The Open Learning team supports faculty and staff with their open projects. To learn more, please complete our intake form and peruse the information available in this guide. Learn more about adopting and adapting OER, our project development phases, and how we can support you.

"Many educators feel driven to create the “perfect” resources for their classes and it can be difficult put aside that perfection and use other people’s creations. However, the number, variety, and quality of OER available freely is such that any educator should be able to find resources they can readily (with or without adaptations) put to use within their classrooms. And adaptation or adoption of OER will almost always be more efficient than creating teaching materials from scratch." (Moist, 2017).

Start simple! Consider adding some open interactive elements from eCampusOntario's H5P Studio into a course, or look for an open textbook. Take a look at existing resources for an open textbook. There may be one that meets your needs without much tinkering required. If not, then consider adapting or creating an open textbook. 

Adopt: In this context, adopt refers to using an OER (textbook or other media) "as-is", without the need for edits or other changes/updates.

Adapt: In this context, adapt refers to using one or more OER but making minor or more substantial changes to the work(s), depending on the license of the original OER. Adaptations might include updating content, remixing, creating a new work from combining others, for example.

Create: This means making a new OER from scratch. You might source material from your own experience, research, or other OER.