How do you choose the best OER for your online course?

1 Define your needs

Before you start looking for OER, it's important to have a clear understanding of what you want to accomplish with your online course and the content needed to support your learning outcomes. To do this, consider the main topics and concepts you want to cover, the learning objectives and competencies you want your learners to develop, the prerequisites and prior knowledge of your learners, the instructional strategies and activities you plan to use in your course, and how you will assess your learners' progress and performance. Answering these questions will help define your needs and criteria for selecting OER that are in line with your course goals, structure, and pedagogy.

2 Search for OER

Once you have identified your needs, you can begin searching for OER that fit your criteria. There are many sources of OER online, but not all of them are equally trustworthy, relevant, and user-friendly. To help you find quality OER, use keywords and filters related to your topic, level, format, and license. Additionally, use reputable platforms that offer peer-reviewed and updated OER such as OER Commons, MERLOT, and OpenStax. You can also use specialized search engines and tools like OASIS, Mason OER Metafinder, and Creative Commons Search to find OER across multiple platforms. Furthermore, utilize social media and professional networks to ask for recommendations from educators who have used or created OER.

3 Evaluate OER

Evaluating OER for their quality, relevance, and suitability for your online course is essential. You can use various frameworks and rubrics to help you assess OER, such as the Achieve OER Rubrics, the CAO Checklist, and the RISE Framework. These tools can help you evaluate OER based on criteria such as accuracy, alignment, accessibility, adaptability, interactivity, and license. Specifically, you should ensure that the content is accurate, current, evidence-based, aligned with learning objectives and standards, accessible to all learners, adaptable and customizable to fit your course context and pedagogy, engaging with interactive features and feedback, and legally and ethically shareable with an open license.

4 Integrate OER

When integrating OER into your online course design, it is important to consider your learning objectives, instructional strategies, and assessment methods. To ensure effective integration of OER, provide clear instructions and guidance on how to use and access them in your course. Make sure the OER you select are relevant and meaningful for your learners, and adapt and modify them to fit your course context, pedagogy, and style. Additionally, encourage learners to interact with OER by commenting, annotating, remixing or creating their own content. Finally, evaluate the impact of OER on learners' engagement, learning, and satisfaction, and seek feedback from them on how to improve your OER integration.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?