Contributed by Izaak Diefenbach, Instructional Designer I (COE)
A few weeks ago, I wrote an introduction to Open Educational Resources (OER) and presented a few websites that are a great starting point. In this article, I will take a closer look at OER Commons, a project of the ISKME (Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education). OER Commons is a collection of no-cost educational resources for both K-12 and Higher Education. They also provide a service called Open Author that can help you design your own OERs and publish them for other educators to use.
A great page on the OER Commons website to start with is OER 101. OER 101 gives some general information on what OERs are and how they work. It also provides links to two resource hubs: the K-12 Remote Learning Hub and the Higher Education: Open Textbooks hub. The Higher Education hub primarily focuses on open (no-cost) textbooks but also provides other resources that can be incorporated into your courses. There are even full course packages available. The K-12 hub provides resources and full course packages for K-12 classes that may interest some instructors, particularly in the College of Education. OER Commons also has an advanced search tool that allows you to search on many different criteria, including subject area, education level, material type, format, and license type, among many others. The University of Wisconsin-Madison has created a video that gives an excellent overview on Using OER Commons.
When you open a resource in OER Commons, you will be presented with an overview page describing the resource and links to the various materials available for that resource. The options available from the resource's main page vary depending on the creator, the type of resource, and the license the resource is provided under. For example, some textbooks must be read online, while others have download links in various digital formats such as EPUB, PDF, and others. Full course packages will provide many different resources, including textbooks and other reading materials, videos, lectures, assignments, tests and quizzes, and more.
While they are all free to use, OER Commons resources are provided under various open-source licenses that offer varying levels of customization and require varying levels of attribution. No Strings Attached licenses allow you to use a resource in any way you would like, including making changes and distributing, but you may have to credit the original author. Remix and Share licenses allow you to make changes and share your work with others, but they may have some restrictions, possibly including crediting the original author, limits on commercial use, and requirements on the license for the new work. Share Only licenses do not allow you to make changes to the original work, but you may distribute it to others. Finally, Read the Fine Print licenses have specific requirements for use and/or may be copyrighted.
OER Commons may be the best place to get started in using Open Educational Resources. It has an extensive resource library and provides a lot of support for anyone just getting started using OERs in their courses. If you have any questions about using OERs, don't hesitate to contact your designated Instructional Designer.
