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Actually, the UNESCO Recommendation Makes Most OER Impossible

Iterating Toward Openness

In this first bite-sized installment I’m going to address the major flaw in the OER definition provided as part of the recent UNESCO OER Recommendation. If traditional copyright protection prohibited no-cost access, libraries could not exist. Definition and Scope reads: 1. Obviously copyright doesn’t work this way.

OER 135
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On ZTC, OER, and a More Expansive View

Iterating Toward Openness

UNESCO later decided to refer to open content intended to support research, teaching, and learning as “open educational resources.” Materials that were openly licensed and free were the OER we had spent the last decade advocating for. Other schools have OER policies and OER degree programs. green below).

OER 112
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OER is Growing at Religious Colleges, But Raises Unique Challenges

Edsurge

Communications librarian Kristen Hoffman oversees much of the OER work at Seattle Pacific University, a Christian university in Washington. Still, it can be even harder for students at private schools like Seattle Pacific where, Hoffman says, the library doesn’t purchase course textbooks to keep on reserve.

OER 115
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What a Homework Help Site’s Move to Host Open Educational Resources Could Mean

Edsurge

In May, the homework-help site that relies on student-generated content, Course Hero, dipped its toes into freely available, openly licensed alternatives known as Open Educational Resources, or OER, course materials. This was the company’s “first foray” into OER, and it is still figuring out how the OER fits, Morris says. “I

OER 157
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These Colleges Are Betting That Culturally Relevant Textbooks Will Improve Student Outcomes

Edsurge

González and Framingham State University, where she is interim director of Whittemore Library, are part of a consortium in Massachusetts looking to answer different questions. The funds will cover financial support and mentorship for faculty who create new open educational resources (OER for short) or adapt existing open textbooks.

OER 176
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Pearson, Efficacy, Credibility, and OER

Iterating Toward Openness

As I wrote last month: Efficacy refers to whether a drug demonstrates a health benefit over a placebo or other intervention when tested in an ideal situation, such as a tightly controlled clinical trial. I believe we’re seeing this same effect across OER adoptions, and have labeled it the Remix Hypothesis.

Pearson 60
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What Next-Gen Digital Humanities Looks Like

Edsurge

John Unsworth , dean of libraries and professor of English at the University of Virginia, who led the panel, put the total in perspective. The Global Medieval Sourcebook at Stanford University is bringing an expansive, OER mentality to the medieval canon, making reliable texts available for classroom use.

Libraries 154