine whether any modification is needed.
- If you decide to modify the materials, then the license type and the potential for hosting a new digital version must be considered.
- License Considerations - when remixing OER with different licenses, it can be tricky to understand how they can be combined. The Florida Virtual Campus produced a video that can be helpful in understanding how openly licensed resources can or cannot be combined.
- Hosting - Now that you have a revised version of the OER, you'll want to consider where to post it so students can access a digital copy. You could share in on MHC's Learning Management System (Blackboard), or more widely on an OER repository.
Step 3: Attribution of OER
- Creative Commons licenses require attribution to the creator or copyright holder. Read "How to attribute a Creative Commons licensed work" to learn more about attributing CC licensed materials as well as to receive tips and a free tool to help you automate the process.
Step 4: Curriculum Approval (if needed)
- Consider whether you need to get approval from others at MHC for your instructional material choices. Any institutional policies should be considered well in advance so that you can make a smooth transition to OER.
Step 5: Delivery of OER to Students
- The simplest and most economical method of delivering OER to students is to provide a link for students to view the OER online or to download/print it.
- Most textbooks are available in a few different downloadable formats, such as PDF, ePub, or Mobi.
- Downloadable options may be useful for students without reliable internet access.
- You could also integrate a copy of the OER into MHC's Learning Management System (LMS) - Blackboard.
"Adopt OER" by Community College Consortium for OER (CCCOER) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 4.0 International License
