Creative Commons is the Key to Opening Education
Overview
A brief overview of the role Creative Commons Plays in the OER Specialist Program. Completed as a part of the CC Certification course.
As an Open Educational Resource (OER) Specialist at Paradise Valley Community College (PVCC), I collaborate with faculty members to create, adapt, and remix educational materials. I work as a member of our Library staff to ensure these materials are made available under the Creative Commons License, a framework that allows creators to retain certain rights while permitting others to use, share, and build upon their work. Faculty will come to the Library or the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and be referred to me, I work with our OER Librarian to bridge the gap between Open and Free-to-Use materials to ensure the highest quality of materials and the quickest transition to eliminate costs. This ethical approach fosters a culture of open sharing and collaboration that aligns with Creative Commons’ similar values.
Our college is part of a district of 10 sister colleges. PVCC is unique in our adoption and evolution of a student-driven OER Specialist program. Housed within our library, this initiative aligns perfectly with our mission to provide equitable access to openly licensed educational resources (OER). I handle a range of responsibilities, including advocating for open resources, training faculty, conducting research, assembling content, and assessing materials for their effectiveness.
OER Specialists act as a catalyst for the movement toward accessible and affordable education on campus. We work closely with instructors to identify, create, or adapt educational materials that are not only cost-effective but also tailored to the needs of our fellow students. This might involve developing instructional videos, interactive activities, or even entire textbooks that students can freely access and that are continually updated and adapted by faculty. We also work with students to raise awareness and help them advocate for classes to transition to OER.
Our primary focus is on ensuring accessibility and equity in education. We strongly believe that education should not be limited by financial means and that the key to a thriving community is education and freely accessible information. Just like a library offers a wealth of knowledge to all visitors, we strive to make educational resources available to all students and community members without any barriers. This commitment aligns seamlessly with the principles of the Creative Commons License, which emphasizes the power of open sharing and the empowerment of creators.
So, how does all of this come together? Well, faculty often face challenges with traditional course materials. These commercial resources lack local relevance, timeliness, and engagement or are too expensive for students. Students often opt out of buying expensive textbooks, which can adversely affect their performance in class. This is where OER and Creative Commons Licenses step in. By using materials under CC licenses, we can help faculty create engaging and up-to-date content that is relevant and cost-effective. Imagine students learning about the latest field developments without waiting for a new edition of an expensive textbook. Then also, imagine those same students’ course assignments helping future students to better relate to materials and improve the student experience. That’s the power of OER.
We also recognize the importance of diversity and different learning styles. With OER, we can develop materials that resonate with our community, honoring its various cultures and traditions. We can seek collaborators and make space in education for marginalized voices often left out of important educational conversations to ensure our students can see themselves in their future fields. We can adapt to the community we serve by ensuring accessible practices that respect different abilities and learning styles to customize courses in ways that empower students to learn.
One fascinating aspect is the ripple effect of our efforts. When faculty members see the positive impact of using CC-licensed materials in their courses, they often get inspired to share their work with a broader audience and continue this cycle of constant creation and adaptation. This culture of openness leads to a continuous cycle of improvement, collaboration, and innovation, all because of those little gray creative commons licenses!
Even our students are buying into creating open materials. Our tutoring center is currently collaborating with our sister colleges to create a database of high-quality visual aids, practice questions, and other resources to support students in person and virtually. Our honors students are encouraged to license their research projects openly. Many of our faculty invite students to create materials for future students that will be openly licensed and included with the faculty materials. This creates a strong sense of community and engagement with our students as they gain real-world applications for their skills and give back to their community.
Without The Creative Commons, none of this would be possible. Their licensing system works alongside copyright and empowers us to identify resources, respect content creators’ desires and ensure the continuation of that cycle of creation and adaptation. The values of collaboration and inclusion that The Creative Commons fosters are essential to the OER movement. And just as The Creative Commons has given so much to all of us, we strive to give back through high-quality content and spreading awareness of what it means to be ‘open’.
In summary, our role as OER specialists involves creating a bridge between educators and open resources, all while ensuring that education remains accessible, relevant, and engaging. This alignment with the principles of Creative Commons Licenses amplifies our mission and empowers both educators and students to thrive in a world of open knowledge sharing.