Are you a McMaster instructor searching for high-quality open educational resources (OER) to use in your courses but don’t know where to start? A team at McMaster University Libraries is here to help with a new OER finding service introduced this month.
"There’s a lot of high-quality OER materials out there but it can be challenging to find them,” said Katie Harding, teaching and learning librarian, OER and STEM at McMaster University Library. “We are here to help with this new service supported by our knowledgeable librarians.”
The OER finding service is easy to use. Instructors are asked to complete a request form about a course they teach and the type of materials in which they are interested. A team of McMaster librarians with expertise across different subject areas will search various OER repositories for open materials. A customized list of OER that are relevant to the course will then be provided to the instructor.
“We know how expensive textbooks can be, and OER are a great option that ensure that all students can access course materials for free,” said Harding. “OER also gives instructors more flexibility. For example, instructors can update or adapt an open textbook, which you can’t typically do with a traditional textbook.”
The new service is inspired by similar offerings by libraries at the University of Calgary and Nova Scotia Community College. Harding connected with both teams to learn more and create a made-at-Mac adaptation of the service. Harding also credits Jo-Anne Petropoulos, a librarian at McMaster’s Health Sciences Library, as playing an important role in turning this concept into a reality.
Petropoulos says she is excited about the new service and how it can help benefit both McMaster instructors and students.
“The service can assist instructors in identifying videos, lesson plans, or quizzes in addition to textbooks to support their courses,” said Petropoulos. “OER are also available in any format, and depending on the licence, can be modified for enhanced accessibility.”
For more information about OER at McMaster, visit the links below or email the team at oer@mcmaster.ca.
Helpful links
McMaster OER Grant Program*
*Please note 2024-25 grant applications are due May 31, 2024.
