LibGuides: Open Educational Resources: Evaluating OER

How do I evaluate OER for my course?

Evaluating open educational resources (OER) for adoption in your course is very similar to assessing traditionally licensed materials, but there are some key differences:

Price is not a concern
OER can be edited and updated
Student content can be incorporated
OER are often not as pretty and polished as expensive commercial options
Availability of slides and ancillary resources varies
Accessibility must always be assessed and considered

A Note on Accessibility and OER

Because OER can be produced and published by educators or experts who are unfamiliar with accessibility requirements, checking the accessibility of any OER you adopt is crucial. Fortunately, there are many tools, resources, and organizations to turn to for assistance. For help with evaluating the accessibility of OER which you adopt, adapt, or create, see the OER Accessibility Toolkit (University of British Columbia) and the website of the National Center on Accessible Educational Materials at CAST. The Institute for Disability Research, Policy & Practice at Utah State University offers their WAVE web accessibility evaluation toolkit, including a browser extension.

The following checklists can assist you in your evaluation and ensure you do not overlook a factor related to the "open" nature of the works.

Open Education Resources: Ensuring Inclusive Learning in Uncertain Times (AEM Center at CAST)
Situated at the intersection of where the OER field meets accessibility issues, this guide details a variety of resources useful for evaluating and selecting appropriate and accessible OERs. Such resources can help decision-makers choose open educational resources that will be usable by the broadest range of learners present in their schools and classrooms. The Guide also outlines design challenges related to the creation of accessible OERs and points to useful approaches for creating OERs that are accessible for the widest possible range of users.
Faculty Checklist for Evaluating Course Materials (OpenOregon)
Areas covered include Flexibility, Cost, Cultural Relevance, Accessibility, Data & Privacy, Integration with Campus Technology, and Customer Support. "One of the most important questions reflected in this checklist is whether the materials are flexible enough to accommodate student choices about how to acquire and interact with course material."
OpenOregon Educational Resources (https://openoregon.org/)
OER Evaluation and Selection Criteria (Zhadko & Ko, 2019)
"This list of criteria is suitable for any type of OER, including an open textbook or individual OER artifacts/objects. This guide is intended for individual faculty or those supporting them. Not all criteria will apply in every case, but the criteria can serve as a general framework for the evaluation and selection process. Depending on the subject or course material you already have, or what you are seeking, one or more of these criteria may be more important or have greater priority."