5 III B. Adapting OER: Applying Best Practices
Definition of Adapt
The term adaptation is commonly used to describe the process of making changes to an existing work. Though we can also replace “adapt” with revise, modify, alter, customize, or other synonym that describes the act of making a change.
In addition to cost to students, one of the biggest advantages of choosing an open textbook is it gives faculty the legal right to add to, adapt, or delete the content of the textbook to fit their specific course without obtaining permission from the copyright holder. This is possible because the copyright holder has already granted permission by releasing their work using an open license, such as a Creative Commons license. This type of license gives users permission to use and reuse, share, copy, retain and modify the textbook without consulting the author.
A good rule of thumb when creating an adapted textbook is to keep it simple, especially if you are approaching a remix project for the first time. While it may be tempting to make a number of major changes to a textbook before releasing it to your students, think of the textbook as a living resource that you can improve incrementally over time.
Considerations before adapting
Step 1: Check the license
First, check the licence to make sure you have the permission to modify the contents. As long as the Creative Commons licence does not have a No Derivative (ND) attribute, you are able to change the contents of the book. See Creative Commons for more information on licences.
When it comes to working with open textbooks (and open educational resources in general), one of the conceptual hurdles faced by most people is around the notion of adapting or changing someone’s work. What exactly can be adapted within the scope of an open textbook, and won’t the original author get upset if you change their work?
Changing someone’s work can feel uncomfortable. But rest assured, if the author has released their textbook under a Creative Commons licence that allows for adaptation (which is any Creative Commons licence that does not have a No Derivative (ND) attribute added to it) then they expect that you will change the content, providing you give them the proper attribution (and we’ll get into this). Using information and media from an open textbook or other open educational resource are NOT considered plagiarism.
But what can you change?
Anything and everything in an open textbook can be changed as long as the conditions of the open licence are met. The modifications or changes you make can be fairly minor or major depending on what you need to do to make the book work for you. That is the beauty and power of open textbooks. You are in charge of the resource. You have been given permission to change it ahead of time by the original author. Take advantage of it. They want you to.
Why you should use openly licensed materials
If you are looking for content to add to your textbook, you should look for and use Crea