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OER: Adopt, Adapt, Create: Adapt & Remix

Adapt

 

 

 

Adapting / Remixing / Revising are options to edit an existing OER to meet the specific needs of your course. Revising can be simple edits while more robust remixing can combine multiple OERs into a platform that is tailored to your outcomes, syllabus and course.

Resources for Customizing Texts

There are low tech, medium tech, and high tech tools and authoring platforms available to adapt or create your OER. You can use commonly known tools such as Word or Google Docs. You can also use institutional tools such as Canvas and Adobe Express(Spark). Below are some other authoring tools that are available totally free or with limited basic, free service:

LibreText
An easy-to-use online platform for the construction, customization, and dissemination of open educational resources (OER). It is highly collaborative, has 3D capabilities, multimedia including videos and simulations, student tracking and assessment, an integrated annotation infrastructure and can be embedded into Blackboard.

libretexts


Open Author
Developed by OER Commons, this source has various tools for creating OER from scratch or harnessing existing open content to encourage students to solve specific tasks. OER Commons’ authoring platform, Open Author, can be used either to design and create individual resources or to lay out the structure of an open textbook.

OER Commons


Pressbooks
Features include the ability to create and remix, but also features other tools for building hypotheses, web annotations, and mathematical tools for equations and formulas, and tools for advanced text formatting.

pressbooks

Licensing for Adapting

When remixing two or more resources, check to make sure that the licenses are compatible. Consult this chart from Creative Commons or ask your librarian for help.

10 Reasons for Adapting & Remixing

  1. Address a particular teaching style or learning style
  2. Adjust for a different grade or course level
  3. Address diversity needs
  4. Meet a cultural, regional, or national preference
  5. Make the material more accessible for people with disabilities
  6. Add material contributed by students or material suggested by students
  7. Translate the material into another language
  8. Correct errors or inaccuracies
  9. Update the book with current information
  10. Add more media or links to other resources

Considerations before Adapting & Remixing

  1. Check license
  2. Identify current format of resource
  3. Determine access - what format would be best for your students?
  4. Assess editability
  5. Publish - give proper attribution
  6. Host material in a stable place