The following pages provide an overview of major concepts related to Open Education:
- Module 1: Defining and Introducing OER
- Module 2: Why OER?
- Module 3: Copyright and Fair Use
- Module 4: Creative Commons Licenses
- Module 5: Finding and Evaluating OER
- Module 6: Accessibility and Inclusion
- Module 7: Adapting, Creating, and Sharing OER
- Module 8: Open Pedagogy
- Appendix
We recommend that you use these learning modules as a jumping off point for expanding your understanding of how OER can be effectively supported in your context.
To learn more about open education beyond what we have on this site, explore the recommended handbooks linked below:
Learn More: Recommended handbooks
The OER Starter Kit
This starter kit has been created to provide instructors with an introduction to the use and creation of open educational resources (OER). The text is broken into five sections: Getting Started, Copyright, Finding OER, Teaching with OER, and Creating OER. A workbook version with accompanying worksheets is also available, published in 2020.
Accessibility Toolkit – 2nd Edition
The goal of the Accessibility Toolkit – 2nd Edition is to provide resources for each content creator, instructional designer, educational technologist, librarian, administrator, and teaching assistant to create a truly open textbook—one that is free and accessible for all students.
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for OER
Educators can apply fair use confidently within a consistent legal framework while authoring, adapting, and adopting open educational resources. The Code describes an approach to reasoning the application of fair use to issues both familiar and emergent.
Adaptation Guide: A reference to adapting or revising an open textbook
The Adaptation Guide is a practical reference about how to customize — or adapt — an open textbook so that it better fits your needs in the classroom and elsewhere. This guide defines the term adaptation and discusses reasons for revising a book, why this is possible with an open textbook, and the challenges involved.
The Rebus Guide to Publishing Open Textbooks (So Far)
This is a living repository of collective knowledge, written to equip all those who want to publish open textbooks with the resources they need. Representing two years of collaboration, innumerable conversations and exchanges, and a wide range of collective knowledge and experience, the Guide is a book-in-progress and will evolve and grow over time. Join the project discussion and help shape its development!
A Guide to Making Open Textbooks with Students
A handbook for faculty interested in practicing open pedagogy by involving students in the making of open textbooks, ancillary materials, or other Open Educational Resources. This is a first edition, compiled by Rebus Community, and we welcome feedback and ideas to expand the text.
