From Commercial to Commons: Navigating the OER Tides of Accessibility and Sustainability

Presentation Type

Presentation

Start Date

8-4-2026 2:55 PM

End Date

8-4-2026 3:25 PM

Description

This presentation shares the comprehensive experience of a single faculty member transitioning a historically commercial-textbook course to a fully integrated Open Educational Resource (OER) environment. I will detail the initial implementation challenges, spanning content curation and pedagogical recalibration, and reflect on the measurable impacts on student success and equity.

A central theme is the unexpected demand for OER sustainability and maintenance following initial adoption. I will specifically explore the labor-intensive requirements of adhering to current Web Accessibility Guidelines (WAG), which necessitated an extensive review and remediation process. The session argues that moving to OER demands continuous labor—not just adoption, but an ongoing commitment to expanding, reviewing, and updating resources to guarantee their quality, currency, and legal compliance. Attendees will gain practical insight into the realities of long-term OER stewardship beyond the initial "free" promise.

Author Bios

Mary Bester is an associate professor at Georgia Southern University teaching in undergraduate and graduate nursing programs. She is a strong advocate for implementing open-source textbooks and open educational resources to make studies more affordable and is interested in digital technology and ethically meaningful integration of higher education.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Apr 8th, 2:55 PM Apr 8th, 3:25 PM

From Commercial to Commons: Navigating the OER Tides of Accessibility and Sustainability

This presentation shares the comprehensive experience of a single faculty member transitioning a historically commercial-textbook course to a fully integrated Open Educational Resource (OER) environment. I will detail the initial implementation challenges, spanning content curation and pedagogical recalibration, and reflect on the measurable impacts on student success and equity.

A central theme is the unexpected demand for OER sustainability and maintenance following initial adoption. I will specifically explore the labor-intensive requirements of adhering to current Web Accessibility Guidelines (WAG), which necessitated an extensive review and remediation process. The session argues that moving to OER demands continuous labor—not just adoption, but an ongoing commitment to expanding, reviewing, and updating resources to guarantee their quality, currency, and legal compliance. Attendees will gain practical insight into the realities of long-term OER stewardship beyond the initial "free" promise.