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OPEN FL

Guide for the open and affordable learning community of Florida, OPEN FL.

Join our growing network by subscribing now.

 

Collaborate with fellow Floridians by joining the listserv.   Who can join?  In short, anyone is welcome:

  • Librarians
  • Instructional Designers 
  • Students, including SGA
  • Faculty 
  • Fiscal Services 
  • Student Services 
  • Accessibility Office 
  • Administration 
  • Bookstore 
  • Registrar
  • Teaching and Learning 
  • Learning Management Services 
  • Retention and Graduate Office 
  • Dual Enrollment; 9-12 High School 
  • Adult Education 
  • You!

OPEN FL is open to anyone who is interested in open and affordable learning in the state of Florida.  The community is provided for individuals who want to:

  • Stay informed on open and affordable learning
  • Collaborate with colleagues across the state
  • Share local processes and practices
  • Showcase adoption, adaption, and creation examples
  • Explore community development opportunities
  • Dialogue on hot topics, trends, and tidbits
  • Develop review standards and approval process for OER

As a community, OPEN FL, is leading the way to a future where every student has quality learning experiences through open educational resources.

Florida Library Services State Memberships

 

 

 

Who We Are - SPARC

 

What is the Community Working on?

The primary goal of OPEN FL is to provide and promote quality and affordable access to Florida higher education by creating a consortium of Florida colleges and universities to collaborate on developing, implementing, and providing discovery to open educational resources (OER) throughout high impact degree pathways. Secondary, central efforts will 1) facilitate systematic identification and updates of OER, 2) address barriers to adoption, 3) support OER programs and implementation efforts, and 4) lay the foundation for a sustainable OER state network. Coordinating OER efforts across Florida public institutions of higher education enables us to curate, modify, develop, review, and disseminate OER that meet quality, accessibility, licensing, technical, and student learning outcomes (SLO) in a unified structure that allows for inclusion and growth. The sustainable goal will be to create an OER community and infrastructure that perpetuates OER development, proliferation, and research through the state.

  • Statewide review standards
    • From 2019-2020 we collected local or individual standards used or that should be used in the review of a textbook or learning resource
    • Collected review standards would be used to develop OER approval rubric for the state in collaboration with OPEN FL and all Florida Library Services member libraries
    • Nationwide OER Review Standards group gathered and working to develop common/best practices and review rubric, see meeting Notes
    • Drafting of nationwide template took place from 2020-2021
    • First National Draft Released for community  
  • OER Summit 2023 (Virtual- oersummit.org)- Dates:  May 24-25
  • Accessibility Guide
  • Statewide Database of Open Textbooks and Educational Resources
  • YOUR IDEA HERE-Let the community know what should be next

 

Accomplishments by the community:

  • Over 750 Open Educational Resources identified by the statewide Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) icon through the Florida Open Academic Library
  • Approximately 100 Open Education Network trained trainers for the Faculty Workshop across the state
  • Over 25 individuals certified in Creative Commons
  • Statewide Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) icon
    • Approved for inclusion in state catalog Florida Shines; highlight your ZTC courses today!
  • Shared strategies and resources, within this guide
  • Copyright Guide
  • Presentations and Events 
  • Defined open as a spectrum, see below
  • OER Review Standards and Approval Rubric: United States Edition
  • OER Summit 2022 (Virtual)- Successfully completed May 18th and 19th, 2022