OER in Texas Statewide Playbook Course

This course is intended to support leads in developing and expanding Open Educational Resource (OER) work at institutions of higher education. This asynchronous course is designed to complement the OER in Texas Statewide Playbook, which outlines the steps needed to implement the change management inherent in an institutional shift to OER. Institutional leads are invited to explore the Playbook before beginning the Course, and can complete all of the lessons in order or select which lessons are most applicable to their work. At the end of each section of the lessons are planning prompts that will assist participants in identifying and articulating their OER initiatives goals, success indicators, coalitions, programs & partnerships, and outreach communication plans. Participants have two options to use to share their plans. Option 1 is to reply to the planning prompts in the group discussions. Participants will need be logged in and join the OER Playbook Group to be able reply to the group discussions. Option 2 is to download and/or remix the OER in Texas Statewide Planning Template which guides participants through all of the planning activities and provides space to respond to the prompts in the template. Participants can download the template to use, or they can remix it to customize it for their institution and they publish it when they are ready to share. To receive a certificate of completion, please email digitallearning@highered.texas.gov and include the link to your group discussions or published template remix, or attach your template remix. 

Material Type: Full Course

Advancing an Ecosystem for Open Educational Resources: OER in Texas Higher Education

This report presents the results of a biennial independent survey done by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) commissioned by the Digital Higher Education Consortium of Texas (DigiTex), in collaboration with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), to examine the landscape of Open Educational Resources (OER) programs, policies, and practices at higher education institutions in Texas.

Material Type: Reading

Authors: Amee Godwin, Anastasia Karaglani, Cynthia Jimes, Judith Sebesta, Kylah Torre, Michelle Singh, Ursula Pike

Open Educational Resources (OER) in Texas Higher Education, 2019

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).

Material Type: Reading

Authors: Anastasia Karaglani, Cynthia Jimes, Jose Rios, Judith Sebesta, Kylah Torre, Lisa Petrides

A Scan of Open Educational Resources (OER) Materials in High-Impact Higher Education Courses in Texas

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

Material Type: Reading

Author: Kylah Torre

Texas Open Educational Resources (OER) Regional Needs Analysis

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.

Material Type: Reading

Author: Kylah Torre

From Affordability to Strategic Success: The Progression of OER in Texas Higher Education

This report presents the results from the third biennial Texas OER Landscape Survey, administered in 2023 and commissioned by the Digital Higher Education Consortium of Texas (DigiTex) and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). The survey aimed to explore the open educational resources (OER) landscape, policies, and practices at 169 higher education institutions, including 11 health-related institutions, across the state. The 2023 Texas OER Landscape Survey revealed an OER landscape marked by institutional commitment, diverse adoption goals, and the instrumental role of OER champions on campus. This report not only highlights areas for improvement but also underscores the necessity of ongoing collaboration and faculty support. The trajectory observed in OER adoption is institutionally driven, placing a growing emphasis on student learning impacts and resource quality alongside financial considerations. As librarians and other key stakeholders play pivotal roles, the landscape unfolds organically, showcasing the self-sufficiency of institutions in advancing OER use and development to reach their goals for student success.

Material Type: Reading

Authors: Anastasia Karaglani, Carrie Gits, Chip Hatcher, Cynthia Jimes, Elizabeth Tolman, Kylah Torre, Michelle Singh

Guiding Questions for OER Institutional Needs Assessment

This document outlines essential guiding questions for conducting a Needs Assessment focused on Open Educational Resources. While you may not have answers to all these questions right now, the intention is to encourage thoughtful reflection and collaboration, leading to a more informed and effective assessment process. The steps and guiding questions presented here are largely inspired by Chait and Wynveen’s (2022) work, Assessing Community Needs: Strategies for Charter Schools and Authorizers. WestEd.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Anastasia Karaglani

Open Pedagogy Approaches: Faculty, Library, and Student Collaborations

The entire spirit of this book project reflects the editors’ shared belief in the power of an open and inclusive community, of learning, and of collaboration toward innovation. From the outset, the editors knew that this book would be an open project in its own right. It had to be published openly (to practice what we preach), and it would serve as an opportunity to learn the process of creating an open book from start to finish, including, for example, developing review criteria that would ensure rigor, diversity, inclusion, and ingenuity while drawing from the open community to involve both novice and expert OP practitioners both as authors and readers.

Material Type: Reading, Teaching/Learning Strategy, Textbook

Authors: Alexis Clifton, Kimberly Davies Hoffman

The Open Pedagogy Student Toolkit – Simple Book Publishing

This toolkit is intended as a guide for students who are engaging in open pedagogy. The toolkit defines open pedagogy, the benefits of open pedagogy, and the rights and responsibilities that come with being a student creator. Instructors may wish to use this toolkit as a resource to scaffold conversations about open pedagogy with their students and to appropriately prepare them for working in the open.

Material Type: Reading, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Author: Jamie Witman

Texas OER Core Elements Course, Unit 10: Open Pedagogy, Considerations for Using Open Pedagogy

Considerations for Using Open Pedagogy

Material Type: Lesson

Authors: Judith Sebesta, Carrie Gits

A Guide to Making Open Textbooks with Students – Simple Book Publishing

A handbook for faculty interested in practicing open pedagogy by involving students in the making of open textbooks, ancillary materials, or other Open Educational Resources. This is a first edition, compiled by Rebus Community, and we welcome feedback and ideas to expand the text.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Edited by Elizabeth Mays

Open Pedagogy Project Roadmap

The Open Pedagogy Project Roadmap is a module-based resource that will assist you in planning, finding support for, sharing, and sustaining your open pedagogy project, regardless of its size or scope.

Material Type: Full Course

Authors: Bryan McGeary, Christina Riehman-Murphy

Open Pedagogy Portal

The Open Pedagogy Portal includes case studies/renewable assignments and student work product by discipline.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Homework/Assignment

Pedagogy Opened: Innovative Theory and Practice

Open pedagogy is teaching and learning practices and environments that promote equity, collaboration, and innovation and invite students to create and share knowledge with future publics, often in association with the use of open educational resources (OER). Pedagogy Opened: Innovative Theory and Practice seeks to advance the study of open and innovative pedagogy through the belief that their impact and reach are increased by research on and analysis of the theory and practice of open pedagogy across the disciplines and via multiple modalities. In this first volume of Pedagogy Opened, seven author teams explore and share their work with open pedagogy in a variety of ways, including through research, practice, and autoethnographic reflection.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Tiffani Tijerina

Open for Inclusive Excellence

This course is a 5-week facilitated learning experience designed for community college faculty who are interested in using Open Education Resources (OER) and Open Pedagogy (OP) to develop culturally responsive materials and pedagogical approaches in their teaching at community college. The course explores the fundamental connections among Culturally Responsive Teaching, Open Educational Resources (OER), and Open Pedagogy. The course is framed by the Inclusive Excellence model, which celebrates diversity, centers students and their lived experiences, and expands our existing notions of excellence to include new formats, different modalities, and more student voice.

Material Type: Full Course

Author: Kim Grewe

OERigin Stories – Pathways to the Open Movement

OERigin Stories is a series of interviews with women of color working in Open Education. I interviewed six individuals in the Open Movement (faculty, librarians, policy makers) and asked them to share their experience with Open Education. Because I believe Black, Indigenous, Asian, Hispanic, and other women from traditionally marginalized communities have rarely been given an opportunity to share their experiences in the Open Movement, OERigin Stories focuses exclusively on women of color in OER.

Material Type: Primary Source

Author: Ursula Pike

OER Storytelling Template

OER Fellows are invited to remix this OER Storytelling Template to share their stories of impact with Open Educational Resources (OER).

Material Type: Case Study

Authors: Megan Simmons, Carrie Gits, Kylah Torre

Texas OER Core Elements Course

Mobile Office Workspace by Maya Maceka on Unsplash is licensed under the Unsplash licenseWelcome to the Texas OER Core Elements Course! Your learning includes a series of self-paced online learning units. The 13 units can serve as an introduction to open educational resources (OER) as well as an opportunity for further exploration and discovery of OER and open education practices. Throughout the units there are opportunities for you to test your knowledge or further explore a concept.The modules allow you to learn at your own pace. While you can follow the modules in any order, it is recommended that you start with Unit 1 and progress through in order. 

Material Type: Full Course

The OER Starter Kit for Program Managers

The OER Starter Kit for Program Managers was created to bring attention to the work that is involved in building and managing an OER program, from learning about open educational practices and soliciting team members to collecting and reporting data on your program’s outcomes. Regardless of your program's scope and your own experience with OER, we hope that the Starter Kit for Program Managers will have some tips to help you along your way.

Material Type: Case Study

Authors: Abbey K. Elder, Apurva Ashok, Jeff Gallant;, Marco Seiferle-Valencia, Stefanie Buck