Open Western OER Fellowship Program

Welcome to Workshop 2: OER Creation. In this workshop we will reflect on key values for OER creation and consider ways to improve any existing OER that you have located. We will also introduce important practical topics such as licenses and attribution (using outside source material) and accessibility. We hope this workshop will be a springboard for you to develop a first draft of your planned OER!

In this phase, you may be engaging in several kinds of creation activities. You may be adapting existing OER to be appropriate for your students and course needs; you may be combining parts of multiple OER (this is called remixing); you may be creating original content of some kind; or you may be doing a little of all of these activities.

Creation Guide/Template

Instructions and Deliverables for the Creation Phase

• Open and save your own copy of the Creation Guide, above
• Start drafting your materials, referencing the Creation Guide, this LibGuide,page, and your Project Plan (that you created in Workshop 1) as you go.
• Share updates or questions with your Project Manager and try to follow the timeline in your Project Plan.​
• There’s nothing that is “due” now. Feel free to move on to the Revising and Publishing Workshop (or back and forth) as you feel ready.​

Learning Objectives for Workshop 2: Creation

1. Fellows will assess student needs for the materials, including appropriate reading level, approach to content, and assessment needs. 
2. Fellows will consider their own storytelling voice and any additional perspectives to be included in the project, including but not limited to those of their students, community, and/or profession. 
3. Fellows will consider how the materials can best facilitate their teaching practices. 
4. Fellows will assess existing materials’ structure, style, relevance, accessibility, and localization when remixing or adapting existing content. 
5. Fellows will follow best practices for using and attributing material from outside sources, consulting with librarians when additional guidance is needed.
6. Fellows will understand and follow accessibility best practices including use of heading styles and consistent hierarchy, including alt text for all images, using clear link text, formatting tables with header information and captions, and limiting or defining jargon. 
7. Fellows will produce a first draft of the planned materials. 
8. Fellows will draft front matter and back matter. 

Audience

As you are developing your materials, it is important to remember that your audience is students – you’re creating (or remixing) this OER to support their learning, growth, and development! So start with an intentional alignment to outcomes for your students. 

• Who is your audience (your students)?  
• What are their needs and wants?  
• How will your writing style support their learning?  
• What approaches do you think will be particularly helpful for them in learning the content and engaging with materials?  
• What will you need to keep in mind as you develop content for them? 

Diverse Voices and Perspectives

Now is also a good time to think about what we will call your storytelling approach, which is what you want to convey in your resource and how you will do this.   

Some questions to consider: 

• What do you include (or plan to include) in your OER? Whose stories? What perspectives? What examples or illustrations? 
• How can you include more diverse voices and perspectives? How can you include more locally relevant perspectives and examples?
• How will you tell these stories and communicate these perspectives? How do you plan to introduce or share the examples you have in mind? 

Now identify places where these diverse voices and perspectives can be incorporated. Examples may include: 

1. Illustrations and Graphics 
2. Example names 
3. Key figures in the field 
4. Application, examples, and exercises/problems 
5. Appropriate terminology 
6. Keywords/glossary items 
7. Balanced issues and discussions 
8. References 

Assessment

The process of content creation extends beyond creating the content – it also includes looking at techniques to make meaningful learning experiences for students. You have such a unique opportunity here to create an integrated, meaningful learning experience for your students! 

Consider: 

• How do the materials enable students to practice the key skills as well as learn the central content of the unit or course?  
• Are there checkpoints for students to make mistakes and recover?  
• Do the materials offer some longer term, transferable skills that students can take away? 

Instructor Needs

It’s also very important to consider how you can create materials that will help you to be a good instructor (and help other instructors to do the same!). Perhaps this involves creating multiple versions of assessments, creating lecture outlines for each chapter, or organizing your files in a certain way.  

Take a moment to consider: 

• How will your OER be part of your classroom toolkit to guide students to success?  
• How can your materials facilitate good instructional practices?  
• What considerations, additions, or resources will best support you as the instructor? 

The Opportunity of OER

One of the major benefits of OER is the ability that you have to update, adapt, change, and improve materials--even materials you didn't create! We'll talk more about the specific of licenses in the next section, but it's worth taking a moment to admire the opportunity OER affords us to freely use and change materials we find to best meet the needs of our students and classrooms.

Identifying Areas of Improvement

Look back at the existing OER you listed in your Project Plan. If you are planning to incorporate these into your course materials, now is a good time to take the next step in review and assessment of the materials. Perhaps they are just right as they are, but if you’d like to make any improvements, now is the time!  

Consider the following questions: 

• What could be better, in terms of organization, tone, style, sentence-level clarity, or integrated pedagogical devices?  
• In what areas should special attention be paid to inclusivity and cultural relevance? To technical accessibility?  
• This is also a prime opportunity to begin localizing content. What examples can you bring in to make the content relevant for your students? How do the particular challenges or concepts covered in the materials apply in our region or community? 

Adapting, Remixing, and Incorporating Existing OER

Both the format of the existing OER you plan to use and the way you plan to use them will impact the specifics of how you go about adapting or remixing it for your purposes. Whether you are copying and pasting from the content, working directly from an editable file, or moving content into a new media or format, just remember to document your source material on the front end so that you can save yourself time later on and also model good habits for your students.

You librarians and your Project Manager would be happy to help you address any questions or challenges you encounter with adapting, remixing, and incorporating existing OER into your new creation.

Now that we have the big picture in mind, it’s time to get into some of the nuts and bolts. This portion of the workshop covers copyright, Creative Commons licenses, and attribution practices. While this can sometimes feel very technical and overwhelming, it's important for you to have a general grasp of how these pieces work. We also want you to reach out to your librarians with any questions about this or any specific situations you may encounter. 

Copyright 

By default, all works are automatically granted copyright. Even in the absence of a copyright symbol “©”, the work cannot be assumed to be openly available for use. 

The Public Domain

Open Educational Resources can include any work within the public domain. The public domain consists of works that are not subject to copyright.  

Works enter the public domain in one of four ways:  

1. The copyright expires.  
2. The work was never entitled to copyright protection. This includes ideas, facts, and U.S. government works (because the works are considered public resources according to Section 105 of U.S. Copyright Law).  
3. The creator dedicated the work to the public domain before copyright has expired. 
4. The copyright holder failed to comply with formalities or maintain their copyright. Today in most countries, there are no formal requirements to acquire or renew copyright protection over a work. This was not always the case, however, and many works have entered the public domain over the years because a creator failed to adhere to formalities. 

Creative Commons Licenses

An open license is a vital component of an Open Educational Resource, as it prescribes what the creator will allow to be done with their work. While there are other types of open licenses, the most common open licenses you will likely encounter are Creative Commons licenses. Open licenses from Creative Commons (CC) provide a way for creators to retain their copyright and get credit for their work, while permitting others to copy and distribute it. These licenses act as explicit, standing permissions for all users.

The Four Components of Creative Commons Licenses

Four Components of Creative Commons licenses

Component Graphic	Component Name and Description
	Attribution (BY)  Proper attribution must be given to the original creator of the work whenever a portion of their work is reused or adapted. This includes a link to the original work, information about the author, and information about the original work’s license.
	ShareAlike (SA)  Iterations of the original work must be made available under the same license terms.
	Non-Commercial (NC)  The work cannot be sold at a profit or used for commercial means such as for-profit advertising. Copies of the work can be purchased in print and given away or sold at cost.
	No Derivatives (ND)  The work cannot be altered or “remixed.” Only identical copies of the work can be redistributed without additional permission from the creator.

These four license components—BY, SA, NC, and ND—combine to make up six different license options. Not all licenses will include all of these. All of the licenses include the BY condition. In other words, all of the licenses require that the creator be attributed in connection with their work. Beyond that commonality, the licenses vary whether (1) commercial use of the work is permitted; and (2) whether the work can be adapted, and if so, on what terms. 

The Four “Open” Creative Commons Licenses

There are strengths and weaknesses to each Creative Commons license you might apply to your OER. To help you make an informed decision, a short description of each license that can be applied to OER is provided below. You can learn more about the individual CC licenses on the Creative Commons website.

The Four "Open" Creative Commons Licenses

License Graphic	License Name and Abbreviation	License Description, Strengths, and Weaknesses
	Creative Common Attribution   CC BY	This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. This is the most popular open license provided by Creative Commons. By requiring attribution and nothing else, your CC BY work will be easy for others to adapt and build upon.  Because CC BY allows for easier sharing and adaptation, it also leaves the creator with less power over their work. When you use a CC BY license, you cannot be certain that your work will remain open or that your work will be reused for projects you support.
	Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike   CC BY SA	This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work even for commercial purposes. as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms...All new works based on yours will carry the same license, so any derivatives will also allow commercial use.  The CC BY SA combines the openness of CC BY license with the caveat that an item remains open under the same license when adapted. The CC BY SA license is the second most popular license, and the license used by Wikipedia for their articles. Because the CC BY SA license requires that adapted content be shared under the same license, it can be difficult to adapt or to remix works licensed CC BY SA.
	Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial CC BY NC	This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don't have to license their derivative works on the same terms. The CC BY NC license gives the creator of a work complete control over any commercial reuse of their work. As a user, you can adapt and remix CC BY NC works so long as your new works provide attribution to the original author and do not turn a profit. Some users may be concerned about what they are allowed to do with your CC BY NC work and where the commercial “line” is drawn.
	Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike CC BY NC SA	This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. CC BY NC SA is the most restrictive license that can be used for OER and gives you the most control over its adaptations. Some creators apply this license out of concern for their works being “scooped” by commercial publishers. Because of its requirements, the CC BY NC SA license is the hardest to adapt, remix, or build upon.

Using Existing Content

If you want to reuse existing OER content, there are some aspects of Creative Commons licenses you should keep in mind. Although there are different rules for each, every CC license includes the Attribution component which requires that users provide proper attribution for an original work being shared or adapted. You'll also need to abide by any additional requirements of the license.

Note that if you are considering using material that is not openly licensed and not in the public domain, please consult with a librarian for best practice recommendations. In general, you can cite non-OER content (as this is fair use) and linking is also acceptable. It's also sometimes possible to obtain permission for your intended use. Beyond that, we will need to follow guidelines for fair use and a librarian would be glad to help you with your specific situation.

Choosing and Implementing a License for Your OER

Choosing a Creative Commons license can be confusing at first, but the Choose a License tool can help. This tool generates a license based on which rights you want to retain and which you would like to give to users. For example, if you want to share your work and allow others to adapt it, but you do not want others to be able to sell your work, you might consider using the CC BY NC license.

Creative Commons also has an online Marking Guide that demonstrates how to mark your CC license on different types of media. Making your license obvious on whatever item you are sharing is an important part of the dissemination process for OER: otherwise, users won’t know what license you’ve chosen! No matter the format, there are some standards you can follow:

• Make it clear
• Make it visible
• Provide links (to the license and the work)

Your librarian or Project Manager can help answer any questions that you may have about choosing and implementing a license. We'll also talk more about this in Workshop 3. 

Attribution

Attribution is a key component of open licenses and is an essential practice whenever you incorporate existing OER into your materials. At minimum, you’ll need to provide the title, author, source, and license (TASL) for any existing OER you use.  

What's the difference between citation and attribution?

Attribution is a similar process to citing academic works in a paper, but there are some key differences. The following table outlines some of the ways in which citations and attribution are similar and different:

Citation and Attribution

Citation	Attribution
Purpose is academic (e.g. avoiding plagiarism)	Purpose is legal (e.g. following licensing regulations)
Does NOT typically include licensing information for the work	Typically includes licensing information for the work
Used to quote or paraphrase a limited portion of a work	Used to quote or paraphrase all or a portion of a work
Can paraphrase, but cannot typically change the work’s meaning	Can change the work under Fair Use or with advance permission (e.g., under most CC licenses)
Many citation styles are available (e.g., APA, Chicago, and MLA)	Attribution statement styles are still emerging, but there are some defined best practices
Cited resources are typically placed in a reference list	Attribution statements are typically found near the work used (e.g., below an image)

Attribution: Table copied from The OER Starter Kit Workbook by Abbey K. Elder & Stacy Katz, CC BY 4.0. 

In your OER, you'll be providing both attribution and citations. We recommend you follow the citation style you have your students follow and/or the style most commonly your discipline.

Examples of Attribution Statements

Example of an attribution statement for adapted text (changes made to borrowed text)

This chapter is an adaptation of Physical Geography and Natural Disasters by R. Adam Dastrup and is used under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence. Changes include rewriting some of the passages and adding original material.

Example of an attribution statement for borrowed text (no changes made)

This chapter is composed of text taken from Chapter 2.2 of Physical Geography and Natural Disasters by R. Adam Dastrup and is used under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. No changes have been made nor original material added.

These attribution examples are borrowed and minimally adapted from Attribution Statements by Lauri M. Aesoph, BCcampus, and reused thanks to a CC BY 4.0 license. Spellings were corrected for a U.S. audience. (See what I did there?)

Now it’s time to start drafting, following the rough timeline you outlined in your Project Plan. This process may feel very straightforward at this point or it may still feel very daunting—both are completely normal.  

Creation is Iterative

Remember that creation can be iterative. Content can be expanded on, revised, and improved over time: the first draft doesn’t need to include everything. Start with the core concepts, your “must haves,” and then add additional materials such as case studies, media, quizzes, assignments, question banks, and/or slide decks. You might decide to work concurrently on all of the sections, drafting all of the introductions at the same time, then all of the examples, and so on. Or you may prefer to work on one section at a time, drafting, reviewing, and getting feedback from others before moving on to the next section. Both approaches are valid. Just take one step at a time and keep making progress. 

If You Get Stuck

As you're creating your materials, you may encounter unexpected challenges. Perhaps it's writer's block, an unforeseen technological barrier, or a more demanding teaching schedule than you anticipated.

If that happens to you in this phase, here are a few things you can try:

• Talk to a colleague, friend, or supervisor about the issue.
• Consider a new approach.
• Skip ahead to another section that's not so challenging. 
• Work on small sections rather than trying to do it all at once.

Just do the best you can to keep moving forward, but also know that we understand that things don't always go as planned. If none of your own strategies or the ones listed above work for you, check in with your Project Manager to let them know what's going on and see if they can help. 

Create Learner-Centered Pages: Page Design

Reading online is quite different from reading printed material. Present content in a way that maximizes understanding of the concepts your want your students to learn.  Well-designed content can help your content meet your course goals.

Basic Structuring Strategies

Formatting and structuring go hand in hand in content planning. While formatting ensures that content is predictable and easy to scan, structuring involves defining an organizational strategy to deliver the content effectively. Strategically structure your content before applying formatting to make sure that it is logical and coherent.

A good content structure helps users form a mental model of the page and navigate it efficiently. The following are some common strategies for structuring content:

• Provide a helpful overview: Allow users to get a sense of the page offering without delving into details by providing them with a table of contents for the page.
• Create content chunks: Break down the content body into digestible sections.
• Disclose information progressively: Allow users to access the first level of the content (overview or expectations).
• Offer direct links  to outside reading and sources:  Hyperlink text using the link tool rather than insert the URL.
  • Example: hyperlinked text: Creating a Book  vs. https://westerntc.libapps.com/libguides/admin_c.php?g=1381854&p=10220913

Content Formatting Techniques

Reading is the primary action people perform online, but people strive to read as little as possible. They rely on scanning instead. Scanning must be supported through thoughtful editing, strategic structuring, and effective formatting of long-form content. Use the 5 formatting tactics discussed in this article—summaries, bold and highlight, bullet points, callouts, and visuals—to break down your content and create a dynamic and engaging reading experience.

Summaries, bullet points, callouts, bolding, highlighting, and helpful visuals are useful techniques for formatting long-from content.

Summary

A summary is supposed to communicate the key points of a piece of content.

The purpose of a summary is to help users:

• Decide if they are interested in the content
• Get the gist of your information without reading through all the details

Summaries should be concise and to the point. If your piece has several major takeaways, use a bulleted list to make them scannable and easy to consume. 

Your summary section should be easy to distinguish from the rest of the body text. A descriptive heading (e.g., Summary and Key Takeaways) and a distinct visual treatment (such as borders and shading) can draw attention to the summary.

Bold and Highlight

Bolding and highlighting should be used to call attention to critical information. Use bolding and highlighting selectively and sparingly. The highlighted text should make up no more than 30% of an article’s text. Highlight or bold only those text fragments capturing the most important points of your article. Do not bold just to strengthen your tone, as it can slow down scanning and cause confusion.

Bullet Points

• Bullet points are one of the most common text-formatting techniques on the web. 
• They support scanning, emphasize key points, and reveal relationships among items. Bullet points can be paired with in-page links to serve as a table of contents for the page.
• Bullets stand out and attract attention.

When Items in a bulleted list are properly formatted, they are easily perceived as a group due to the human eye’s innate tendency to follow lines and curves on a path.  Bullet points are great because they're succinct and the reader can see what they need to know, such as when a new topic is being introduced.

Bullets are a powerful formatting device only if used properly. When the content presented in each bullet point is lengthy, it can still result in an undesirable wall of text. 

Visuals

Visuals are not just for decoration: they often add information value to a content piece. They are also a formatting tool, as they break up walls of text and diversify the content layout, allowing eyes to rest from reading.  

Two types of visuals:

• informational visuals (e.g. product photos, infographics) bring value to an article and users will spend time looking at them
• decorative visuals do not communicate useful information, but are often used to create visual interest break up walls of text 

Informational Visuals

Informational visuals aid comprehension and increase readers’ interest when they land on the page. 

Thoughtful informational visuals can simplify complex concepts and make abstract information tangible, providing context that words alone might struggle to convey. Visual people will say I need an example, I need a picture. I’m a person who always needs a picture for everything.

Decorative Visuals

Decorative visuals don’t necessarily provide informational value to the page, but the added visual interest that help people keep their attention focused on the page. Decorative graphics should match the tone and voice of the page.

Because they do not deliver information and lengthen the page, especially on mobile use of purely decorative images should be kept at a minimum, to avoid disrupting the discoverability or the scannability of the other content.

Sources: 

Your Project Manager will check in with you periodically throughout this stage to see how things are going and to provide suggestions or assistance, but feel free to reach out to them at any point if you have questions.  

There’s nothing “due” at this phase other than to keep your Project Manager updated on your progress and to reach out for help as needed. 

The content for this OER Creation workshop has been adapted from portions of the following sources, which are openly available thanks to Creative Commons licenses. 

and video slides are adapted from a template by Slides Carnival, CC BY.