LibGuides: Faculty Center: Open Access Courses

What is an Open Course? Open Course is a broad term that extends the concept of "open educational resources" by indicating that not only the content but also the learning and interaction within a course is freely available. There are open courses on a variety of topics, for various groups and ages. Open courses generally do not allow students to earn formal course credit or degrees. (Some colleges and universities may offer a credit earning version of some of their open courses, for an added fee; for example, U of C, Irvine)
	What is "OpenCourseWare"? An OpenCourseWare (OCW) is a free and open digital publication of high quality college and university‐level educational materials. These materials are organized as courses, and often include course planning materials and evaluation tools as well as thematic content. OpenCourseWare are free and openly licensed, accessible to anyone, anytime via the internet. (definition from the OpenCourseWare Consortium). Like other open courses, OpenCourseWare generally do not allow students to earn formal course credit or degrees.
What is a MOOC? MOOC is an acronym for “Massive Open Online Course." It is a course that anyone with an internet connection can attend for free.

Benefits of Open Education

There are many benefits of open education:

1) spreads knowledge to regions of the world where poverty or geography makes access to formal education difficult

2) can enhance the overall educational experience by bringing in new resources

3) encourages research and collaborative efforts among faculty

4) creates a flexible learning environment with freedom for user innovation & customization

5) provides students with an important pathway into for-credit coursework (i.e. recruitment)

Selected Open Course Resources

Khan Academy

Khan Academy offers a wide array of videos, tools and resources for the classroom. Students can create a custom profile and earn badges to measure progress

MIT OpenCourseware

MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) is a web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content

OCW Consortium's Search for Courses

Search for free online courses from prestigious higher education institutions around the globe with the OCW Consortium's search index.

Open CourseWare Consortium

The OpenCourseWare Consortium is a collaboration of higher education institutions and associated organizations from around the world creating a broad and deep body of open educational content using a shared model.

Open Yale Courses

Open Yale Courses provides free and open access to a selection of introductory courses taught by Yale University scholars.

OpenLearn

Open university of the United Kingdom

OpenUW

A series of free courses provided by the University of Washington

Saylor

Saylor.org is a free and open collection of college level courses. Each course culminates with a final exam, and students receiving a passing grade can download a certificate of completion

UC Irvine OCW (Open Course Ware)

UC Irvine was the first West Coast university and UC campus to join the OpenCourseWare Consortium (OCWC). It offers many OCW courses at its site.

UMass Boston OCW (Open Course Ware)

Open courseware at the University of Massachusetts at Boston

Open Learning Initiative

The Open Learning Initiative (OLI) is a grant-funded group at Carnegie Mellon University, offering innovative online courses to anyone who wants to learn or teach.