LibGuides: Open Educational Resources (OER): Creating and Remixing OER

Making OER

Any program you use to make regular course materials can be used to create OER as well. This might include:

Word processors like Microsoft Word and Google Docs
Desktop publishing programs such as Microsoft Publisher
Web publishing tools like Google Sites or WordPress
Learning management systems such as Canvas

However, there are also tools available specifically for creating OER, and questions of accessibility and access that will apply no matter what tool you use.

Tools for Publication and Editing

Creating OER Content

There are many publishing tools designed specifically for publishing and sharing OER materials, a few of which are listed below.

Open Author
Open Author is an OER creation tool provided by the OER Commons that allows creation of multimedia content and easy sharing to the Commons once your OER is ready. (Free to Use)
Pressbooks
Pressbooks is a digital platform for creating and sharing OER. There are several options available for how to export your final work, including as EPUBs or imported into Canvas. (Free if self-hosted; paid options for individuals and institutions)
LibreTexts
LibreTexts is a combination authoring-hosting-sharing platform for open educational content. Access is provided by consortiums or institutions.

Accessibility

The barrier-free access to learning that OER promises can only be delivered if the OER materials themselves are accessible and usable to all types of users. These resources can help you follow best practices for accessibility as you create or remix OER.

Accessibility Toolkit 2.0
An ebook (published via Pressbooks!) that covers accessibility concerns and techniques relevant to OER creators.
Understanding Document Accessibility
A ebook that covers technical features available in many common word processing and document creation products (Google Apps, Microsoft Office, etc.) to create more accessible materials.
WebAIM: Web Accessibility in Mind
An extremely important and helpful website for creating and evaluating accessible resources on the internet (websites, forms, etc.). Includes educational materials about web accessibility as well as tools to check the accessibility of resources you have created.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

OER can support diversity, equity, and inclusion goals by removing financial barriers for marginalized students. However, this is not enough to fully rectify that marginalization, and it is not the limit of how OER can contribute to DEI. The content of OER materials can also be analyzed and adjusted to better reflect campus (and world) diversity and introduce students to a wide range of perspectives.

Framework for Reviewing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Anti-Racism (IDEA) in Open Educational Resources
A framework for reviewing different aspects of OER materials to improve DEI.
Looking for Images that Reflect Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
A list of free/open image repositories that focus on images of people of color, queer people, disabled people, and other less commonly represented groups.

Sharing Your OER Materials

Bradley University Group on OER Commons
The OER Commons is a worldwide repository for sharing and finding OER materials. Bradley University has a "group" on the Commons where our faculty/staff can share OER that they have created, as well as collect and organize OER found in the Commons that they plan to use. This group is part of the Open Illinois hub, a statewide OER effort spearheaded by CARLI.

Contact librarian Christina Norton for more information about using or joining the OER Commons, Open Illinois, or the Bradley University Group.
MERLOT
MERLOT is a repository for open materials that can provide both an editorial review and a peer-review process for submitted resources.
Canvas Commons
If you have created your OER in Canvas or included it in a Canvas module or page, you can share that content to Canvas users at other institutions by adding it to the Canvas Commons.