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Open Educational Resources: OER: OER Overview

Why Use Open Educational Resources?

Are you frustrated with the textbooks that are out there for your subject?  Are your students frustrated at the cost? Do they buy older editions or maybe not purchase the textbook at all?  What can instructors do to help the situation?

An Open Educational Resource (OER) may be your answer.  You can put as much or as little time into it as you wish.  It can be one you've re-used from a peer reviewed author, one you've written yourself, or a combination thereof.  You can work with the Library to help locate resources; you can also use a LibGuide for your course resources.  Statistics show that registration in courses using OER textbooks has increased.

Watch video of Santa Ana College students talking about OER.

For more information, contact Michele Pratt at (989) 686-9822 or michelepratt@delta.edu.

OER Professional Development

February 25-27, 2025  Open Ed Live: Open Education Forming Bridges for Lifelong Learning (free)
February 27-28, 2025  OERizona Conference (free virtual conference)
March 3, 2025 Shifting to Community Owned and Operated Open Knowledge (free online presentation)
March 3-4, 2025  Northeast OER Summit: All Hands on Deck (low cost virtual conference)
March 6, 2025  Missouri A&OER Conference (free virtual conference)
May 19-22, 2025  OpenCon Ohio (free virtual conference)
May 21-22, 2025  Florida OER Summit: Engage and Empower (free virtual conference)
October 28-30, 2025  Open Education Conference (virtual and in-person)
November 7, 2025  MI OER Summit (Washtenaw College)

Michigan Self-Paced Course on Open Educational Resources

Launch into the OER universe with this self-paced course designed for higher education!  This course includes eight self-paced online learning modules that serve as an introduction to Open Education Resources (OER) in higher education.  An additional section provides opportunities for further exploration and discovery of OER initiatives in Michigan.  

https://certificate.mioer.org/

Student Savings

Since Delta has officially begun our OER program in Fall 2016, students have saved $3,061,700 in textbook costs!  

That cost is calculated by counting the number of students enrolled in courses using OER textbooks and multiplying by $100, the amount that colleges have agreed represents an average savings.  In most cases, students save much more.  If students elect to use the online version of the textbook, there is no cost to them.  If they elect a print copy, they can purchase it for a nominal fee.

Are you interested in learning more about OER?  Contact Michele Pratt or a member of the OER Committee!

Delta OER Committee Members

 

Reva Curry revacurry@delta.edu
Reauna Brushaber reaunabrushaber@delta.edu
Laura Dull (co-chair) lauradull@delta.edu
Dawn Fairchild dawnfairchild@delta.edu
Donna Giuliani donnagiuliani@delta.edu
Jessica Herek jessicaherek@delta.edu
Kara Jimenez karajimenez@delta.edu
Karry Kiste-Toner karrykistetoner@delta.edu
Peter Larkowski peterlarkowski@delta.edu
Jon Majchrzak jonathanmajchrzak@delta.edu
Christina Miller-Bellor christinamillerbello@delta.edu
Kayleigh Nelson kayleighnelson@delta.edu
Michele Pratt (co-chair) michelepratt@delta.edu
Brad Pretzer bradpretzer@delta.edu
Ronald Schlaack ronaldschlaack@delta.edu
Donny Winter (co-chair) donaldwinter@delta.edu

 

The Five Rs of OER

Where do I start?

  • Make the decision to use open resources instead of a traditional textbook.
  • Decide whether you want to use a textbook that has already been created and openly licensed; alter one that has been openly licensed; or create your own and license it for others to use.  If you choose to start with a textbook that has already been written, there are great resources on this guide.  Many are peer reviewed! Ancillary information is being added to this "OER community" daily, so keep checking!
  • If you choose to alter or reuse a textbook, use the resources on this guide to find a textbook.
  • Talk to your librarian to locate additional resources to be used in your class.  Resources might be:
    • In an online repository
    • Articles from library online databases
    • e-books from among the library's package of 250,000+
  • Select/alter your textbook or resource.
  • License your material with a Creative Commons license.
  • Add to Delta's hub on OER Commons: https://www.oercommons.org/groups/delta-college/1136/ so that others may use it!  Register for an account (top right) and then ask to join the group!
  • Questions?  Contact Michele Pratt at michelepratt@delta.edu or (989) 686-9822.

OER Adoption Steps & Checklist

Steps to Using an OER Textbook

  1. Identify course and define level of involvement:
    1. Adopt an existing OER textbook.
    2. Revise an existing OER textbook.
    3. Combine existing OER textbooks.
    4. Develop a new OER textbook.
  2. Develop or revise course outline: Define all learning topics (or sessions) that are in alignment with learning outcomes and objectives of the course.
  3. Request assistance in research: Michele Pratt @ x9822
  4. Research resources and additional information: Visit Delta’s OER guide (http://library.delta.edu/OER).
  5. Request assistance for textbook formatting and ADA compliance: eLearning (Michele Pratt @ 9822 for formatting; Jon Hoerauf @ 9355 for ADA compliance).
  6. Only for revised/combined/new OER textbook: Select a Creative Common License (Michele can help).
  7. Notify adoption of OER textbook:
    1. Notify Department Chair/Associate Dean.
    2. Notify Bookstore (when Bookstore list is due) that you are using an OER textbook.
  8. Work with the Bookstore to offer a printed copy of textbook.
  9. Only for revised/combined/new OER textbook:
    1. Save OER textbook to the MCO Repository for others to use (Michele can assist).
    2. Save any new images included in any adapted textbook and the original document for any future remix made by others to a Delta repository folder (coming soon).

OER Checklist (for revised/combined/new)

  • Copyright compliance: Nothing is copyrighted; all materials used must be licensed Creative Commons OR have written permission from author/publisher if not Creative Commons.
  • The correct Creative Commons license is used.
  • The Creative Commons license is printed in book where appropriate.
  • The document is ADA compliant.
  • A printed copy of the book is on Reserve both for students to use in the LLIC and when taking an open book test in the Testing Center.

OER FAQs

What is an OER?
OER, or Open Educational Resources, are digital resources that are freely available to students.  Printed copies are available via the Bookstore for a nominal fee (less than $50). 

How do I find OER textbooks?
Many OER textbooks have already been created for your use, and many more are created daily.  You can search your division tabs above for textbooks that have been found in your teaching area.  There are also lists of repositories on the Open Textbooks tab where you can search.  You can utilize a textbook that has been created, replace chapters in an already-created book to make it more useful for your students, or combine two books into one!

What about ancillary material?
More and more ancillary material is being created all of the time.  One estimation is that in five years, ancillary material will be available for all disciplines!  Ancillary material may be found on your discipline tab or by searching the Open Textbooks tab.

Where do I get help finding resources?
If you're puzzled where to look, or having difficulty, contact Michele Pratt in the Library.  She will put you in touch with a Librarian who can assist you in locating resources.

What about ADA?  Formatting?
Books at major OER repositories are ADA compliant.  If you're combining resources to create a book, MCO (Michigan Colleges Online) has an Authoring Tool to assist with ADA compliance and formatting. 

What about copyright?
OER materials are licensed under Creative Commons.  This licensing allows for sharing of information.  See the What about copyright? tab for more information.

How do I get started?

  • Make the decision to use an OER.
  • Search this Guide for a suitable textbook.
  • Register for an account with the MCO OER hub: https://www.oercommons.org/hubs/mco (top right).  Search their repository.
  • Contact Michele Pratt in the Library (michelepratt@delta.edu).