Open Textbooks (and more) From OER
I have written a few times about the open textbook movement, but there are other significant efforts beyond the sites I have discussed.
Open textbooks address problems of access, high cost, and in avoiding outdated static content. Students may be most interested in significantly reduced costs. (K-12 school districts
would also be interested in reduced budgets.) I would hope that faculty would be interested in providing more dynamic texts.
I wanted to post something today about Open Educational Resources (OER) which offers teaching and learning materials that you may freely use and reuse, without charge. The resources often have a Creative Commons or GNU license that state specifically how the material may be used, reused, adapted, and shared.
The kinds of materials you will find in OER includes:
- Full university courses, complete with readings, videos of lectures, homework assignments, and lecture notes.
- Interactive mini-lessons and simulations about a specific topic, such as math or physics.
- Adaptations of existing open work.
- Electronic textbooks that are peer-reviewed and frequently updated.
- Elementary school and high school (K-12) lesson plans, worksheets, and activities that are aligned with state standards.
You can do a search and generate a list of Open Textbooks curated on OER Commons on subjects ranging from calculus to Chinese and from eMarketing to physics.
Generally, an open textbook has a license allowing it to be used, shared, modified, and printed without charge to the user. They can be available to download and print in various file formats from the
content provider or an OER repository. Open textbooks include public domain books, existing textbooks with alternative licensing, and new textbooks created specifically as OER. Offered for free online, they can also include easy ways to print low-cost and customizable sections or entire copies of the book.
Open textbooks address problems of access, high cost, and in avoiding outdated static content. Students may be most interested in significantly reduced costs. (K-12 school districts
would also be interested in reduced budgets.) I would hope that faculty would be interested in providing more dynamic texts.
I wanted to post something today about Open Educational Resources (OER) which offers teaching and learning materials that you may freely use and reuse, without charge. The resources often have a Creative Commons or GNU license that state specifically how the material may be used, reused, adapted, and shared.
The kinds of materials you will find in OER includes:
- Full university courses, complete with readings, videos of lectures, homework assignments, and lecture notes.
- Interactive mini-lessons and simulations about a specific topic, such as math or physics.
- Adaptations of existing open work.
- Electronic textbooks that are peer-reviewed and frequently updated.
- Elementary school and high school (K-12) lesson plans, worksheets, and activities that are aligned with state standards.
You can do a search and generate a list of Open Textbooks curated on OER Commons on subjects ranging from calculus to Chinese and from eMarketing to physics.
Generally, an open textbook has a license allowing it to be used, shared, modified, and printed without charge to the user. They can be available to download and print in various file formats from the
content provider or an OER repository. Open textbooks include public domain books, existing textbooks with alternative licensing, and new textbooks created specifically as OER. Offered for free online, they can also include easy ways to print low-cost and customizable sections or entire copies of the book.
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