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Martha S. Grafton Library

Open Sources: Open Educational Resources (OER)

Open Educational Resource Gateways

Open Textbooks:

OER Repositories:

Open Courses:

VIVA

Textbook and related costs are a well-known barrier to college affordability for students.  VIVA’s Open Education Network (OEN) System Membership--of which Mary Baldwin is a part-- allows VIVA to train open education leaders to hold workshops for faculty across the state to support them in using openly available educational materials, including textbooks.

By promoting the use and creation of high-quality educational materials that are free for students, this initiative will increase affordability in higher education, promote student success, and empower Virginia faculty to contribute to the growing field of open course materials. 

As part of this initiative, VIVA sponsors up to five faculty reviewers per institution. Reviewers receive training and are paid $200. If you're interested, please contact Carol Creager, University Librarian.

Don't Forget Library Resources!

You don't have to have to go full OER.

OER are great! So are library resources and traditional textbooks and materials! You can use them in combination, though you probably can't adapt paid resources. Leveraging resources that the library already subscribes to helps to boost library usage and gives students access to resources at no additional cost!

Always feel free to link to eBooks, articles, videos, etc. accessible through Grafton Library. Looking for something? Wondering how best to link to resources? Contact your librarian! 

Suggestions?

Have you already adopted OER in your classes? Found a resource you'd like to share? Let us know!

Email the library ask@marybaldwin.edu with your suggestions and happy adoptions.

About

"Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials that you may freely use and reuse at no cost, and without needing to ask permission. Unlike copyrighted resources, OER have been authored or created by an individual or organization that chooses to retain few, if any, ownership rights."

Definition from: OER Commons. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.


OER:

  • don't have to be textbooks
  • do allow others to:
    • retain
    • reuse
    • revise/remix
    • redistribute

Creative Commons (CC)

Creative Commons (CC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding access to creative works. CC licenses allow creators to clearly communicate rights relating to the use and reuse of their work. Most, but not all, CC licenses are suitable for OER. 

Creative Commons is a great resource for creators and users of content. All Creative Commons licenses require users to attribute works to their author. Learn more about attribution under Creative Commons licenses here

"Range of OER" (c) Anita Walz of VA Tech CC-BY 4.0.

"Creative Commons." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 9 May 2018. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons. Accessed 14  May  2018.
Creative Commons. "What we do: What is Creative Commons?" creativecommons.org/about. Accessed 14 May 2018.

Ask a Librarian

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Jennifer Switzer
she/her
Contact:
Grafton 201
540-887-7299
Website

Contact the Library

Phone: 540-887-7085

Text: 540-300-4622

Email: ask@marybaldwin.edu