Phase 1 - Planning - RRC Polytech OER Initiative - Library and Academic Services at RRC Polytech

Phase 1 - Planning

Step 1 - Investigate

When you're starting out with Open Educational Resources (OER), it's important to get support right from the beginning. Start by evaluating your familiarity with OER as you begin exploring the creation process—and don’t go it alone! Bring a member of the library team along for guidance and support.

Take time to explore existing OER in your subject area. Library staff can help you identify resources that may already meet your instructional needs. This could include OER that you can adopt or adapt, or other materials available to students through the Library at no additional cost.

Search for Existing OER Materials

If you don’t find exactly what you’re looking for, you’ll need to assess what can be reused from existing OER and what might need to be created from scratch to meet your learning objectives.

The first step in any OER project? Connect with the RRC Library team. They’re here to support you every step of the way. Use the course materials service to connect with the library and get started!

Course materials service

Step 2 - Evaluate Course Materials

When you have your resources from the Library team before diving in, take a moment to assess whether existing resources are the right fit for your course before deciding to create an OER. Start by evaluating whether the materials you already have access to will meet your students' needs. Evaluate if the materials align with your course goals and learning outcomes.

Use the checklist provided to help determine if existing resources will work for you, or if you need to adapt or create something new. Think about why you want to create an OER and how an OER will best meet the instructional needs for you and your students.

Check List for Evaluating Course Materials

Step 3 - Adopt if Possible

Once you've explored available resources, the next step is to identify any existing OER that can be adopted as-is or adapted to fit your specific needs. If you find a resource that aligns with your instructional goals, great! Go ahead and use it.

After you've adopted an OER, be sure to report your use to Library and Academic Services. This step is essential—it helps us track student savings, advocate for increased OER adoption at RRC Polytech, and highlight your great work to support student success.

Report your OER use to OpenEd Manitoba

Report use of an OER to Library and Academic Services

You may decide to adapt or create an OER if you have not found an OER or other course materials that meet your needs. Be sure to keep those resources you explored! They might be helpful as you adapt or create your OER.

Step 4 - Assess the Need for an OER

If you explored both OER and library resources but still haven’t found something that meets your instructional needs, it may be time to consider creating your own OER.

Creating an OER is a meaningful way to contribute to open education and support student success by eliminating course material costs to students. It also gives you control over the content, format, and delivery of your materials. Creating an OER is a big project! Consider your instructional need for an OER and start to think about why an OER project is the right fit for you and your students.

Needs assessment Template

Step 5 - Learn

You're serious about taking on an OER creation project; that is exciting! Be sure to take some time to learn about what’s involved. From choosing the right software and platforms to understanding copyright, accessibility, and inclusive design, there’s much to consider.

Use the resources below this section to familiarize yourself with the essentials. You’ll also want to review the other phases of OER creation to help you confidently plan your project. Remember, the RRC Library team is here to support you as you move through the stages of your OER project!

OER Guides

Adaptation Guide
The Adaptation Guide is a practical reference about how to customize — or adapt — an open textbook so that it better fits your needs in the classroom and elsewhere.
The Rebus Guide to Publishing Open Textbooks
The Rebus Guide to Publishing Open Textbooks (So Far) is a living repository of collective knowledge, written to equip all those who want to publish open textbooks with the resources they need.
A Guide to Making Open Textbooks with Students
A handbook for faculty interested in practicing open pedagogy by involving students in the making of open textbooks, ancillary materials, or other Open Educational Resources.
Open Pedagogy in the Trades
Instructor Resource contains a bank of activities and projects to integrate with your course curriculum and use with your students immediately. All the activities are adaptable to any trade or ITA line item, and most will work for in-person and remote learning modalities. Adopting open pedagogy will lead to more engaged and invested students and richer learning outcomes.

OER Creation Platforms

Pressbooks User Guide
The Pressbooks User Guide! Find answers for common questions you may have while writing and publishing your book with Pressbooks.

Copyright

The 6 R’s of Indigenous OER
Indigenous data sovereignty is the concept that Indigenous nations have the right to ownership and governance over data about themselves and the right to govern their own data in a way that aligns with their community protocols and laws. It’s essential to think more widely about Canada's copyright law, how it affects Indigenous data sovereignty, and how it may be in tension with Indigenous protocols. Traditional knowledge may also be owned collectively by the group for cultural claims. So often, expressions of traditional knowledge cannot qualify for protection under Canadian copyright law because they are considered in the public domain, or the author of the material is often not identifiable. For these reasons, open licenses, such as Creative Commons licenses, may not be appropriate for sharing Indigenous knowledges.
Copyright Faculty Support
Whether making a PDF or other digital copy to put on Learn, distributing photocopies in class, or copying resources for your own use as a student or instructor, you are responsible for adhering to federal law and policies around Copyright at RRC Polytech. Find policy, training, resources, and support here.
Openly Licensed Materials
You may be considering using openly licensed content in your teaching. This video explores Open licences, a set of conditions applied to an original work that grant permission to anyone to make use of the work as long as they follow the conditions of the licence.