OER can be just like their commercial counterparts except for the unrestricted access, sharing, and editing allowed by their open licenses. The process of selecting the most appropriate OER for your course can be quite similar to how you are currently reviewing your required course materials to make sure they are a good fit for your course.
Evaluating and integrating OER into a course is usually the responsibility of the faculty member, but librarians and other campus stakeholders may be involved.
Adoption and modification generally follows a five-step process.
Many open textbooks have been peer-reviewed by faculty or subject matter experts. Use these reviews to narrow down choices before examining them yourself.
If you want to evaluate the materials yourself, some existing rubrics exist.
Determine whether any modification is needed first. If you decide to modify materials, you must consider the format of the material, the creative common license type, and potential hosting for a new digital version.
Helpful guides on adapting and modifying open textbooks include:
Formatting
License considerations
Understanding how different OER licenses can be combined is important.
Hosting
After creating a revised version of the OER, consider where to post the digital copy for student access.
Attributing the creator or copyright holder is required by Creative Common licenses U.S. copyright law and is good practice in general.
For CC-licensed works, you must include the required attribution. Information and tools for automating this process are available in the article How to attribute a Creative Commons licensed work.
You may need from others at your college for instructional material choices, such as the division or department chair, curriculum committee, articulation officer, disability services office, etc.
The simplest delivery method is to provide a link to view or download the OER. Downloadable formats include PDF, ePub or mobi — certain formats are preferable for students with visual impairments and to those without reliable internet access.
You may also download the OER and upload it to a Learning Management System (Blackboard or Canvas) or the Copley Library Digital Repository.
Encourage feedback from students on usability and access to OER.