Let's Create OER Together!

by Megan Simmons 2 years, 9 months ago

To begin creating OER, follow the steps below:

  • Register and create an account

  • Join our Create OER Group

  • Contribute to our Group in Open Author

  • Design, describe, license, and publish your resource

Watch the Open Author Tutorial / read the Help Article, if you need support.

To help our community find and use resources:

  • Add relevant course alignments and keyword tags to resources you author and submit, as well as those you find while searching and browsing OERTX
  • Save resources you would like to share in our Group Folders (you can also add new folder and subfolder names / content areas)
  • Share resources beyond OERTX via different communication channels - such as social media, email, newsletters, blogs, presentations, etc.

Share your next steps for advancing your OER work by replying below.

Diane Rhodes 2 years, 9 months ago

This is lot to think about. I have a course I would like to create as an OER. I suspect my next step is familiarizing myself with the amazing template. 

Megan Simmons 2 years, 9 months ago

Hi Diane, I'm so excited to see the Social Work & DEI course you are creating. I did some searching and it looks like we have some interesting social work resources https://oertx.highered.texas.gov/search?f.search=social+work&f.general_subject=&f.sublevel=&f.alignment_standard= (you can filter the search further on the left side of the page) and here is an equity rubric for OER evaluation that BranchED created https://oercommons.s3.amazonaws.com/media/courseware/relatedresource/file/BranchED_OER_Full_Report_Designed.pdf

Diane Rhodes 2 years, 9 months ago

Brilliant! Thank you! I was about to start searching myself - I appreciate the head start. It looks like there are some resources for our Introduction to Social Work course here, too. I'm excited to pass this along to our Assitant Dean. 

Bill Lockhart 2 years, 9 months ago

I have a module (a week's worth of work) that I've put together for my Social Problems class that I will try to put into the Template as it is, and then play with it (edit, expand, etc).

Can I publish it just for this group to review, or does it have to be published for all to see?

Megan Simmons 2 years, 9 months ago

How wonderful! You can leave it in draft mode in our group, so only members can see it, until you are ready to publish. Thank you!

Ryan Melton 2 years, 9 months ago

What is the best way to include resources created with Open Author in an LMS? There are several download options, and I assume they each have particular purposes.

Megan Simmons 2 years, 9 months ago

Hi Ryan, we recommend downloading the Thin Common Cartridge option because the formatting imports better. It automatically makes Modules for each Unit and links for each lesson in the Unit. You can also drag and drop to rearrange sections / lessons after the import. The Common Cartridge inserts links in the LMS, so any changes are automatically reflected, because students are just accessing links that point to content on the site. Here is some more information on the other download formats / options:

  • SCORM creates a basic stripped down HTML version of the course as it is, kind of like choosing "save as a web page" from a browser to download to your device.
  • EPUB 3 is better for accessibility / screenreaders than a PDF
Ryan Melton 2 years, 9 months ago

Blackboard doesn't seem to like the Thin Common Cartridge (or any other downloads, that I can tell). But I know I have imported other files with the same type before with other tools. Any thoughts on that?

Megan Simmons 2 years, 9 months ago

One option is that you can embed the resource links in your course. Another option is that we can set you up for LTI integration. We will need to work with your LMS Administrator to install the LTI integration tool. Feel free to reach out via OERTX Support for additional help. Thanks!