Open Educational Resources (OER) are educational materials that are in the public domain or that have been introduced with an open license. An open license means that anyone can use, copy and re-share the materials. OER can be in the form of full courses, course materials, textbooks, curricula, syllabi, lecture notes, tests, assignments, videos or audio (UNESCO)
Valencia College libraries also have subscriptions to a multitude of resources than can be embedded in Canvas to also supplement your course materials. Even though these resources are not OER, they can be used together with OER to reduce the cost for students.
Open Access vs. OER
Open Access is not the same as OER. While OER are created under an open license, Open Access materials are protected under traditional copyright and cannot be copied, shared, or remixed as can be done with OER. Open Access materials can be read online without a subscription or download. Open Access content cannot be embedded either, you can only link to these resources in the same way you would link to the Library's databases.
The links on this guide may change, if you discover a dead link, please let me know: dramsingh1@valenciacollege.edu
Why OER?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, textbook costs have increased more than 1000% since 1977, on average, textbooks and learning materials cost students approximately $1,200 per year. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, 7 in 10 students didn't purchase a textbook because it was too expensive. This increasing cost of textbooks and the struggle that students face is now pushing the OER movement forward. The use of OERs can drastically minimize the cost of materials for students while providing an opportunity for faculty to customize and create materials specific to their syllabus.
With the increasing cost of textbooks, OER's can be used to:
- Lower the cost of higher education and save students money.
- Find new ideas, activities and resources posted by instructors from around the country.
- Locate textbooks that are peer reviewed and frequently updated.
Florida Virtual Campus OER Summit
What Are Students Saying About Textbook Affordability Impact of Textbooks on Student Progress
The Library provides access to databases that contain e-books, e-journals, images, videos, etc. that can be used to supplement textbooks and other course materials. Please let your liaison librarian know if you will be using OER's in your classes.
The links on this guide may change, if you discover a dead link, please let me know: dramsingh1@valenciacollege.edu
Need help with research or library resources? Get help from Valencia College librarians at Ask-a-Librarian.
7 Things You Should Know about OER
Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources (UNESCO)
Guidelines for Open Educational Resources in Higher Education (Commonwealth of Learning)
Open Educational Resources infoKit [Higher Education Academy and JISC Open Educational Resources]
Open Textbooks Could Help Students
Report: Fixing the Broken Textbook Market
The Cost and Quality of Open Textbooks: Perceptions of community college faculty and students.