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Embrace Open Educational Resources (OER)
Embrace Open Educational Resources (OER)
Senate Bill 810 defined OER as:
Senate Bill 810 defined OER as:
Resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that allows for free use, reuse, modification, and sharing with others
The legal definition of open educational resources, as defined by SB 810, also identifies these resources as full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, or any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.
The legal definition of open educational resources, as defined by SB 810, also identifies these resources as full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, or any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.
Why OER Matters
Why OER Matters
- Saves cost for students
- Grants access to more quality choices
- Gathers more contributors and reviewers
- Helps pre and post learning for students
- Limits or eliminates copyright violations
Quick Stats
Quick Stats
- 42% of Texas administrators have implemented some form of OER within their district, and
- 12% more are considering it.
- 44% of the technology leaders in Texas consider OER to be one of the high growth digital initiatives.
Source: SpeakUp Survey
Texas Spotlight: El Paso ISD
Texas Spotlight: El Paso ISD
El Paso ISD is a #GoOpen Launch district. They have partnered with CK-12 to develop Flexbooks. El Paso has created quite a collection of Flexbooks in all four core subject areas.
At the launch of their CK-12 partnership, Tim Holt (@timholt2007), Executive Director of Blended Learning, said, “Instead of us matching our curriculum to a pre-made textbook, we’ve done it the other way. We’ve made the textbook to match our curriculum.”
Step 1 - Meet the Problem & Task
Step 1 - Meet the Problem & Task
Problem
Problem
"I'm overwhelmed. There's no way I can create brand new resources from scratch to use online. What options do I have for finding materials from other people? And, what if I wanted to marshal the efforts of my students to create and share content?"
Task
Task
Explore these OER resources, as well as how you can start students (and yourself) down the journey of creating open educational resources in collaboration with others.
Option A: Create an ePub or PDF document using your tool of choice. Follow this outline or come up with your own.
OR
Option B: Explore one of the content curation tools then create a shared space with resources you would like to introduce your campus/district leadership team to.
Background Info & Tools
Background Info & Tools
The key phrases in the definition are “free,” “reuse,” and “modify.” In order for a resource to be considered an open resource, it has to not only be free, but the user must also have the rights to reuse all or part of it for his own purpose.
Let’s take, for example, a high school English literature teacher preparing to teach a unit on Shakespeare who finds the play As You Like It, on the OER Commons website.
In order for this resource to truly be an openly-licensed material, the entity that is hosting this resource would grant the teacher the rights to use and adapt all or part of the play. You will notice that the license allows you to remix and share the resource so it qualifies as an OER.
Use OER resources and/or create your own OER with colleagues and/or students.
Use OER resources and/or create your own OER with colleagues and/or students.
Option A Task - eBook Creation Tools
Option A Task - eBook Creation Tools
A Few Tools to Make With....
A Few Tools to Make With....
Top three favorite ebook creation tools:
- Google Docs ePub export – This tool provides for an easy way to create ePub-formatted ebooks. You can also export to Word, ODF, or PDF.
- Book Creator – It allows you to create a simple ePub without media or an enhanced ePub with video, audio, and more embedded. You cannot yet import Google Docs ePubs into Book Creator.
- OneNote - Microsoft OneNote makes digital textbook creation easy. Students can work together on a single OneNote notebook that is organized into “notebook, section groups, sections, and pages.”
There are many other tools you can use to create ebooks. Here's one more participants have recommended: WriterReader.
Try making an audiobook...here's one approach:
Try making an audiobook...here's one approach:
Steps to Follow
Steps to Follow
- Pick a print book you want to use
- Add picture of each book to a Google Slides slide
- Add QR Code for audio recording of book page
How to Get Audio Recording as QR Code
How to Get Audio Recording as QR Code
- Record Your Voice as audio recording (Apps to Use: iOS | Android | Chromebook)
- Save the audio recording of book being read to Google Drive
- Get Share link for the audio file ("Anyone with link")
- Create a QR code (GoQr.me works to make QR codes)
- Copy-n-Paste QR code into appropriate slide
Option B Task - Content Creation Tools
Option B Task - Content Creation Tools
Curation Tools
- Wakelet - Learn more
- GetToby.com
- IFTTT & OneNote - Learn more
- Twitter Moments
- Get Pocket
- Peardeck with Google Slides
Ready to Remix?
Ready to Remix?
Did you know that Creative Commons Copyright licenses allow you to remix content available on the Web? It all depends on the type of Creative Commons license the creator has established.
OER licensed content must be free for any individual to use, licensed for unlimited distribution, and allow for adaptation, translation, remixing, and improvement.
Find a rich variety of images, audio, and video licensed as Creative Commons. You can also find content via Google Image Search as well as use Chrome extensions, Image Google Search.
Step 2 - Create
Step 2 - Create
Create ONE of the following (unless your team wants to try more):
Create ONE of the following (unless your team wants to try more):
Option A: Create an ePub or PDF document using your tool of choice. Follow this outline or come up with your own.
OR
Option B: Explore one of the content curation tools then create a shared space with resources you would like to introduce your campus/district leadership team to.
Step 3 - Turn In Your Project Creation
Step 3 - Turn In Your Project Creation
When Complete, Move On to the Next Station
When Complete, Move On to the Next Station
Research & Resources
Research & Resources
A variety of resources cite research describing the learning strategy.
OER Tools
OER Tools
- Amazon Inspire
- CK-12 - Get standards-aligned digital textbooks on STEM subjects. FREE
- College Open Textbooks - Peruse this library of free digital textbooks that includes both K-12 and higher education. FREE
- Critical Commons
- Curriki
- Illinois Shared Learning Environment
- Lumen Learning - Set up a full online course using all the tools and resources available here. FREE
- North Shore Community College OER Guide
- OER Commons - Find full courses and all associated materials. FREE
- Open Culture Textbooks (FREE)
- OpenEd
- Open Tapestry
- Merlot - Read through peer reviews to find suitable, high-quality learning materials. FREE
- MIT Open Courseware
- My Digital Chalkboard
- Utah Educator Network
Other Curated Resources
- Open Educational Resources - Curated by technology specialist Brenda Sargent.
- OER's - Curated by learning technologist Paul Styles.
A scholar is committed to building on knowledge that others have gathered, correcting it, confirming it, enlarging it.
A scholar is committed to building on knowledge that others have gathered, correcting it, confirming it, enlarging it.
– Parker J. Palmer
– Parker J. Palmer
OER Research Journals
OER Research Journals
You can find a list online of OER Journals, and as well as in the Directory of OpenAccess Journals.
Google Sites
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