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This guide provides an overview of open educational resources (OER) and the impact OER adoption has on student success. It provides examples that focus on college affordability, perceptions of OER, and OER efficacy.

Introduction to Open Educational Resources

UTA Libraries provide support for UTA educators interested in remixing, modifying, or creating their own OER. OER projects supported by the Libraries are created and hosted in Pressbooks. We provide Pressbooks training, technical support, accessibility checks, cover design, and intellectual property guidance. Additionally, we'll help migrate content into Pressbooks from other formats for authors interested in modifying existing OER. Contact us at oer@uta.edu to get started.

The video series highlighted below, produced by the Rebus Community, contains excellent guidance to help you through every stage of the OER creation process.

Resources

Accessibility Toolkit

Authoring Open Textbooks

Modifying an Open Textbook: What You Need to Know

The Rebus Guide to Publishing Open Textbooks (So Far)

Advice from Dr. Rajiv Jhangiani, Special Advisor to the Provost on Open Education and a Psychology Instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in British Columbia, on authoring open textbooks. Read other tips from open textbook authors in "Ten Tips for Authoring Success."

Building a Team

This video starts with the beginning of the process—building the project team that will create your open textbook. Writing open textbooks are rarely a solo effort. It takes a team to develop, create, and share the resource.

Project Scoping

This video focuses on the process of scoping out an open textbook project, including details of your audience, subject, and team, as well as an outline of themes and timelines.

Editing Content

This video covers the many different kinds of editing that are involved in making open textbooks, from structural and project editing through copyediting and proofreading.

Testing and Feedback

This video addresses using feedback to improve the quality and usability of open textbooks.

Release

This video covers steps necessary to release an open textbook, from formatting and final proofreading to making the OER available for adoption and print-on-demand.

Maintenance & Improvements

This video addresses what can happen after an open textbook has been released into the world and is adopted and used by teachers and learners. This includes everything from fixing typos and broken links to major revisions and additions that can lead to the release of new edition.

Leading a Team

This video follows up on what to do once your team starts coming together—who you need, how to involve them, and what you can do to support their work and enthusiasm. It explores roles for instructional designers, librarians, students, and more.

Content Creation

This video addresses the processes of creating open textbook content, including creating a voice, planning for accessibility, and sustaining content development.

Peer Review

This video covers the process of peer review, an important step in assuring content quality and academic credibility for open textbooks.

Marketing

This video addresses the processes and purposes of marketing and promoting open textbooks.

Adoptions

This video covers the multiple steps involved in setting up your open textbook for adoption and use by teachers and learners, including tracking use in various contexts.