Evaluating OER and other affordable course materials is no different than evaluating any text you’d use in your course. You’ll need to evaluate the resource to ensure that it aligns with your learning objectives, students’ level of understanding, and the scope of your course.  Use your best judgment and prioritize resources that are up-to-date and relevant with clear licensing information.

As you evaluate instructional materials, the first things you normally consider are

• is it accurate?
• is it relevant? (Does it provide information that students need to reach your desired learning outcomes?)
• is it understandable? (Is it at a level appropriate to your student’s current understanding of the topic or concept?)

When evaluating instructional materials, consider the extent to which each is interesting, approachable, and engaging. This isn’t about materials being “entertaining.” It’s about whether it can spark curiosity and promote deeper thinking about the content. The more engaged students are with the materials you provide for learning, the more they will learn. To encourage engagement it is helpful to include a variety of types of materials in addition to text such as images, charts, diagrams, audio, video, or interactive activities. When you providing more than one way of learning a thing, it’s more likely learners will find something that will engage them and help them learn. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) offers a robust framework for thinking about multiple means of representation as well as multiple means of expression and action. We’ll look more closely at UDL later in this text as well as ways to determine the accessibility of all your materials.

You can use the following rubric to evaluate an OER textbook for potential use. 

OER Evaluation Rubric

Shareable and Adaptable

• Does the OER have clear, current Creative Commons (CC) licensing? What does the license allow you to do?
• Does the OER itself use clear CC licensing for any inserted materials such as images or videos?
• Is the OER modular? In other words, is it structured in a way that makes it easy to adopt or adapt a portion of the material? Can it be combined or assembled with other materials?

Coverage, Accuracy, and Currency

• Does the OER provide thorough coverage of the course’s topic in a way that aligns with your desired learning objectives? For example, does it cover key concepts?
• Is the OER’s content accurate?
• Is the content current and up to date? Try to find the date for the most recent update.
• Are non-textual elements such as diagrams, graphs, etc. accurate and consistent with the text.
• Is the OER clear and consistent in its explanations of concepts and use of key terms?
• Does it provide definitions for new terms, acronyms, and any jargon used, either in-text or in a glossary?
• Are included links still functional?

Appropriateness for Audience

• Is the OER at an appropriate content level for the students in your course (i.e., course level; majors or non-majors)?
• Does the OER include representation of BIPOC, women, and other historically excluded communities and cultures in references, examples, or other content? If it fails to include diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, and culture, can this be easily remedied through editing?
• Is the content free of cultural biases and stereotypes? If not, can editing easily correct this and provide more inclusive, accurate, and respectful perspectives?

Accessibility and Usability

• Does the OER include features that make it accessible for students with disabilities? For example, is text machine-readable (i.e. you can highlight and select individual words, meaning that the text is not an image)? Does it include alternative text or descriptions for images? Do videos (if any) include accurate captions? Does it use headings and subheadings? If it does not include these accessibility features, can this be easily remedied through editing? Consult the OER Accessibility Toolkit for help with evaluating accessibility.
• Is the OER’s organization of content logical and easy to follow?
• Does it use clear, concise language free of unnecessary slang, colloquialisms, or references the reader will only understand if they are part of a specific institution or group (i.e. “in-jokes”)?
• Is it written in a friendly and conversational manner appropriate to your students’ reading level? (If you aren’t sure, you can run part of it through a Readability Checker.)

Promotes Student Learning and Engagement

• Does the OER encourage active learning? If not, can content or activities promoting active learning be easily added?
• If you wish for ancillary materials such as practice activities or self-assessments, are these included in the OER? If not, can these be easily added?

Authority and Reliability

• Does the author(s) of the OER have trustworthy credentials?
• Is the OER peer-reviewed or otherwise reputable? In other words, does it demonstrate some degree of quality control?
• Does the OER properly cite any sources in the text?
• Is the OER’s written text polished and free of grammatical and spelling errors with minimal (if any) typos?

Helpful Resources/ References

• Course Material Evaluation Worksheet
• BCOER Faculty Guide for Evaluating Open Education Resources
• OER Evaluation and Selection Criteria
• OER Accessibility Toolkit