Full course description
This certification in NoLo Course Transformation from the UAF Center for Teaching and Learning builds upon content in the OER Foundations microcredential to include additional support for instructors in transforming your course to a No/Low-cost materials (NoLo) status. OERs are one tool instructors can use to achieve a NoLo status for courses, in addition to using freely available material under the Fair Use Doctrine. OER are free, adaptable, may be peer-reviewed and often are high-quality. OERs can help instructors create more inclusive, flexible, and engaging learning environments that can help reduce the cost of education and encourage collaboration, creativity, and accessible co-creation. OERs help foster practice in equitable lifelong learning. We are excited to support you in your efforts to reduce costs for students through equitable materials.
In the NoLo Course Transformation Certification course, you will:
- Work through OER Foundation modules
- Work through the NoLo and course transformation modules
- Submit your NoLo syllabus for review
- Obtain the NoLo Course Transformation Certificate
Who should take this course?
UAF faculty who are planning on redesigning their course using OER or no/low-cost materials.
How long will this certificate take me to complete?
The time commitment for this certification depends on how long it takes you to find and implement the new materials into your course. For some faculty, a course redesign can take up to 100 hours. The OER fundamentals portion of this course takes approximately 2-3 hours to complete and the NoLo module should take less than an hour.
If you would like to just explore OER, you may want to enroll in the OER Fundamentals certificate course instead.
Why obtain this certificate?
If you are a tenure-track faculty, you may be able to leverage this course for promotion. Some key arguments in support:
- Demonstrated Commitment to Equity and Access: Utilizing free course materials directly addresses students' financial barriers to accessing education. All students can access necessary resources regardless of their financial background, and faculty demonstrate a strong commitment to educational equity. This aligns with institutional goals centered on inclusivity and student success.
- Innovative Teaching Practices: Adopting OER often requires critically evaluating all course materials from various perspectives. The redesign process encourages the integration of current, diverse, and relevant materials, which can increase engagement and success.
- Contributions to the Academic Community: Creating or adapting OER contributes to the broader academic community by making materials freely available for others to use, adapt, and build upon in return. This practice increases the visibility and impact of knowledge sharing and supports sustainable and accessible education practices.
Learning Objectives
After this class, you will be able to:
- define open education and open educational resource
- describe how OER are helpful for equitable lifelong learning
- find OER resources
- create and license an open resource
- make an argument for fair use
- determine whether a resource is likely to be in the public domain
- discern some copyright basics in the educational setting
- define No and Low-cost materials within the context of UAF
- contextualize "Inclusive Access" textbook programs
- share strategies for NoLo course redesign with colleagues
- obtain instructional designer assistance with redesigning your course and finding OER/NoLo materials
- report your progress in your promotion file