When considering an OER for a course, there a few things to consider. Just like selecting a textbook, you should evaluate the OER to make sure it is meeting the needs of the course, yourself, your students, and our institution. Achieve, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit education reform organization, has established rubrics for evaluating OER, and these rubrics are used in the OER Commons website to evaluate OER. They have identified eight areas to consider:
Degree of Alignment to Standards, Quality of Explanation of the Subject Matter, Utility of Materials Designed to Support Teaching, Quality of Assessment, Quality of Technological Interactivity, Quality of Instructional and Practice Exercises, Opportunities for Deeper Learning, Assurance of Accessibility
