Open Education Resources

Expand Your Research: The Creative Commons Certificate

Elizabeth South, oer, Open Education Resources June 17, 2024 Website mdilwort

This past spring, Assistant Librarian of Access and Technical Services Beth South enrolled in the Creative Commons for Librarians certificate course with fellow librarian Peter Whiting from University of Southern Indiana and Instructional Designer Shannon Barnes from Earlham College. All three applied for a scholarship offered by Academic Libraries of Indiana’s (ALI) Affordable Learning Committee and the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) to participate in the rewarding experience. The Creative Commons (CC) started as a non-profit in 2001, and by 2002, created a set of open licenses that allowed content creators and researchers world-wide to openly share their work with the public, proactively giving people the ability to use the works to further their own creative and educational pursuits within … Continued

Love the Open: Data and Folklore

Elizabeth South, folklore, oer, Open Education Resources February 12, 2024 Website mdilwort

February is the month of “love” and besides Valentine’s Day, researchers and scholars can share their love of data and folklore. International Love Data Week (Feb. 12-16, 2024) and Wiki Loves Folklore (Feb. 1-March 31, 2024) share a common goal. Beth South, the IU East Access Services librarian, explains in this blog about various open access efforts. Beth’s work includes promoting open education and navigating copyright law. She is currently participating in the Creative Commons Certificate Program, focused on advancing open knowledge building and sharing while adhering to copyright law. The Creative Commons started as a non-profit in 2001, and by 2002, created a set of open licenses that allowed content creators and researchers world-wide to openly share their work … Continued

Textbook Savings and Customized Teaching: The 2023-2024 Course Material Transformation Fellowship Award Winners

awards, Elizabeth South, oer, Open Education Resources, textbooks December 18, 2023 Programs mdilwort

The Campus Library and the Center for Faculty Development have collaborated once again to offer the Course Material Transformation Fellowship for 2023-2024. This fellowship supports instructors in their efforts to adopt and create affordable course materials, including open educational resources (OER), library licensed content, and open access materials. The Fellowship Program aims to: Lower the cost of college for students in order to contribute to their retention, progression, and graduation. Encourage the development of alternatives to high-cost textbooks by supporting the adoption, adaptation, and creation of Open Educational Resources (OER) Make course material access on the first day of class a reality for all students, regardless of socioeconomic status. Fellowship recipients will receive a $2,000 stipend from the Center for … Continued

Open Access 2023: Community over Commercialization

Elizabeth South, oer, open access, Open Education Resources October 16, 2023 Library Resources mdilwort

International Open Access Week is October 23-29 and the theme for 2023 is Community over Commercialization, raising awareness on the importance of communities having control of knowledge sharing systems so they can have access to the data and information they need to collectively fight climate change, inequality, and effectively enact public health policies. “Openness can create pathways to more equitable knowledge sharing and serve as a means to address the inequities that shape societies and our response to them.” (International Open Access Week, Theme). As you review the resources and information listed in this blog, the International Open Access community encourages you to consider the theme to this year’s Open Access Week and think critically about which approaches to open … Continued

Who Uses OER at IU East? — Open Education Week 2023

Elizabeth South, faculty, oer, Open Education Resources, textbooks February 27, 2023 Website mdilwort

Due to the rising costs of higher education, textbook affordability is a particular area of hardship for many students. With limited funding, students may have to choose what is essential to their well-being and education and because of this, many students forgo buying required textbooks or other course material. This often results in poor grades or failing or dropping out of the course (Yano & Myers, 2019). To combat this issue, Open Educational Resources (OER) initiatives have been growing among many higher education institutions, including Indiana University East. In support of Open Education Week (March 6-10th) 2023, the Campus Library is highlighting IU East faculty who currently use OER textbooks and resources in their classes. Humanities and Social Sciences … Continued