Welcome to the world of Open Educational Resources (OER). This handbook is designed to help educators find, use, develop and share OER to enhance their effectiveness online and in the classroom.

Although no prior knowledge of OER is required, some experience using a computer and browsing the Internet will be helpful. For example, it is preferable that you have experience using a word processor (e.g. Open Office or Microsoft Word) and basic media production software, such as an image editor (e.g. Gimp, Inkscape or Photoshop).

The handbook works best when there is some sort of OER you would like to create or make available to others, but it is also useful for the curious reader.
There are several ways to use this handbook, including:

Cover-to-cover, which is intended for newcomers who want to gain an understanding of OER and engage in the whole development cycle (find, compose, adapt, use, share, ...) in a real world setting;

Individual sections, as a quick reference for educators engaged in OER development looking for pointers at any stage in the OER development cycle.

You are not expected to be an instructional designer or media production expert to use this book. If you encounter a term with which you are unfamiliar, check the glossary at the end of the handbook for a definition.

What this handbook does not cover

OER is a broad topic and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to cover it comprehensively. This handbook does not include tutorials on the software used, though the URLs of some tutorials have been provided. It also does not prescribe a particular teaching method when using OER.

If you are educational technology staff at an institution, the institution handbook may be more appropriate for you. There will also be a handbook available for policy-makers such as superintendents and higher education staff. See the Introduction to Other Handbooks in Conclusion for more information. Complete listing and access info »

Survey held May 18 to Nov 16, 2005 to investigate reception of Opensource Opencourseware Prototype System (OOPS). Survey topics:

* Background
* How did You First Become Aware of 'OOPS'
* Roles in Educational System
* Satisfaction to Course Materials
* Suggestions
* 65 Educators and OOPS
* Volunteers and OOPS

Total surveys recorded: 839. Total valid surveys: 788

Complete listing and access info »

Complete listing and access info »

On September 19-21, 2006, the WGBH Educational Foundation hosted a conference on "Open Content and Public Broadcasting." With an initial grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and additional funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, WGBH proposed the conference as a way to explore public broadcasting issues related to producing and distributing open access content across multiple platforms.

The conference grew out of the recognition that public broadcasting executives were interested in the Open Content movement, but were struggling to understand how it might both further public broadcasting's public service mission and support efforts to pursue strategic business models and sustainable solutions.

The Open Content conference was designed to bring together key stakeholders in the public broadcasting system, academics who promoted open content in higher education, industry leaders in new media and technology, experts in intellectual property rights, and leaders in philanthropy. Together they examined existing models and efforts that might guide public broadcasting's entry into open content, possible barriers to adoption of open content models in public broadcasting, and opportunities to pursue.

This report looks at the events of the conference and the key points discussed. It summarizes the group's conclusions and presents recommendations from the WGBH planners. Audio from the conference presentations and further information is available at http://opencontent.wgbh.org. Complete listing and access info »

This article presents the challenges and rewards of sharing research content through a discussion of Open Context, a new open access data publication system for field sciences and museum collections. Open Context is the first data repository of its kind, allowing self-publication of research data, community commentary through tagging, and clear citation and stable hyperlinks, and Creative Commons licenses that make reusing content legal and easy.

The Nov-Dec 2007 issue of Educational Technology magazine is an entire special issue dedicated to "Opening Educational Resources." A series of articles in this issue highlight open educational models, including OpenCourseWare, Connexions and this piece on Open Context, co-authored by Sarah Whitcher Kansa and Eric Kansa.

 

Complete listing and access info »