Join Jennifer Schaller, OER Librarian, University Libraries and Jennifer Pollard, assistant director of Teaching Support, Center for Teaching and Learning as they guide participants through an in-depth exploration into Open Educational Resources (OER).

In seven sessions, faculty will develop their own OER curriculum, learn to navigate Creative Commons licenses for the materials they create, and share their work, in either the UNM Digital Repository’s OER Collection or on another open platform. Whether instructors are brand new to the world of OER, or they are ready to put their OER knowledge to greater use, this hands-on, low-stress workshop will be beneficial.

 “OERs are openly licensed teaching materials that all users can re-use, redistribute, revise, and remix (depending on the license) when used for educational purposes,” Schaller said. Schaller added that the ability to go beyond the textbook in the classroom not only helps students afford the material their coursework requires, but it also affirms faculty members’ expertise and autonomy in the classroom. “We want to support interested faculty who would like to adopt, develop, and use openly licensed educational materials,” Schaller said.

Faculty will learn to distinguish between open and traditional licensing regulations to enable the ethical development of their Creative Commons’ works. They will also gain knowledge of the Creative Commons licensing, which explains how specific open materials can be used. “While Creative Commons licenses can be a bit tricky to navigate at first,” Schaller said, “Jennifer Pollard and I are here to help participants learn to navigate them easily,” Schaller explained that learning to use the licenses is empowering. “There’s a certain amount of freedom in being able to determine exactly what you teach,” Schaller said.

The Faculty Learning Circle consists of seven 75-minute sessions starting the second week of the spring 2023 semester. Dates are to be determined based on enrollee schedules. The enrollment deadline is the first week of the 2023 Spring semester. To register, visit goto.unm.edu/flcoer

Learn about the Faculty Learning Circle and OER during Cozy up to OER
The University Libraries invites interested faculty and students to come learn about OER and the FLC in Zimmerman Library on Thursday, Dec. 1 from 1-2:30 p.m. Attendees will Cozy up to OER with some refreshments, interactive games and activities, and an informational discussion of OER. Come join us and Cozy up to OER.

For more information, contact Jennifer Schaller, jschall1@unm.edu or visit oer.unm.edu.