by Melissa Rothfus

The costs of textbooks and other resources on top of tuition and fees can be an obstacle to student learning and academic success. The use of Open Education Resources (OERs) can address that problem while also allowing for course materials to be tailored to the class exactly the way the instructor wants to teach it.

To help with OERs, we are excited to share the news that a new Open Educational Resources (OER) LibGuide is now available. The guide presents new and updated content from a previous version on Open Textbooks.

The new guide is designed to orient faculty members interested in OER in the resources available. This includes suggestions of where to look for existing resources, an explanation of the difference between adopting and adapting OER, and information on copyright and licensing considerations. Instructors interested in OER are encouraged to consult the guide and make use of Dal Libraries’ many resources to help them get started.

Additionally, the Dalhousie Libraries and the Centre for Learning & Teaching, with support from Dalhousie’s Strategic Initiative Funding, offer a grant to support Dalhousie educators who are interested in adapting or creating an OER. Learn more about the 2021 OER grant recipients.