The following OER collections are curated by California Community College faculty at different campuses:

• LibreTexts
• OER Commons
• Open Textbook Library
• Openstax
• MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching)

News Articles: 
The Conversation
ProPublica

Research Articles:
Nature Communications Journal
Public Library of Science (PLOS) One

Creating OER and Combining Licenses
This video is intended to help you choose compatible resources and choose a valid license for your work.

OER Authoring Tools (UT Austin)
List of different platforms you can use to create your OER, ranging from beginner-friendly to more advanced. This list was curated by the UT Austin Library, but still applies to any faculty interested in developing OER.

OER Starter Kit Workbook (Iowa State University)
This workbook provides instructors with an introduction to the use and creation of open educational resources (OER). Although some chapters contain more advanced content, the starter kit is primarily intended for users who are entirely new to Open Education. The text is broken into five sections:

• Getting Started
• Copyright
• Finding OER
• Teaching with OER
• Creating OER. 
• Authoring Open Textbooks

Includes a checklist for getting started, publishing program case studies, textbook organization and elements, writing resources and an overview of useful tools.

ASCCC OER Style Guide
Comprehensive style and resource guide for creating OERs, with best practices for creating open textbooks, courses, videos, and other formats. It also includes an introduction to copyright and Creative Commons licensing.

LibreTexts Monthly Webinars
Free monthly webinars on the basics of how to LibreTexts resources. This is helpful because using LibreTexts has a little bit more of a learning curve compared to other OER platforms (OER Author, Canvas, etc).

• LibreTexts Basics for Beginners
• Authoring Your Own OER with OER Conductor
• Customizing Existing OER for Your Courses Using LibreTexts
• Introduction to ADAPT (free online homework and assessment platform)

Openstax Webinars
OpenStax, hosted by Rice University, publishes high-quality, peer-reviewed, openly licensed college textbooks that are absolutely free online and low cost in print. They regularly host webinars teaching you how to use their platform that are geared for beginners. They also have discipline-specific tutorials.

Academic Senate for California Community Colleges Open Educational Resources Initiative

The ASCCC OERI offers free, public training throughout the academic year. These training opportunities provide professional development on OER adoption, development, and accessibility. 

The two key trainings for OER/ZTC projects are:

1. OERI BASICS
2. OERI ACCESSIBILITY BASICS

Guidelines and How-To's

• BC Campus OpenEd: Create Open Textbooks
  Step-by-step guide to creating OERs by BC Campus OpenEd, one of the largest existing OER repositories.
  
  
• Canvas Course: Introduction to OER for Language Teachers
  A resource for language educators who are interested in using and creating Open Educational Resources (OER). The content was developed over time through working with educators on many different OER projects, including open textbooks, video-based learning materials, podcasts, online language courses, and more. The modules describe the practices COERLL currently recommends to language educators who are developing OER, and will be updated as new techniques and methods emerge.
  
  
• eBook: Accessibility Toolkit, 2nd Edition
  The goal of the Accessibility Toolkit - 2nd Edition is to provide resources for each content creator, instructional designer, educational technologist, librarian, administrator, and teaching assistant to create a truly open textbook—one that is free and accessible for all students.
  
  
• eBook: The OER Starter Kit
  This starter kit has been created to provide instructors with an introduction to the use and creation of open educational resources (OER). The text is broken into five sections: Getting Started, Copyright, Finding OER, Teaching with OER, and Creating OER. Although some chapters contain more advanced content, the starter kit is primarily intended for users who are entirely new to Open Education.
  
  
• eBook: The OER Starter Kit Workbook
  Workbook for The OER Starter Kit.

• Applying OER Content to Create a YouTube Mini-Course Playlist
• Create an OER Audiobook (How To Guide)
• Customizing OER Textbooks on the LibreTexts for Calculus or Differential Equations

Copyrighted materials can be OER. In other words, it is possible that an instructor can use copyrighted material with an OER open sharing license. Here is the distinction:

Copyright is automatic. As soon as someone creates an original work (textbook, video, syllabus, etc.), it's protected by copyright law.

Open licensing (like Creative Commons) is what makes it an OER. The creator chooses to share their work freely under specific terms.

Common Open Licenses

Most OERs use Creative Commons licenses, which let others:

• Use the material for free
• Adapt or remix it (depending on the license)
• Share it with others

The Share-Alike license allows redistribution, including printing, as long as attribution is given and derivative works carry the same license.

Faculty own their ZTC courses and any OER materials they create or remix—even if they are paid to do so. Article 43 of the 24-27 Collective Bargaining Agreement directly states that faculty "have the exclusive property right to any and all intellectual property that is the original product of their mind, time, talent, and effort, " and that "the District waives any property right to any such intellectual property." The only exception to this is when a separate written “work for hire” agreement is signed by both the faculty and the District. Despite faculty receiving funding for ZTC courses and OER materials, this is not "work for hire." In short: you keep the rights to your ZTC and OER content.

Costs for items such as nursing kits, art supplies, chemistry goggles, uniforms, or calculators must still be listed for students to ensure transparency, but they do not affect whether a course is coded as ZTC or LTC.

In addition, the XB12 attribute applies only to textbooks and related course materials (e.g., books, workbooks, homework systems). It also does not include materials/supply fees.