Tools for Creating OER

The use of open education is growing and has become a global movement. Across much of North America, most post-secondary institutions are in the process of integrating the use of open education resources into teaching and learning activities. The following are the chapters covered in the guide:

• Chapter 1 starts with very basic information on the definition and description of what constitutes OER.
• Chapter 2 introduces the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by providing a brief listing of each goal.
• Chapter 3  focuses on commercial word processing tool options.
• Chapter 4 describes a number of open-source word processing and additional tools.
• Chapter 5 introduces the basic open-source TeX-based systems that arose out of the open-source software movement.
• Chapter 6 delves further into TeX-based open-source tools by highlighting some packages useful for content creation.
• Chapter 7 describes other TeX-based tools helpful for creating open content.
• Chapter 8 introduces the emerging OER tools Pressbooks, EdTech Books and LibreTexts.

The use of open education is growing and has become a global movement. Across much of North America, most post-secondary institutions are in the process of integrating the use of open education resources into their teaching and learning activities. The number of OER repositories from which instructors can draw resources continues to grow each year. The number of resources continues to grow along with the number of different tools used to develop these resources.  There are a number of commercial and open source digital technologies available for the creation of open resources. This resource is intended to provide the OER community with a summary of some currently available tools for creating open content. OER creators need to know the range of tools that can be used in the creation process. This guide is designed to provide a starting point for instructors and faculty at post-secondary institutions. Prospective creators of OER can use the guide to pick the most appropriate tool for their specific context and level of technical expertise.