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- Adapting or creating OER
Adapting or creating Open Educational Resources (OER)
There are many ways to implement Open Educational Resources (OER) in the classroom, but many of them require you to at least alter a resource. On this page, we will provide a number of tips/considerations you need to heed when adapting or creating OER for your courses.
Important considerations when adapting/creating OER
When you engage in the creation of OER, either by adapting an existing OER, asking students to create materials that are to be shared with the world, or from scratch, there are a number of things to consider to ensure that OER will optimally functional. These considerations are similar to the quality criteria you can use to judge the appropriateness of any found OER, listed in our guide on searching and evaluating OER, but we order them here in a step-by-step, more detailed list in order to make it easier to work through.
| Adapting | Creating | |
| 1 | Didactic considerations | |
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What are the learning goals of my course? How can I assess whether students have reached these goals? How can I ensure that students have the knowledge/skills to reach these goals? What do I need to (change to) help me effectively teach/help my students achieve the learning goals? What is the main purpose of the OER in this course: Convey information, assess knowledge retention, practice, etc.? |
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| 2 | License and adaptation considerations | Format considerations |
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What is the license under which the OER is released? How, if so, does this license limit my ability to alter the OER? If possible, what do I want to alter? Do I require more OER/sources for my alteration? Which ones? Do these additional OER have compatible licenses? |
What formats (website, book, video, image, simulation, assignment, quiz etc.) would work to achieve the OER's main purpose? How feasible is it for you to create OER using those formats? What challenges/obstacles do you foresee at the current moment? Who could help me with overcoming these challenges? Finalize your choice for format, consider its benefits and feasibility. |
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| 3 | OER/Sharing considerations | |
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How can I ensure that my OER remains/is outward-facing (useful to other educators & learners outside your classroom). Consider documentation on how you have changed/can change the OER. How can I ensure that my OER remains/is adaptable. Consider the main ideas and truths behind the OER, and what aspects are more peripheral/illustrative. Also, consider keeping/transferring/creating the material in(to) a changeable format. How can I ensure that my OER remains/is modular? Consider that basic background information should be available in every section that could be used independently. How can I ensure my OER remains/is accessible? Consider that some files or formats can only be opened or used with specific software that not everybody has. Furthermore, some individuals may have trouble using specialized software or writing styles, so providing information on how to technically approach the OER may be beneficial. How can I ensure my OER remains/is inclusive? Consider that your OER should be able to be used and understood by people with diverse racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, as well as by people with disabilities. Be aware of the language you use and the references you make, as what may seem logical or common place to you, may be out of place for others. |
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| 4 | Adapt/Create | |
As can be seen, didactic considerations should be the primary concern when working with OER. In the end, they are educational resources, so they should have a clear and well-defined teaching aspect. As such, this list also follows the didactic principle of constructive alignment, whereby the balance between teaching goals, assessment tools and educational materials is considered, and backward design, whereby the development of materials is guided by learning outcomes. You can receive more information by reaching out to the didactic trainers at the Education Support and Innovation (ESI) office of the Center for Information Technology (CIT) of the University of Groningen: docentprofessionalisering@rug.nl.
One important omission from this list is content considerations. This is because this list is meant for general use, and different fields may have different content standards, core publications, and reference styles that need to be implemented, which cannot be captured in a single list. Nevertheless, we highly recommend examining and heeding the recommendations regarding how to present content created by reputable institutions in your field.
Creating OER in specialized formats
You may come to the conclusion that you want to create an OER in an innovative format, such as an interactive online textbook or video. As these materials require the use of specialized platforms such as Pressbooks or YouTube, there is a slightly higher barrier to entry than if you simply want to share a written document. However, the OER support team can help with this!
If you want to make an interactive online textbook or educational video and share it with the world as an OER, please reach out to us so that we can bring you into contact with the relevant specialists and bring you up-to-date regarding any special requirements that may need to be included in your work. You can reach us at: oer-library@rug.nl.
Link to other guides and support
With the information in this guide, we hope you now have an idea on how to successfully and effectively alter or create (found) OER. If you need more support or have questions regarding adapting and creating OER, you can reach the OER support services at: oer-library@rug.nl.
In our other guides, we outline what OER are, how copyright is related to OER, why OER can/should be used in the classroom, where you can find suitable OER yourself, how you can implement any found OER in your teaching, and how you can share your own work as an OER with the world.