Open Access: Adaptation

Public Domain Slider: a tool to help determine the copyright status of a work.

License Chooser: follow the steps to select the appropriate  Creative Commons license for your work.

OER Adoption Impact Calculator: Users can adjust inputs using a sliding scale to calculate the impact for their unique institutional setting.

As you consider OER, remember first your pedagogical objectives. If an entire resource doesn't work for you, could a portion of it be helpful? Because of the open license, you can consider combining large or small portions of multiple OER, in addition to considering fair use for small portions of other works.

Using an existing open textbook and making necessary changes and improvements—such as remixing and curating, collectively defined as adaptation—is a common practice in higher education. This involves several steps to ensure that the resulting material is both useful and legally compliant. Below are some checklists of items to consider when determining if an open resource will work for your course:

1. Identify Your Needs and Objectives

• Goals: Clarify the educational goals and outcomes you aim to achieve with the material.
• Audience: Identify the target audience (e.g., undergraduates, graduates).
• Content Gaps: Analyze existing materials to find gaps or areas that need updating.

2. Search for OER Materials

• Repositories: Use OER repositories like OER Commons, OASIS, MERLOT, and others.
• Subject -Specific OER: Use OER that focus on your specific subject area.
• Licensing: Ensure materials are licensed under Creative Commons or similar open licenses that allow remixing.

3. Evaluate the Resources

• Relevance: Ensure the materials align with your educational objectives and curriculum needs, the content aligns with your learning objectives.
• Quality: Assess the accuracy, clarity, and credibility of the materials.
• Licensing & Attribution: Verify that the resources have appropriate open licenses (e.g., Creative Commons) that allow use and adaptation. Plan how you will attribute the original authors according to the license requirements.

4. Organize the Resources

• Categorization: Group resources by topic, subject, grade level, or learning objectives. Outline how you will structure the new material. Decide what to keep, modify, or exclude.
• Metadata & Tags: Add metadata (e.g., author, publication date, license type) to each resource for easier retrieval and reference. Use tags and keywords to facilitate searching and filtering.

5. Modify the Content

• Text Editing: Rewrite sections, add new content, or remove outdated information.
• Multimedia: Add or replace images, videos, or audio files as needed. Ensure all new multimedia also have appropriate open licenses.
• Consistency: Maintain a consistent style and format throughout the material.
• Annotations: Provide summaries, key points, or explanations for each resource to guide users.
• Supplementary Materials: additional resources like quizzes, assignments, or discussion questions to enhance the learning experience.

6. Ensure Accessibility

• Formats: Provide materials in multiple formats (e.g., PDF, ePub, HTML) to enhance accessibility.
• Usability: Ensure the content is accessible to individuals with disabilities, following guidelines like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

7. Review and Edit

• Peer Review: Have colleagues or experts review the remixed content for accuracy and quality.
• Proofreading: Check for grammatical errors, typos, and formatting issues.

8. Attribute Sources Properly

• License Compliance: Follow the specific attribution requirements of each source material. Give proper credit to original authors and creators according to their license requirements.
• Comprehensive Citations: Include a comprehensive list of all resources used and their licenses.

9. Publish and Monitor

• Platforms: Publish the remixed material on OER repositories, the institution’s website, or other accessible platforms.
• Feedback: Collect and analyze feedback from users to improve the collection.
• Updates: Regularly review and update the resources to ensure they remain current and relevant.
• Quality Control: Periodically re-evaluate the quality and relevance of the resources.

10. Promote and Gather Feedback

• Promotion: Share your remixed OER with educators, students, and through social media.
• Feedback: Collect feedback to improve the material and address any issues identified by users.
• Network: Share the curated OER through educational networks, social media, and relevant online communities.
• Workshops: Conduct workshops or training sessions to educate users on how to access and utilize the curated resources.

Resources and Tools

• Creative Commons: Utilize Creative Commons resources to understand different licenses and their permissions.
• OER Repositories: Use platforms like OER Commons, OASIS, and MERLOT for finding and curating resources.
• Authoring Tools: Use tools like Pressbooks, LibreTexts, Open Book Publishers, and others for creating and editing OER.

Final Considerations

• Legal Compliance: Ensure all content adheres to legal requirements, especially regarding licenses and attributions.
• Sustainability: Plan for regular updates to keep the material current and relevant.
• Collaboration: Engage with other educators and institutions to share best practices and resources.

By following these steps, you can effectively remix, curate OER or open textbooks to create valuable educational resources tailored to your specific needs.

According to APA (example listed) open educational resource references follow the same format as webpages, which are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Section 10.16 and the Concise Guide Section 10.4.

According to MLA Handbook (example listed): Open educational resources (OERs) “are materials for teaching or learning that are either in the public domain or have been released under a license that allows them to be freely used, changed, or shared with others” (Sparks). Cite an OER the same way you would cite any work.