CU: Using Open Education Resources in Canvas

Overview

Define what an Open Educational Resource is and understand how to include OERs in a Canvas Course.

Learning Intentions

I can articulate why, and determine when, I would want to bring and use an outside resource in my Canvas course.
I can define OER.
I can add an OER to my Canvas course.

Why Bring Outside Resources into Your Canvas Course?

In this module you are going to learn about external apps (LTIs) and Open Education Resources (OERs) and how to use them in Canvas. First, it is important to think about why you would want to use them in your Canvas course.

External apps and OERs are resources that are created outside of Canvas, and listed below are the benefits of incorporating them into your Canvas course. The video shared on this page talks through the benefits that are listed below.

Easier Access to Content and Materials
Canvas becomes the "one-stop" for accessing the content needed, and helps eliminate navigation issues that occur when students need to access different online programs/websites.
Help with the Distribution of Content and Materials
In addition to making it easier for students (and parents) to access the content/materials, educators can use external apps and OERs to help distribute various learning activities and assignments.
Connection to the Canvas Gradebook
Some external apps and OERs have the ability to connect to Canvas assignments, which in turn can connect to the Canvas gradebook.
Support Personalized Learning
OERs provide additional ways to learn and personalize learning.
Flexibility and Support with Blended Learning
Online textbooks provide flexibility in place and pace.
Supplement Content
OERs can serve as a supplement to the curriculum being used in the classroom, and shouldn't be used as a replacement.
Eliminates the need for students to create their own accounts.
With some external apps and OERs bringing the content into Canvas eliminates the need for students to create an account within the program itself, which in turn can support safeguarding student privacy.

Open Educational Resources (OER) Basics

Watch this video for a general introduction to OER:

Open Educational Resources (OER) are freely available learning materials that can be copied, edited and shared to better serve all students. For educators, this means that you may freely and legally use and reuse these materials at no cost, and without needing to ask permission. For students, this means that they can use the learning materials that you select or create at no cost.

In some cases, that means you can download a resource and share it with colleagues and students. In other cases, you may be able to download a resource, edit it in some way, and then re-post it as a remixed work. How do you know your options? Usually, OER are openly licensed, to let you know how the material may be retained, reused, revised, remixed, and redistributed.

The Open Education movement is rooted in the human right to access high-quality education. This movement aims to reduce costs by providing access to openly licensed content. In addition, the movement aims to expand opportunities to participate in creating and sharing education. In the next unit, we'll look at the broader Open Education movement and consider how you can incorporate Open Education into your teaching and learning. In this unit, we'll focus on OER: instructional resources, or materials, the main "stuff" that you can use in teaching and learning.

Defining the "Open" in Open Content and Open Educational Resources

The terms "open content" and "open educational resources" describe any copyrightable work (traditionally excluding software, which is described by other terms like "open source") that is licensed to give users free and perpetual permission to engage in what are known as the 5R activities:

Retain - the right to make, own, and control copies of the content (e.g., download, duplicate, store, and manage)
Reuse - the right to use the content in a wide range of ways (e.g., in a class, in a study group, on a website, in a video)
Revise - the right to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself (e.g., translate the content into another language)
Remix - the right to combine the original or revised content with other material to create something new (e.g., incorporate the content into a mashup)
Redistribute - the right to share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others (e.g., give a copy of the content to a friend)

Find OER for Your Class

An Introduction to K-12 OER Links to an external site. provides a deeper overview of how to find and integrate OER. To get started searching for OER that you can import, embed, or link to from Canvas, search the digital databases below.

Canvas Commons is a searchable database of templates and lessons created by peers at other institutions that you can import into your Canvas course.

cK-12 Links to an external site. is a nonprofit offering over 5,000 free STEM lessons, interactive learning objects, study guides, digital textbooks, and resources for K-12.

OER Commons Links to an external site. is a public digital library of open educational resources in all disciplines. This collection is a good place to start if you are new to OER.

Explore over 7,000 videos in 13 subject areas for middle school and up, in STEM, Social Science, and the Humanities with HippoCampus Links to an external site. .

MITʻs Highlights for High School Links to an external site. is a companion to MITʻs OpenCourseWare and provides students and teachers Creative-Commons licensed materials to use in STEM, humanities, and social science classrooms.

PBS has curated FREE, standards-aligned videos, interactives, lesson plans, and more for teachers like you through PBS LearningMedia. Links to an external site.

Illustrative Mathematics (Links to an external site.) is an online math resource that is supported by the Canyons School District.This website is a fantastics resource for teachers to find tasks related to specific standards and objectives for their grade level. These tasks can be downloaded and used in the classroom. e.g. math practice stations.

Inside Mathematics (Links to an external site.) is a professional resource for educators passionate about improving students' mathematics learning and performance. This website provides various tools for educators such as: problems of the month (Links to an external site.) , performance assessment tasks, Number Talks and more.

Khan Academy Links to an external site. offers practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empower learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom. Find standards-aligned content, assign practice exercises, videos and articles, and track student progress.

The MERLOT Links to an external site. collection consists of tens of thousands of discipline-specific learning materials, learning exercises, and more, many of which are peer reviewed.

The Orange Grove Links to an external site. is a searchable database of K-12 OER in various disciplines, including mathematics, science, social science, and more created by a partnership of academic institutions in Florida.

OpenStax Links to an external site. offers free, peer-reviewed, openly licensed textbooks for AP biology, physics, and economics, as well as physics and statistics with downloadable PDFs, test banks, and instructor guides.

Achieve.org provides rubrics Links to an external site. to evaluate OER on quality, alignment with standards, and for suitability in your class.

🔍Exploration Task: Listen to the UEN Homeroom Podcast: OER and OEP with Megan Simmons and Joanna Schimizzi Links to an external site.. On this episode of UEN Homeroom, Dani Sloan and Katie Blunt have an in-depth conversation with Megan Simmons and Joanna Schimizzi from the ISKME team. Megan and Joanna touch on the creation of the Open Educational Resources (OER) Commons and how it has been a powerful tool for educators during the pandemic.

The information shared below is from UEN. These are additional resources for you to check out!

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