What is OER?
Open Educational Resources (OER) are course materials that can be used and reused freely at no cost. Unlike conventional copyrighted course material, OER material creators retain few, if any, ownership rights. Why is that important? The premise of OER is to provide "free and unfettered access, and perpetual, irrevocable 5R permissions" that allow instructors and students to "Retain, Resuse, Revise, Remix, and Redistribute" the couse material. (Dr. David Wiley, october 2016)
Why use OER?
Open Educational Resources, or OER, can benefit students in a variety of ways. Some of the primary benefits include:
- Significant Cost Savings - The high price of textbooks can be prohibitive to students in pursuit of their education. Many students cannot afford to buy their books. OER provides no-cost or low-cost course materials, that can make higher education accessible and affordable for everyone. OER ensures that students have access to all course material from the first of day of class.
- Provides Access to More Quality Choices - Many top colleges and universities across the country are providing free online course options to the public. This access allows students from all walks of life the ability to enjoy high-quality courses and tutorials developed by institutions such as Open Yale Courses, JHSPH OpenCourseWare (John Hopkins University), Webcast. Berkeley (University of California Berkeley), MIT OpenCourseWare, Open Learning Initiative (Carnegie Mellon University), and Harvard Open Courses.
- Flexible - OER provides flexibility for all learning styles. Students have the option of electronic content, or they can print a hard copy of the material. In addition, the same material can be presented in multiple ways using print, audio, video, and interactive technology. This flexibility is a result of the shared nature of the content, as instructors or institutions do not have to pay to use each variation of the content. Instructors can also modify or customize the material to best suit the needs of their students, and embody the nature of their courses.
Santa Ana College Awarded the Zero Textbook Cost Degree Grant
by the California Community College Chancellor's Office
The Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Degree program is one of the Open Educational Resources (OER) initiatives to improve teaching, learning, and accessibility for all learners at California Higher Education institutions. SAC is one of 20 California Community Colleges to be awarded the Implementation Phase II RFA for 2017/18. Courses designated as Zero Textbook Cost eliminate conventional textbook costs by using alternative instructional materials and methodologies, including open educational resources.
Santa Ana College Selected for Achieving the Dream OER Degree Initiative
Santa Ana College was recently selected to be part of the Achieving the Dream's Open Educational Resources (OER) Degree
initiative. SAC is one of only 38 community colleges nationwide that will be working to ensure equity for students in the coming year by creating two degree pathways utilizing OER materials!
Santa Ana College Students participate in 2017 OpenEd Conference on October 11, 2017
SAC Offers Two New OER Degree Pathways
Two OER Degree Pathways are offered in:
Most courses will be offered in multiple
offerings of day, evening and online. Students are able to search for
OER sections offerings in WebAdvisor and can plan to complete their degrees using OER materials for their entire degree.
Textbook Costs Inspire New Alternatives for Students by Natalie James
national leader in collegiate student media, the Santa Ana College el
Don, has published an informative article on Open Educational Resources
and how SAC students benefit from an affordable textbook alternative.
Read the online el Don article for more information! |
Santa Ana College Participates in Open Education Week - March 29th
In honor of Open Education Week, Santa Ana College faculty will wear their "Ask me about OER" T-shirts, pass out fliers on how to search for OER courses and will have a discussion with their students about why they chose to use OER in their classes and discuss student thoughts on OER and their course materials.
Ask about OER and the SAC OER Degree Pathway!
Santa Ana College OER Summit a Resounding Success
Santa Ana College hosted an Open Educational Resources Summit on Friday, October 7, 2016. With 120 participants from 15 Colleges and Universities from Southern California, the OER Summit far exceeded expectations. Read the complete story on the
OER News page.
Santa Ana College is Participating in Open Education Week - March 5th
In honor of Open Education Week, Santa Ana College will be participating in the following ways:
- Students can participate in a "Spread the Word" Contest using the #OERatSAC on Instagram and Twitter accounts! Take a selfie with a OER/ZTC Poster around campus and post it along with #SACOER to your Instagram or Twitter account!
Look for this poster and take a selfie!
- Faculty can participate by wearing our "Ask me about OER" T-shirts on Wednesday, March 7th, and any day you teach your OER course(s)! Have a conversation with your students about OER and why you chose to use for your class!
Ask about OER and the SAC OER Degree Pathway!