9 Adopt, adapt or create?
Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Differentiate between adopting, adapting and creating OER
- Explain the pros and cons of adoption vs adaption vs creation of OER, and identify when is each more appropriate
Adopting, adapting and creating: How are they different?
There are three main choices when it comes to using OER in educational settings (Elder, 2019):
- adopt an existing resource that suits the learning objectives of their course without making any changes to the content
- adapt a resource by customising some of the content, e.g., add local examples
- create
- remix a variety of sources to create a new resource
- author and license a new resource, created from scratch using their own materials
Each option has different considerations, including suitability of the OER content and format, accessibility features, and the preparation time required.
A study by Jung, Bauer & Heaps (2017) found that 82% of participants spent the same amount of time or less preparing to teach their course using an open textbook. This indicates that adopting an OER does not necessarily lead to increased workload and may even reduce preparation time.
However, using OER will often require some customisation of content to improve course alignment and ensure the material is tailored to support student learning. You may also wish to combine multiple OER and remix them, or you may decide to create their own OER from scratch. Each of these involve different time commitments, as illustrated below.
Figure 9.1: Spectrum of time intensiveness. Image by University of Melbourne Library, licensed under a CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
Why adopt OER?
If you locate a suitable OER to adopt and do not need to make any changes to the content, you can simply share the resource. The majority of OER are online and can be shared via a hyperlink, embedded into a Learning Management System, LibGuide, website etc. according to the Creative Commons licence. Many OER have an option to download a file of the resource, and the file may be shared.
Considerations when adopting OER
Students will have different preferences for using online vs print resources. So, if using an open textbook, keep in mind that OER that have a specific non-commercial clause (CC BY-NC) cannot be sold with a markup or at a profit. Therefore, making a print copy available for purchase may not be possible. Some open textbooks publishers, however, provide print-on-demand availability, such as OpenStax.
Be aware of any requirements of your institution, which may add tasks and/or complexity. For example, you may be required to record the use of an OER within a course, as BCcampus does, using an online form.
Why adapt OER?
As you’re already aware, one of the greatest benefits of OER is that you can modify and remix existing OER to meet your needs, a practice known as “adaption”. In other words, you can adjust the educational resources to fit your course curriculum, not the othe