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Open Educational Resources Guide: OER for Instructors/Faculty

Textbook Transformation Grants

Affordable Learning Georgia offers Textbook Transformation Grants to University System of Georgia faculty. OERs authored through ALG Textbook Transformation Grants are available for viewing at GALILEO Open Learning Materials Repository.

Open Courses and Open Textbooks

Part 1 

Part 2 

Checklist for Adopting an Open Textbook 

 

1. Search for an Open Textbook

  • Click on the Open Textbooks Providers tab and search the different repositories for an Open Textbook.
    • Does the Open Textbook Repository for your open textbook have an authoring platform you can use? For example, the authoring platform for OpenStax is OpenStax CNX.

 

2. Review the Open Textbook

  • Does the textbook match the learning objectives of your course?

 

3. Evaluate the Textbook

 

4. Can You Customize Content? 

  • What Creative Commons license does the open textbook have?
  • Are you allowed to make changes to the open textbook?
    • If so, you may decide to rearrange the context in the open textbook to fit your class schedule, or you may need to add content to make the open textbook more accurate and/or current.
  • Will you combine open educational resources into your open textbook? If so, you must choose a license that is compatible with the other creative commons licenses.

 

5. Are There Supplementary Resources? 

  •  If not, does the library have resources that may supplement your open textbook?

 

6. Distributing the Open Textbook 

  • Distribute the open textbook to your students using BlazeVIEW.
  • For students who want a print copy, partner with the VSU Bookstore to have print copies available for purchase or save the open textbook in a PDF format. Students can then print a copy.

 

7. Assessment

  • Did your students have trouble with parts of the open textbook?
  • Are there parts of the open textbook that you feel need changing/revision?

 

 

OERs at Valdosta State

For information on open textbook platforms already in use at VSU, click on the Open Textbooks @VSU tab.

Open Pedagogy

"Open pedagogy is a practice which uses the 5R activity framework to design lessons and assessments that encourage students to improve or create course content. With open pedagogy projects, students are empowered to engage in information creation through non-disposable or renewable assignments. The student is both creator and contributor of assignments that are openly licensed, allowing the content to be shared, revised, and reused by future students in a course.

Simply put, open pedagogy involves creating assignments that involve students creating things that others can revise and reuse, that add value to the world beyond the course." Tacoma Community College

"A Renewable Assignment is any assignment where:

 

A list of renewable assignments may be found at https://openedgroup.org/doer-fellows-renewable-assignments.