Using OERs
Once you have found an OER, and are happy for it to be used by your students as is, add the details and link to a My Unit Readings form to have it added to your reading list.
Faculty Select items
When selecting an OER using Faculty Select, simply click on the button to "Request a course friendly link".
Complete the form to automatically send a notification to the My Unit Readings team to add the title to your My Unit Readings list.
The 5 Rs of OERs
OERs can be retained, reused, revised, remixed, or redistributed, which gives you the option of adapting OERs to suit your teaching needs.
Image by BCOER Librarians, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
For more details on the 5 Rs, see Defining the "Open" in Open Content and Open Education Resources.
How to adapt an OER
There are a number of things to consider when adapting an OER. For an in-depth guide on adapting OERs, see the Adaptation Guide produced by BCcampus OpenEd:
Choosing works to adapt
Before adapting an OER, you will need to make sure all the works you pull information from have a license that allows for adaptation.
- For more general information on copyright and licensing, see Copyright advice.
- If you need help understanding copyright licenses and their associated symbols, see About CC Licenses.
To find out if works are able to be remixed:
- Choose two works you wish to combine or remix, and identify their copyright licenses
- Using the table in the image below, cross-reference the licenses
- If there is a check mark at the intersection of the row and column, you can combine the works
- If there is a cross at the intersection of the row and column, you cannot combine these works. This most likely indicates that one of the two licenses may not be used for commercial purposes, or one of the licenses does not allow for derivative works to be created.
Note: When remixing an OER, you must apply the most restrictive licensing associated with original works to the final product. See the Creating OERs tab for more information.
|
Public domain
|
CC0
|
CC BY
|
CC BY-SA
|
CC BY-NC
|
CC BY-ND
|
CC BY-NC-SA
|
CC BY-NC-ND
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Public domain
|
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ |
|
CC0
|
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ |
|
CC BY
|
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ |
|
CC BY-SA
|
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
|
CC BY-NC
|
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ |
|
CC BY-ND
|
✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
|
CC BY-NC-SA
|
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ |
|
CC BY-NC-ND
|
✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
This table, "Creative Commons license compatibility chart", is adapted from "License compatibility chart" by creativecommons.org, used under CC BY 4.0. "Creative Commons license compatibility chart" is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by Murdoch University Library.
Tools for adapting OERs
The OER Commons repository has built-in authoring tools to help you adapt OERs:
Other tools that can be used to adapt and then publish an OER are shown in the table below.
| Original format | Editing tools (web-based) | Editing tools (desktop) |
|---|---|---|
| Word or Open Office | Google Docs, PressBooks | Microsoft Word, OpenOffice |
| ePub | PressBooks | Sigil, Calibre |
| Text | Google docs, PressBooks | Word, OpenOffice |
| LaTex | ScribeTex | TeXworks, Texmaker |
| HTML | Google Docs, PressBooks, Media Wiki | Dreamweaver, MS Expression Web |
| OpenStax College | Connexions | n/a |
Authoring OERs
Information on authoring an OER is available from:
- Authoring Open Textbooks: A Guide
Guide for getting started including case studies, textbook organization and elements, writing resources, and an overview of useful tools
- Guide to Developing Open Textbooks
Guide to assist teachers in selecting appropriate technology and free services for authoring OER
- Seven Platforms You Should Know About
Live demos by expert users and creators of a selection of free platforms for authoring OER
Licensing OERs
Apply a Creative Commons license for the re-distribution of your OER.
Consider how you would be comfortable with your OER being reused - what permissions will you give others to share and use your creative work.
- Before choosing your license read considerations for licensors and licensees
- Choose your license and embed the license terms into your document or web page.
Saving OERs
Murdoch University Library recommends you upload and store your OER at OER Commons. Authors can directly upload material and assign it to the Murdoch University Group.
Publishing OERs
For more on publishing OERs, see our Publishing Research guide: