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Affordable Learning Upstate: Affordable and Open Educational Resources

Support for Faculty

Affordable Learning Upstate connects faculty to support from the Library and CAIFS for every stage of finding and using affordable course materials.

  • Replace your conventional textbook with an open textbook.
  • Create a collection of readings, videos, tutorials and other materials to replace or supplement a textbook.
  • Customize course materials to reflect the way you teach and to better serve your students' needs.
  • Revise course assignments to incorporate transformative, inclusive, and open pedagogy.
  • Create your own open textbook or other OER!

To begin, fill out an Affordable Learning/OER Interest form below or register for our Getting Started With OER course delivered through CAIFS (contact Dr. Celena Kusch or Jennifer Bland).

Workshops and Webinars

USC Upstate and PASCAL offer faculty workshops on OER and affordable learning each semester. Watch this space to find current offerings!

Introduction to Open Educational Resources - Tuesday, October 3, 2:00-3:00 PM - Interested in learning more about OER but not sure where to start? Join members of PASCAL's Affordable Learning Committee in this introductory workshop that covers OER basics and introduces the Open Textbook Library. For more information and to register: https://pascalsc.libcal.com/event/11231842

 

Resources for Faculty

The Library has many resources that could be used effectively as course materials, especially for upper-division or specialized courses where open textbooks may not be available:

Ebooks - More than half of the Library's book collection is online! There are many academic books freely accessible to students that can be linked to your Blackboard course.

Streaming Video - Documentaries and theatrical releases are available through various platforms. These can usually be embedded in Blackboard for easy access.

Articles - Articles from our article databases can be linked to Blackboard.

Reference Databases - Credo Reference, Gale Virtual Reference Library, and others feature articles from encyclopedias, dictionaries and other reference books. These are excellent places for students to begin research, for point of need information, or even as a stand-in for introductions to certain topics in a textbook.

For more information and tips, consult our Guide to Using Library Subscription Resources as Course Materials.