All resources in OER Development Tools and Guidance

Understanding Document Accessibility

(View Complete Item Description)

A Reference for Creating Accessible Office Documents Short Description: With much of the world gone digital, learning to create documents that are accessible to everyone is becoming a necessary skill. Intended for a general audience, this free resource reviews a wide range of document authoring applications, including the tools they contain for creating accessible documents, and tests them to ensure they do not contain potential barriers. Learn how to create accessible word processed documents, spreadsheets, presentation slides, and PDF documents, among others, so they are accessible to everyone. Long Description: With much of the world gone digital, learning to create documents that are accessible to everyone is becoming a necessary skill. Intended for a general audience, this free resource reviews a wide range of document authoring applications, including the tools they contain for creating accessible documents, and tests them to ensure they do not contain potential barriers. Learn how to create accessible word processed documents, spreadsheets, presentation slides, and PDF documents, among others, so they are accessible to everyone. Word Count: 113386 (Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

Material Type: Textbook

Sample Permissions Request Letter

(View Complete Item Description)

If there is a resource you would like to use in your OER project that is not openly licensed, in the public domain, or usable under fair use, permission from the copyright holder is required. Here is some sample wording for that permissions request. Please adapt as suits your situation.Cover mage by Andrew Lloyd Gordon from Pixabay 

Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy

Author: Barbara Soots

Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources - Webinar Series

(View Complete Item Description)

As educators begin to develop OER, one component of that process is navigating concerns around copyright when finding digital teaching materials. This webinar series addresses that and is divided into two tracks: K-12 and Higher Education. There are also two stand-alone webinar options that can be attended by both the K-12 and Higher Education community. All of the webinars will also be available on YouTube and linked to this page after the live event has ended.

Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy

Author: American University Washington College of Law

The Ultimate Guide to Copyright, Creative Commons, and Fair Use for Teachers, Students, and Bloggers

(View Complete Item Description)

It has never been easier to publish online or consume digital content. This comes with many advantages and can make teaching and learning so much more targeted and impactful. Living in a digital world also brings up many questions — one issue that is very important to understand is copyright. Whether you’re an educator, student, or blogger, copyright is a topic that is often overlooked as it can be confusing or just not considered important. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of myths about copyright circulating amongst the education community. Maybe you’ve heard that you can use any images or texts you find online if you’re using them for education? Or perhaps you’ve heard that you can use any songs in your videos as long as you use less than 30 seconds? Yep, both not true. Copyright is important for all teachers, students, and bloggers to know about. And it doesn’t have to be as complicated as you think. We’re here to break down the basics of copyright and other related topics like fair use, public domain, and Creative Commons.

Material Type: Unit of Study

Authors: Kathleen Morris, Ronnie Burt, Sue Waters

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources

(View Complete Item Description)

This Code is a tool for educators, librarians, and authors to evaluate common professional scenarios in which fair use can enable them to incorporate inserts, including those protected by copyright, to create OER. It can provide groups working on OER projects with a shared framework for evaluating and understanding when and how to incorporate existing content to meet pedagogical needs

Material Type: Reading, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Authors: American University Washington College of Law, Meredith Jacob, Peter Jaszi, Prudence S. Adler, William Cross

Teachers as Content & Knowledge Creators: Understanding Creative Commons, OER, and Visual Literacy to Empower Diverse Voices

(View Complete Item Description)

This module was created in response to an observed need by BranchED and the module authors for efforts to increase the recognition, adaptation, and use of open educational resources (OER) among pre- and in-service teachers and the faculty who work in educator preparation programs. The module's purpose is to position teacher educators, teacher candidates and in-service teachers as empowered content creators. By explicitly teaching educators about content that has been licensed for re-use and informing them about their range of options for making their own works available to others, they will gain agency and can make inclusive and equity-minded decisions about curriculum content. The module provides instructional materials, resources, and activities about copyright, fair use, public domain, OER, and visual literacy to provide users with a framework for selecting, modifying, and developing curriculum materials.

Material Type: Module

Authors: Kimberly Grotewold, Karen Kohler, Tasha Martinez, LisaL Kulka

Elementary Science and Integrated Subjects - TEMPLATE

(View Complete Item Description)

Template developed by the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) ClimeTime grantees.This format is designed to be an example of how to develop a coherent lesson or suite of lessons that integrate other content areas such as English Language Arts, Mathematics and other subjects into science learning for students.

Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy

Authors: Barbara Soots, Ellen Ebert, Georgia Boatman, Kimberley Astle, Washington OSPI OER Project