Open Educational Resources & Textbook Affordability Webinars

Open Educational Resources (OER) are materials for teaching or learning that are either in the public domain or have been released under a license that allows them to be freely used, changed, or shared with others.

Fall 2022

Taking the First Steps toward Textbook Affordability: Building Course Readings from Library Resources and Course Reserves

• October 4, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
• Stephanie Wiegand, Textbook Affordability Librarian, University Libraries

Faculty and instructors have a strong history of using library materials and library course reserves to supplement a course textbook for pedagogical reasons – to fill in knowledge gaps and to customize course content for their students. Many faculty may not recognize these practices as cost-saving measures for student – but using library materials and library course reserves does reduce costs. Have you ever considered building an entire textbook or course reading list out of library resources and library course reserves, and reducing your students’ textbook costs to $0? Do the UNC Libraries already provide multiple-user access to textbooks, chapters, articles, and other tools on your course topics? Could a few chapters from different textbooks create a new textbook that could be posted on UNC Libraries Course Reserves for your students at no cost and stay within the bounds of the fair use exception of Copyright law? Join us to explore the possibilities.

Copyright, Licensing, & Attribution for Affordable Course Readings & Open Educational Resources

• October 11, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
• Stephanie Wiegand, Textbook Affordability Librarian, University Libraries

This session is broken into three parts: copyright, Creative Commons licensing, and the complexity of attributions. Join us for a discussion of issues you need to consider in using Affordable Course Readings and/or OER in your courses. These are each complex issues that cannot be delved deeply in a single session; rather these discussions are meant to spur questions and ideas of what your needs and responsibilities are in using these materials.

Let’s Talk OER Authoring, Hosting Platforms, and Getting the Word Out: What You Need to Consider

• October 18, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
• Stephanie Wiegand, Textbook Affordability Librarian, University Libraries

Are you considering authoring your own Open Educational Resource (OER) with a Creative Commons or other open license and sharing it with other instructors, learners, or institutions? You may even already have the content formatted for use but aren’t sure where to put it so that others can access it. Have you considered how you will get the word out about your resource so other can benefit from your work? You already have the content expertise, so let’s talk about the nitty-gritty of publishing an OER. This session will explore various OER platforms and disciplinary needs for publishing OER and working to promote your materials.

Spring 2022

Of Course Open Education Resources Sound Like a Good Idea…But How Do I Get Started?

• Tuesday, March 8, 2:00-3:00 pm
• Stephanie Wiegand, Textbook Affordability Librarian, University Libraries

Saving students money, making sure that students have access to textbooks and course materials from the first day of class, using the best pieces of different sources, adapting someone else’s work to make it relevant to a specific population of students – these are all exceptional and worthwhile goals. But it is all so…overwhelming. Are you interested in moving away from traditional commercial (and costly) textbooks for your courses? In this webinar, Professor & Librarian Stephanie Wiegand will discuss taking baby steps towards using open educational resources (OER) and library-licensed materials (LER).

Open Educational Resources & Accessibility: A Wholistic View

• Wednesday, March 9, 1:00-2:00 pm
• Stephanie Wiegand, Textbook Affordability Librarian, University Libraries

Accessibility in open education resources (OER) generally brings to mind the technical, nitty-gritty details concerning digital documents and learning objects. The minutiae of alt tags, contrasting colors, and navigational headings only partially encompass the sphere of accessibility in OER. The very foundations of OER are built on an ethical framework of accessibility that is necessary to achieve equity and inclusion in higher education. Accessibility includes issues of design, discovery, language, organization, diversity of content, and more. Accessibility should not be considered an accommodation, but rather a way to improve education for all. Join Professor & Librarian Stephanie Wiegand for a discussion concerning accessibility and OER. If you are ready to learn more or considering reviewing, adopting, adapting, or creating an OER, this discussion is for you.

Spring 2021

Teaching with Open Educational Resources: Perspectives from UNC Faculty 

• Deborah Agar, Dr. Margaret Berg, Jeffrey Gilis, Dr. David Greene, Dr. Heeseung Lee, and Dr. Jittapim Yamprai
• March 2, 9:30-10:30 am

Join UNC faculty OER grantees from a variety of disciplines as they share their experiences making the change to using open educational resources. Panelists will share their motivation to incorporate OER, how their pedagogical approaches changed, and challenges and successes along the way. 

Open Textbook Review Workshop

• Dr. Emily Ragan, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and OER Coordinator at Metropolitan State University of Denver
• March 2, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Dr. Emily Ragan, winner of the Colorado 2020 Outstanding Z Professor Award, will introduce participants to the textbook affordability crisis, open licensing options that support open textbooks and other open educational resources, and advantages of open resources.  After the workshop, participants will have an opportunity to write a short review of an open textbook, which will benefit other faculty considering open textbooks. If selected to write a review, you will receive a $200 stipend.

Better is Better than Cheaper: Better Arguments for Open Educational Resources

• Dr. Oscar Levin
• March 4, 9:30-10:30 am

Much of the motivation for the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) is based in an attempt to save students money. While this is certainly the case, a more convincing argument to get instructors to discard their traditional textbooks is that OER offers pedagogical benefits beyond pricing. In this talk we will consider some ways in which OER can be of higher quality than commercial course materials, drawing from lessons learned in writing textbooks and other ways UNC’s School of Mathematical Sciences has made the use of OER a priority.

Open Pedagogy, Social Justice, and the Practical Path to Commons-Oriented Learning

• Dr. Robin DeRosa, Director of the Open Learning & Teaching Collaborative at Plymouth State University
• March 4, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Dr. Robin DeRosa will explore how Open Educational Resources (OER) can be a part of an approach to teaching that focuses on student agency, connected learning, and structural equity. By highlighting how commons-oriented approaches to knowledge-sharing can transform pedagogy, Robin will offer a vision for higher education that maximizes academic freedom while it engenders collaboration, opens access to higher education, and engages learners in exciting and vibrant ways.