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Fullerton College Library

OER: Open Educational Resources: Why Use OER?

This guide on OER (Open Educational Resources) is designed to give FC faculty some basic information that will encourage the adoption and implementation of OER in their courses.

Why use ZTC/OER?

Why use ZTC/OER??

Equity issue.  

  • Our own surveys have shown that students cite the cost of textbooks as a barrier 
  • Students will take classes without buying the books b/c of cost.
  • Faculty have said they can tell when they don’t have the book. 

Faculty freedom 

  • Faculty aren’t forced with trying to adapt a book to fit the material they want to teach 
  • Don’t have to worry about edition changes every year 
  • They aren’t forced to work with just one book, can mix and match sources to create the book they want for the students.  

OERs are free, ready-to-use content for your classes.

Creators and users are free to retain rights, reuse content, remix content, revise content, or redistribute content.

Materials are:

  • Textbooks
  • Course readings
  • Articles
  • Journals 
  • Course packs
  • quizzes
  • Streaming videos
  • Virtually any other material that is used for educational purchases

Most material is licensed under Creative Commons.

Why Use OER?

You may say something like:

" Oh yeah I looked into the OER stuff and like, it sucks! I don’t wanna use it and it’s not good for my classes and nobody understands the special way that I do my class. I just can’t get on board with the OER cause it’s just not good enough. "

 

BUT! Let me change your mind!

  • when did you last look?
  • did you have colleagues assist in searching?
  • were you looking for a textbook that covered 100% of what you want?

 

Informational Webinars

Open Educational Resources (OER) and Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Collaboration in a Multi-College District

Faculty from the four colleges in Los Rios Community College District will share how they have collaborated in OER and ZTC efforts, including strategizing to ensure OER and ZTC are supported by governance structures as well as resolving logistical concerns such as XB12 data gathering and ensuring accurate ZTC information on college websites.