The document discusses open educational resources (OER) which provide free or low-cost alternatives to traditional textbooks. OER can help students build lifelong learning skills but require evaluation of quality as they do not go through formal vetting processes. The adoption of OER may require redesigning course structure and delivery, and institutions are exploring how to recognize faculty work contributing to OER development.

1. Emily Wood
Pierce College District
January 2014

2. OER provides students with free or
low-cost alternatives to a traditionally
published textbook.
Money by Tax Credits is licensed
under CC-BY.

3. Some uses of OER can help students
build lifelong information finding and
information evaluation skills.
Academic Life by Les Roches is
licensed under CC-BY.

4. Easy to understand open licensing
makes sharing easier for both the
OER creator and the adopter.
Sharing by bengrey is licensed under
CC-BY-SA.

5. Traditionally published textbooks go
through a long publishing process,
sometimes resulting in stale content.
OER is a way to bypass that system.
Dandelions by opensourceway is
licensed under CC-BY-SA.

6. OER can bring in different
perspectives from the discipline that
may not be available via traditionally
published textbooks.
Network of bees by opensourceway is
licensed under CC-BY-SA.

7. Finding the right resources that you
are looking for can seem like a needle
in a haystack. OER adopters need to
allow sufficient time for this process.
Haystacks by John Pavelka is
licensed under CC-BY.

8. Because OER doesn’t need to go
through formal vetting and curating
processes, adopters need to evaluate
the quality of resources.
Quality Control 4 by tnarik is licensed
under CC-BY-SA.

9. Some disciplines have many existing
OERs and have an active OER
community. In other disciplines or
content areas, OER are still emerging.
Simpson Desert by tensaibuta is
licensed under CC-BY.

10. Incorporating OER into your course
may mean a shift in thinking about
your course design and delivery.
Particularly if you are switching from a
traditionally published textbook
Dell Technology Camp 2013 by Dell's
Official Flickr Page is licensed under
CC-BY.

11. Adoption takes time, effort, and
support. Institutions are grappling
with how to recognize the
contributions of faculty engaged in
OER work.
Square peg round hole by Jeff
Sandquist licensed under CC-BY.