Open Education Resources: College of Online Education

In the College of Online Education, we are dedicated to helping online students be successful in their academic work. Unfortunately, we know the cost of textbooks sometimes gets in the way. To reduce textbook costs, we have an initiative to replace traditional textbooks with open educational resources whenever possible. This initiative is fully supported by the Provost’s office.

Open educational resources are digital materials offered freely and openly for educators and students to use for teaching, learning, and research. They may include:

• Textbooks
• Course readings​ ​
• Simulations
• Animations
• Presentations
• Tutorials
• Assessments

Benefits of open educational resources:

• No or little cost to students
• Materials are usually peer reviewed or rated
• Content is often more current than textbooks
• Easy integration into ulearn
• Available through the library or on the Internet

If you are developing or revising an online master course, we encourage you to consider using open educational resources as an alternative to a traditional textbook. The College of Online Education is partnering with librarians that assist with locating high quality resources and incorporating them into courses.

To learn more about open educational resources and our process, please contact Amy Ricci, Director of Online Education, at 401-598-2776 or aricci@jwu.edu.