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Open Educational Resources (OER) @ Drake

This guide is an introduction to Open Educational Resources (OER): what they are, where to find them, and how to use them in courses. Please contact Teri Koch, teri.koch@drake.edu, 271-2941 with any questions or to learn more.

What are we doing and why?

Goals of Cowles Library OER Initiatives

Open educational resources (OER) are frequently identified as a solution to the rising costs of textbooks and as a way to provide faculty with access to high quality open learning resources that better meet the changing needs of their classrooms and teaching methods.

The library has long been a supporter of affordable learning resources, and have presented numerous times to faculty to create awareness of resources that the library either owns or licenses (DRM free) that can easily be adapted for textbook use.

We are now going one step further and encouraging OER awareness and adoption.

The goals of our OER initiative are:

  • to encourage faculty experimentation with open educational resources (OER) by eliminating barriers to exploration and to encourage, when appropriate, their use in the classroom; and  
     
  • to counter the rising costs of textbooks and other classroom learning resources that our students encounter; and
     
  • to contribute to the general availability of high-quality open educational resources.

 

Current Initiative: None at the moment. Check back!

Prior Initiatives: 

 

Source: Adapted from "Open Educational Resources (OER): A Quick Guide" Macalester College.

Cowles Library OER Services

Cowles Librarians can help you:

  • Locate an open textbook
  • Determine the license or copyright status of a resource you would like to use
  • Properly attribute open educational resources
  • Adopt, adapt (edit), or publish open educational resources

OER Consultation Service

Are you interested in adopting OER in one of your classes, but need help locating relevant, high quality sources? Try the Library's OER consultation service! You can meet with a librarian to discuss your needs, and he/she will attempt to locate Open Educational Resources (OER) that support your requested content and criteria.

To request a library OER consultation, please contact Teri Koch (email in bio link included on this page).

OER in Iowa