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Open Educational Resources (OER)

Find Open Educational Resource information and repositories from Minnesota State and beyond.

Where Do You Start?

Cartoon person cutting, painting, and putting together partial shapes into new shapes.

Welcome to the world of remixed OERs and flexible instructional content. 

 

Will You Revise Existing OER or Start From Scratch?

  • It may be easier to find several different OER and put them together into a new resource (adapt) than to start writing your own OER from scratch (create). 
  • You might also consider pulling chapters or content pieces from existing OER directly into D2L modules rather than using a whole textbook separately.
  • Pressbooks is an excellent software for modifying or authoring OER.

"OER can be revised" by Frank Homp is licensed under CC-BY 2.0.

Minnesota State Publishing Tools

Full-featured Pressbooks software

You have two options for free Pressbooks access in Minnesota.

 

Minnesota State Logo

Text reading "Minnesota State"

 

Minnesota Libraries Publishing Project Logo
Minnesota State has an enterprise level education account with Pressbooks. 
  • Limited to 30 new books per year. 
  • Participation is reserved for MinnState faculty and staff who take advantage of the PressbooksEDU interactive features, such as H5P, Hypothesis, etc.
  • There is an approval process before the textbook can be created.
Complete the form on this page to request a Pressbooks book shell: https://minnstate.pressbooks.pub/
Minnesota Libraries Publishing Project (MLPP) provides any Minnesota resident with access to a basic Pressbooks account.                                                                         
  • Available to be used for broader purposes (novels, dissertations, etc.) without prior approval.
  • NOT equipped with the H5P plugin or other interactive feature capabiltiies.
  • Create a Pressbooks account to begin creating a book. 
Instructions for creating an account can be found here: https://mlpp.pressbooks.pub/how-to-create-an-account/                                                                                  
*NOTE: If you're just starting out or do not intend to use the interactive features, start with an MLPP basic Pressbooks account.

 

But wait!  There's more!

You don't HAVE to use Pressbooks to create or modify OER.  There are many tools available like Google Docs or Microdoft Word.  Review the document linked below to see what other tools you might consider.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Modifying or Creating an Open Textbook

How to Modify an Existing Open Textbook

Icon of book on computer screen with green checkmark
1. Check the license  
Make sure you have permission to modify the content.  See the Creative Commons Licenses page of this guide for more information on CC licenses.
Icon of book in front of a browser window
2. Check the format of the textbook
Make sure you have access to a technical format of the book that you can work with and modify (HTML, ePub, Word, Pressbooks, etc.)
Icon of book with a mouse arrow over it
3. Choose and use editing tools
Determine what editing tools you want to use to modify the text (Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Pressbooks, etc.)
Icon of book with laurel wreath around it
4. Choose a Creative Commons license for your new work
The license you apply to your new work will depend largely on the license used on the original textbook.  See our Creative Commons Licenses page.
Icon of digital book displayed on a computer monitor
5. Determine the formats for your book 
Consider providing access to your textbook in multiple formats (PDF, HTML, ePUB, etc.) so users can choose to read a format that works for them.
Icon of shining book with a cupped hand underneath
6. Publishing / Hosting your book
Determine how your students will get access to your book. Will you upload to Opendora and provide students a link? Will you upload to D2L? 

Adapted from 6 Steps to Modifying an Open Textbook by Clint LaLonde licensed under CC-BY 4.0.

Images from Vecteezy.com licensed as free with attribution.

Create a New Open Textbook Using Remixed Content

Number 1
1. Establish a list of learning objectives for each module or topic in your course
Define what you want your students to learn and how those learning objectives can be met.
Determine what type of resources you would like to use to do that and establish keywords for searching.
Number 2
2. Search for open content for each module or topic in your course
Use the keywords you established in step 1 to search for open content you can use. 
Consult your campus librarian and/or campus OER expert for research assistance.
Number 3
3. Select or create open content that meets your established learning objectives
If selecting existing content:
  • Evaluate any selected resources for reliability, accuracy, format, etc.
  • Check the license to make sure you have permission to modify the content.
  • Ensure you have access to a format of the resource you can modify (HTML, ePub, Word, etc.)
Number 4
4. Organize your content into a textbook or course shell
  • Make sure the open resources you include have compatible licenses
  • Choose the editing tools you will use to compile and modify the text (Word, Google Docs, Pressbooks, etc.).
  • Choose a Creative Commons license for your new work.
    • The license you apply will depend on the licenses applied to the original sources. 
    • Consult your campus librarian and/or campus OER expert for assistance.
Number 5
5. Determine the formats for your book
Consider providing access to your textbook in multiple formats (PDF, HTML, ePUB, etc.).
With multiple formats, users can choose to read what works for them.
Number 6
6. Publishing / Hosting your book 
Determine how your students will get access to your book. 
Will you upload to Opendora and provide students a link? Will you upload to D2L? 

This list combines content from 6 Steps to Modifying an Open Textbook by Clint Lalonde, CC-BY and Open Textbook Adoption Worksheet by Dr. Judy Baker, CC-BY 3.0.

Numbers one through fifty with colorful bubbles by ahmadsan is licensed free with attribution from Vecteezy.com 

Helpful OER Publishing Guides

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2500 80th Street E., Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076 Inver Hills Community College is a member of Minnesota State, and an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer and educator.