This is an introductory-level course designed for global post-secondary educators interested in learning more about open education, open educational resources (OER), and open educational practices (OEP). The purpose of the course is to increase awareness and use of OER as part of global teaching and learning, and to connect education communities with each other. Participation within the course discussion forums requires enrolment through the OpenLearn system and may enrich your learning experience through interactions. There will also be social media and blogging opportunities to connect through Twitter and other spaces that you choose.

OER programs provide an opportunity for students to earn a certificate or associates degree without incurring the cost of textbooks for their courses. This can dramatically reduce the cost of attendance and has been estimated at 25% or more savings*. Most OER programs are developed to serve the neediest students who may otherwise have to defer college or take fewer courses due to prohibitive cost. Reaching the students who could most benefit most from enrolling in OER courses can prove to be a challenge in of itself. We will hear from speakers who have developed successful strategies at their colleges to create awareness and encourage underrepresented students to enroll in OER degree programs targeted at their academic success.

This is a five-step guide for faculty, and those who support faculty, who want to modify an open textbook. Step-by-step instructions for importing and editing common open textbook file and platform types are included.

We will start the lesson discussing what open educational resources are. Please watch the video first and read through the content. It is important to understand the concept of open educational resources as it will be the base for the rest of the modules.

Why do open educational resources matter? What is the point of using OER? Below are some of the benefits of using open educational resources that I have seen while working with OER over the past several years.

Making the Case for OER

Use the plays to build a network of supporters who will advocate for the change you want to make.

The toolkit is made up of three elements:
1). information and resources to support your evaluation activities
2). an interactive tool to guide you through our Evaluation and Synthesis framework, providing an opportunity to submit findings, observations and links to evidence AND which feeds this back to you for inclusion in your project reporting mechanisms
3). examples of evaluation materials, instruments and reports from other UKOER projects

The aim of the Open Education Design - Course for Practitioners is to equip the participants with basic knowledge, practical advice and hands-on experience to prepare them for their own design of Open Educational Resources (OER).

During the 5-day course, the participants became familiar with open education design processes, methods and tools. They learned from OER experts and practitioners how to align open education with developmental and strategic goals, they got basic knowledge about OE concepts, about pedagogical and didactical issues as well as about content related issues in OE.

To empower the participants for making a crucial step from an idea to the implementation of concrete OERs, platforms and tools for open education design was addressed, followed with hands-on experience and a session on OER evaluation.

The OEL Toolkit is openly available and openly licensed. The guidance generated by the OEL Toolkit is of primary relevance to educators and developers working within Australian higher education institutions. The OEL Toolkit web application has been designed with a focus on ease of use. It provides relevant information for users seeking guidance on using, creating, modifying or sharing a specific Open Educational Resource.

This report is based on an independent survey commissioned in 2019 by the Digital Higher Education
Consortium of Texas (DigiTex), in collaboration with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB),
and the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME).

The Open Educational Resources (OER) in Texas Statewide Playbook is a resource developed by practitioners and advocates actively involved in the labor of open education to guide new and expanding OER work at institutions of higher education. The Playbook is the result of partnerships between the Division of Digital Learning, the Institution for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) – creators of OER Commons and experts in open education practice and research – and faculty, librarians, staff, and administrators from institutions and systems across Texas. It aims to support institutions as they work to build capacity and drive systems change around OER. It also serves as a guiding document for institutions that have not yet engaged in OER work or taken advantage of existing programs and opportunities. The hope is that the Texas OER Playbook will serve as a companion on the journey towards OER awareness and advocacy at your institution.

Pressbooks is an Open Textbook platform. This Open (Canvas LMS) course demonstrates various methods of placing an open Pressbooks textbook in Canvas, including as a Navigation menu item and as links, PDFs or pages within Modules. It also includes various methods of providing students with a print version.

This report shares the results of an OER Gap Analysis completed by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). The analysis identified free, openly licensed full courses and textbooks for 25 highly transferable, high-enrollment courses required for two-year or four-year degree paths in high-wage/high-demand fields. Most courses selected for the scan are also Texas Core Curriculum courses. Texas high-wage/high-demand fields were identified using data from the Texas Workforce Commission and included nursing, business, accounting, computer science, engineering, and health administration. The following courses needed for multiple degree paths in these fields were selected for the scan:Science: Anatomy and Physiology I and II; Biology I; Chemistry I; Physics IMath: College Algebra; Elementary Statistical Methods; Pre-Calculus; Calculus I; Calculus IISocial Sciences: Texas Government; Federal Government; General Psychology; Introduction to Sociology; Principles of Macroeconomics, Principles of MicroeconomicsHumanities: US History I and II; Introduction to Ethics; Introduction to Philosophy; Public Speaking; Composition I; Composition IIBusiness: Business Computer Applications; Principles of Finance

This report presents the findings of a research study, funded by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and conducted by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME), aiming to identify the characteristics, challenges, and needed supports of institutions with low engagement with Open Educational Resources (OER); explore which higher education regions in Texas need additional support with OER; and investigate factors that promote and hinder OER advancement in institutions that are relatively early in on their journey with OER. Utilizing the 2019 and 2021 OER Landscape Survey data and drawing from interviews with nine administrators across five higher education institutions, the report concludes with recommendations for advancing OER in Texas and beyond.

A brief video where OER experts give their reasons for working in the field of Open Educational Resources. Primary reasons include empowering teachers, equalizing access to education, reducing teachers' worries about copyright, reducing educational costs, and facilitating the open flow of information.