Research Guides: Open Educational Resources: For Faculty

Getting Started

Get Started

Understanding Creative Commons Licenses
Learn about what the CC license elements mean and how you can use, adapt, and share works with CC licenses.
OER Starter Kit
This starter kit has been created to provide instructors with an introduction to the use and creation of open educational resources (OER). The text is broken into five sections: Getting Started, Copyright, Finding OER, Teaching with OER, and Creating OER.
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries
Clear and easy-to-use statement of reasonable approaches to fair use developed by and for librarians who support academic inquiry and higher education.
Building Educational Best Practices into Your OER
Core strategies for keeping student success in mind when creating OER materials.

Adapting & Remixing OER

Adapting and Remixing Creative Commons Works
Learn which licenses are compatible for re-mixing. Understand the copyright and CC Licenses differences between an OER Collection and an OER adaptation.
Modifying an Open Textbook: What You Need To Know
This is a five-step guide for faculty, and those who support faculty, who want to modify an open textbook. Step-by-step instructions for importing and editing common open textbook file and platform types are included.

Creating OER

Applying a CC License to Your Work
Learn how to apply a CC license to your original work and what to do if you want to change the license elements down the road.
Open Textbook Publishing Orientation
This Open Education Network course provides a step-by-step guide to publishing an original OER textbook.

Evaluating OER

Faculty Evaluation Guide for OER
Use this checklist to help evaluate an OER textbook you found from one of the sites under Open Textbook. This checklist is provided by BC Campus.
OER Evaluation Criteria
OER textbook evaluation document from Affordable Learning Georgia.

Sharing and Publishing OER

Share OER at WCC and Beyond
Learn how to share your new OER creation or adaptation with WCC and with outside institutions as well.

OER Completion Guide

OER Sustainability Checklist
Use this checklist to keep your OER current and make sure that faculty using your OER know how to access and distribute content.

Printing OER Textbooks

Let your students know that they may save, share, and print all or part of your textbook - it is part of the magic of an open license!

1. Copy and share this language with your students:

This course is using a Free OER (Open Educational Resources) textbook. In addition to saving you money, this textbook is made available under an open license that allows you to:

Download and save all or part of the book. It’s yours forever!
Print all or part of the book in any print shop or at home. For example, you could review questions to study for a test.
Copy important sections and paste them in your notes. Pro tip, add (OER, Chapter #) after pasting content in case you need to go back to the source.

2. Print Copies in the Bookstore

If you would like to request that print copies of your textbook be available for purchase in the bookstore, make sure to coordinate with the bookstore ahead of the semester:

Instructors send PDF textbook file to bookstore for at-cost price quote and printing.
$40 for books under 400 pages.
Price includes printing, hole punching, and shrink wrapping.
Follow regular textbook deadlines for submission.
Bookstore will check in with faculty each semester for updates before re-stocking the textbook.
Contact: bkswashtenaw@bncollege.com

3. Copy Center Printing:

Student requests textbook on demand by emailing a PDF copy to the Copy Center or stopping by with the file on USB flash drive.
$0.04 a page with free hole punching or an additional $3.25 for binding.
1 day turn around time (sometimes even same day)
Contact: copycenter@wccnet.edu

Remember: Students can print all or part of the textbook at any print center or even at home!

OER Textbooks - Instructor Copies Policy

Upon request, departments can be provided with up to five (5) copies of a newly adopted OER textbook. This total of five (5) includes any copies that the department would like to be placed on Reserve in the library for student use. Any additional or future copies of the textbook need to be purchased through department funds.

MI ExplOER Online Certificate

MI ExplOER is a free, self-paced, online course that provides an introduction to many aspects of OER and their use in higher education. The 8 modules in the course will teach participants to:

Define Open Educational Resources
Explain the rationale for OER adoption and use
Explain the differences between types of Creative Commons licenses
Identify repositories and other resources for finding relevant OER
Use tools and criteria to evaluate OER
Recognize steps and associated criteria for adapting and creating OER with proper attribution and licensing
Understand the process of creating and sharing open educational resources
Review the current landscape of OER in Michigan

Faculty can earn 3 PD credits by completing the course and submitting the certificate to the TLC.

Click here to visit MI ExplOER