Continuing with OpenEdu 2021, I watched the session entitled “Getting Started with Open Education” presented by Cheryl Casey. The slides for the session were shared as well as the Online OER Toolkit. The benefits of open education were listed on a slide: cost savings, accessibility, day-one access, equity & social justice, inclusion, diversity, innovation, and academic freedom. Casey also used the UNESCO definition of OER and distinguished free resources from OER. In order to be considered OER, Casey explained that resources should have the 5Rs: Retain, Reuse, Revise, Remix, and Redistribute. Where can we find OER? Casey shared several sites including the Open Textbook Library, Pressbooks directory, both of which I didn’t know about! Casey also described how OpenStax is an option for several topics in several different formats. The resources for instructors in OpenStax include slides, video guides, and links that I didn’t know about. Casey described the LibreText project that features almost 400 textbooks and interactive tools and an OER “remixer.” SkillsCommons was mentioned by Casey as a place to find construction and even IT resources. OASIS from SUNY Geneseo is a mega search for OER content. Casey described what the CC Search Tool (old version does) and that the new CC Search tool allows you to search for images and resources from a variety of sources AND generates automatic attribution! I want to try it!
Casey addressed the question about OER quality by explaining how content is peer-reviewed. BC Campus OpenEd is a great source for accessible content according to Casey. The history of Creative Commons and the four license elements: BY, NC, SA, and ND were described as by, non-commercial, share-alike by licensing under similar terms derivatives, and no derivatives. Casey emphasized that anything with ND is not considered OER. I also learned that CC0 allows users to share content by placing it in the public domain. Casey also talked about inclusive access or automatic billing and its advantages and disadvantages. Open pedagogy involves students in the creation of OER by contributing knowledge, and Casey had several examples. During her sabbatical, Casey wrote an Open Textbook.
I love the connection Casey made between OER and solving sustainability problems. I hope to use some examples as inspiration for the BIT 295 projects. Casey also mentioned that there will be an H5P OER content hub! When are we going to contribute to the hub?! OE Global, SPARC, Rebus, CC Global Network, Open Education Networks, CCOER, and the Global OER Graduate Network were mentioned by Casey as fantastic communities to join or get help finding OER. There were so many resources that Casey shared! This session gave me several ideas!
