Using Open Educational Resources
Accessible and Inclusive Design Workshop Series
This series features practices to create more accessible and inclusive classes for students, particularly students with disabilities and/or who are neurodivergent. It centers needs and recommendations students have identified (see the Practitioner Guide: Accessibility) and was developed in consultation with specialists at the Accessible Education Center (AEC). Series facilitators include staff from TEP, UO Online, AEC, and the Library; workshops occur Wednesdays from 1-2 pm throughout the spring term. This series is open to all instructors at any existing level of knowledge and is meant to be a co-learning experience (we’re learning too!).
Session 6: Using Open Educational Resources
Open Educational Resources (or OERs) are “teaching resources that have an open-copyright licence (such as one from Creative Commons), or they are part of the public domain and have no copyright. Depending on the license used, OER can be freely accessed, used, re-mixed, improved, and shared.”
A significant number of UO students said that using low or no-cost OERs increased their educational access; textbook costs, for example, can be prohibitively expensive for students. Using “freely accessed” OERs can mean all students can access the materials they need to learn. Because OERs can be freely “used, re-mixed, improved, and shared,” this also means they can be more web-accessible to students, which is an important consideration.
But how do instructors find high-quality OERs to use in their courses, and what key tips should instructors know about making OERs more digitally accessible? Find out in this workshop and leave with a clearer plan for high quality and digitally accessible resources for your students!
Learn more about this session at our webpage.