It’s Spring Break, and this week (March 6-10) is also the observance of Open Education, an innovative and effective approach to teaching and learning. Open Education is the practice of incorporating tools and materials that are free of financial and technical barriers in the classroom. These resources can be shared and adapted in the digital environment. Examples include free, openly licensed textbooks from Openstax or OER Commons. Here are a few ways you can explore Open Education and get involved in OER this week and beyond:
- Panel Discussion: Using Open Educational Resources – Thursday, March 9th, 3pm – 4:30pm
MA Department of Higher Ed and MASSPIRG will partner on this virtual event to celebrate Open Education Week. Reach out to our UMD MASSPIRG Campus organizer by email for the link to join: UMass Dartmouth – MASSPIRG Students
- A recent report by the Student PIRGs showed that every $1 invested in OER can save students $10-$20!
- Nominate a Faculty Member for the OER Olympics! – Do you know a faculty member who uses free materials in the classroom? All currently-enrolled undergraduate students, faculty, staff, and administrators at Massachusetts state colleges and universities can nominate Massachusetts public higher education employees who have had a compelling, positive impact on open educational resources (OER) either within or outside of their institution.
- For Faculty Looking to Get Started with OER – Take a look at this list of resources for finding Open Educational Resources OER Resources | Office of the Provost | UMass Dartmouth
- UMass Dartmouth has a hub in OER Commons where faculty can submit openly licensed materials they have created: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Group Resources | OER Commons.
For questions about the hub in OER Commons or about Open Educational Resources (OER) more generally, please contact our Scholarly Communication Librarian.