Other Affordable Resources
One of the obvious drawbacks of OER is that there may be no existing OER for a particular discipline. This happens particularly with highly specialized senior level courses, where there may be limited numbers of experts in the field who are involved in OER creation. However, you can do your part to improve affordability of resources by considering a number of alternatives.
Ontario Tech also has a policy directive on the use of digital learning resources for assessment purposes. Faculty using these types of resources should familiarize themselves with the policy, located here.
Use the Library
The Library at Ontario Tech provides a number of licensed materials that can be used in class, including books, eBooks, and journal articles. These materials are purchased by the library, but are available at no cost to students. Contact your Faculty Librarian to find out more.
Use the Public Domain
The public domain consists of creative works to which no specific copyright applies. Sometimes, this is because the copyright has expired or been waived. You can use these resources freely in your course, provided you attribute them appropriately.
Other Free Resouces
There are a number of sites where you can locate free resources, however, these may not be open (i.e., you may be unable to use/remix them freely). Sites like YouTube, Khan Academy, and Udemy provide free videos that you may wish to use in your course, but these could go offline at any time - they are not yours to save. Consider consulting your Faculty Librariuan to learn where these resources are and how to safely and consistently provide them for your students.
Resource Use at Ontario Tech
Faculty are encouraged to take the following 5 minute survey. The results will help us gain a better understanding of the resources used at the university.
