Open Education Services

Open education offers valuable opportunities for faculty to make their courses more engaging and affordable for all students. The University Library offers a suite of services to support instructors who want to adopt, remix, and/or publish their own open educational resources (OER) or engage in other open educational practices. 

Mockup of an open textbook on a tablet with a print copy behind.Benefits of OER

  • All materials are free for students to access on the first day of class and in perpetuity.
  • Digital and print copies are available for text-based content.
  • OER come in many formats, including books, videos, simulations, and more.
  • Instructors can customize materials to match their course's organization, content, or teaching style.

Learn More and Get Started Today!

Contacts

Open Education Services

The University Library offers services to support the implementation of OER and open educational practices across Iowa State University. Support available includes: 

Contact: Abbey K. Elder, aelder@iastate.edu


ISU Digital Press

The Iowa State University Digital Press supports the publication of open textbooks through Pressbooks, an easy-to-use web-based authoring tool that creates interactive, mobile-friendly web books with options to export in PDF and EPUB formats. The Digital Press provides: 

  • Project management, formatting, and peer review support for authors
  • Easy embedding of multimedia content and interactive elements through H5P, Hypothes.is, and other tools
  • Integrating open textbooks into Canvas through the Pressbooks LTI

Contact: Harrison W. Inefuku, hinefuku@iastate.edu


Center for Excellence in Learning & Teaching

CELT partners with educators to support student-centered learning at Iowa State University. Their office can support: 

  • Training and professional development for educators on effective teaching practices
  • Instructional design and course redesign support 
  • Coordination for course review and Quality Matters certification

Contact: celt@iastate.edu


Example OER

OER can vary widely in their length, format, and type. A demo showcasing various types of OER available in Pressbooks is available through the Iowa State University Digital Press:

Additional examples suited to a specific discipline or course can be located with support from Abbey K. Elder, the Open Education Lead on campus: aelder@iastate.edu