Choosing OERs: What’s In It for YOU?

A group of diverse students studying together in a group study room

Research shows that students perform just as well, if not better, when using Open Educational Resources (OERs) compared to traditional textbooks (Lambert & Habiba, 2022). That’s a win-win for learning and affordability.

But the perks don’t stop there! Here’s what else OERs bring to the table:

For your career

·       Support career goals with a learning and teaching narrative

·       Start a scholarship of learning and teaching project

·       Align with your values, e.g., sustainability, innovation, social justice, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion)

For your teaching

·       Address subject issues, e.g., threshold concepts

·       Embrace OERs as a high impact learning and teaching practice

·       Cut down on admin headaches from students who can’t access their textbooks

For your students

·       Boost engagement, outcomes and retention

·       Reduce stress about money and study prep

·       Demonstrate student learning through online renewable assessment artefacts

For JCU

·       Support JCU Learning, Teaching and Assessment Policy (1.2 and 2.5)

·       Help JCU meet digital-first, place-based, and connected teaching goals

·       Keep JCU competitive in the higher education marketplace 


Benefits that speak for themselves

Switching to OERs isn’t just about helping students save money - it’s about giving you more flexibility in how you teach and making your subject materials accessible to a more diverse group of learners.

Want to explore OERs for your subjects?

Choosing already published OERs is easier than you might think. It’s just like identifying and evaluating a prescribed textbook from an academic publisher. 

Start by checking out the JCU Library’s OER Discovery Collections, organised by discipline. You might be surprised by what’s already available!

Need a hand?

Reach out to JCU Library - we’re happy to help you locate already published OERs that could work for your subject needs.

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