Open Educational Resources

A working group is exploring the concepts, ideas and best practices related to open educational resources.  OER is a broadly used and often misunderstood concept. Our group is focusing on open textbooks/open classroom materials which range from complete, peer-reviewed textbooks to smaller learning unit modules that can be plugged into courses.  Usually the materials are online and free.  In many cases, the materials are peer-reviewed or developed by institutions and faculty then shared openly.  

Exploring OER does not conflict with the valuable materials provided by textbook publishers, bookstores or other resource providers, but it does encourage conversation about cost, access and quality.  Our working group currently includes representatives from CLEAR and the UNT Libraries.  Faculty and students will be added to the group as we move forward with the conversation.

Initial resources for the conversation include:

• CLEAR open educational resources web tour
• UNT Libraries resource site

Additional resources:

• CLEAR Copyright Resources
• Open Textbooks
• OER Commons
• Merlot
• OpenStax

For more information contact:

• Kevin Hawkins (UNT Libraries) 
• Dr. Michael Simmons (CLEAR)
• Adam Wear (CLEAR)