{"id":134,"date":"2025-12-18T18:45:28","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T23:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/chapter\/the-spectrum-of-open\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T15:03:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T20:03:01","slug":"the-spectrum-of-open","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/chapter\/the-spectrum-of-open\/","title":{"raw":"The Spectrum of Open","rendered":"The Spectrum of Open"},"content":{"raw":"In addition to the 5Rs, we can also look at OER according to how people will use them. This can help us think about open educational resources beyond only considering licensing and format. This spectrum allows us to consider what we want to do with OER and how much time and effort may be required for different approaches.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-133\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2593\/2025\/12\/OpenEducation_Spectrum_of_Open_Practice.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"451\" \/>The concept of \u201ctouch\u201d that we have articulated here refers to notions of interaction between and among participants in the course as well as interactions with \u201cpublic\u201d communities and individuals. This may also have an impact on the design effort related to the course. For example, courses supporting interaction with various external communities and resources over a period of time (wikipedia editing; publishing on YouTube; etc) require a high touch approach to the design and also to the ongoing support of those interactions.\r\n<h2>Adoption<\/h2>\r\nAdoption of an open copyright licensed (e.g. Creative Commons) resource is a good first step to engaging in open practice. Replacing a high cost textbook with an open textbook or other open resources (e.g. videos, simulations, etc.) reduces barriers for students to access course material needed for their success. According to the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/s\/c3zo0v7dax9g7go\/IW%20AMS%20AES%202020.pdf?dl=0\"> 2020 AMS Academic Experience Survey (AES)<\/a>, 67% of students surveyed did not buy textbooks due to the cost. Adoption of an open resource supports all students to achieve success by providing equal access to all resources available in the course regardless of their finances.\r\n<h3>Examples<\/h3>\r\nThe following are examples of open resource adoption by faculty at UBC:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Introduction to Physics (PHYS 100) adopted an Open Stax Textbook at <a href=\"http:\/\/flexible.learning.ubc.ca\/news-events\/physics-course-adopts-open-textbook-and-saves-students-90000\/\">UBC in 2015 saving $90,000 in textbook costs<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/science.ubc.ca\/news\/math-cs-lead-adopting-open-education-resources-ubc\">Math, CS lead in adopting open education resources at UBC<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li>In 2020\/21, an estimated 19,152 UBC students <a href=\"https:\/\/open.ubc.ca\/2021-open-ubc-snapshot\/\">enrolled in courses using open resources in place of paid textbooks<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>Adaption<\/h2>\r\nAdaption is the modification or alteration of an open copyright licensed resource for use within a course. Adaption provides the opportunity to improve teaching materials, provide important local context, and sharing knowledge to ensure sustainability and the ongoing health of open content. There are a variety of ways content can be adapted for course use \u2014 instructors adapt content and\/or students adapt content for their own use. Including students in the adaption process encourages peer-to-peer learning, authentic learning opportunities, and digital and information literacy development.\r\n<h2>Creation<\/h2>\r\nMany teaching materials can be openly licensed and made available for others to revise or reuse, such as syllabi, lecture notes, presentation slides, case studies, videos, podcasts, study questions, quizzes and more. Some faculty choose to create entire open textbooks (e.g. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.math.ubc.ca\/~CLP\/\">CLP Calculus<\/a>) or to post all of their course materials on an open website (e.g.<a href=\"https:\/\/last100.arts.ubc.ca\/\"> LAST100<\/a>). Of course, there may be some resources you don\u2019t want to share because you want to reuse them in future years yourself (e.g. exams). But you may be willing to share other materials. Even if you think other teachers or students might not find them valuable, even if you think they are very specifically tied to your course context, you might be surprised at how they could spark ideas in others to use in their own teaching.\r\n\r\nWhen you create your own content, you need to consider what someone would want or need to do with your content once they discover it. If they are actively seeking OER content, then we have to assume that they may at some point want to apply any or all of the 5Rs to your materials.\r\n\r\nYou have to ask yourself the question: \u201cHow OPEN do I want to be in my sharing of content?\u201d\r\n<h2>Connection<\/h2>\r\nConnection is the application of open practice and extends beyond the use and creation of OER to connecting with communities beyond the classroom. Open pedagogy is an umbrella term that is often used in this area to describe the application of open strategies to the social practice of teaching and learning.\r\n<h3>Open Pedagogy<\/h3>\r\nDefining open pedagogy is challenging and we\u2019ll be exploring it in more depth in the next chapters. Some would say that open access and permissions for re-use are key: \u201cOpen pedagogy is that set of teaching and learning practices only possible in the context of the free access and 5R permissions characteristic of open educational resources.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/opencontent.org\/blog\/archives\/2975\">David Wiley: Defining Open Pedagogy<\/a>\r\n\r\nOthers would offer a broader definition:\r\n<blockquote>Looking at open pedagogy as a general philosophy of openness (and connection) in all elements of the pedagogical process, while messy, provides some interesting possibilities. Open is a purposeful path towards connection and community. Open pedagogy could be considered as a blend of strategies, technologies, and networked communities that make the process and products of education more transparent, understandable, and available to all the people involved. \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/campustechnology.com\/articles\/2014\/11\/12\/open-pedagogy-connection-community-and-transparency.aspx\">Tom Woodward in an excerpt from an interview in Campus Technology<\/a><\/blockquote>\r\n<h3>Open Assignments<\/h3>\r\nOne can also involve students in adapting or creating OER through open assignments. We will discuss much more about open assignments in the <a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/chapter\/wrap-up-2\/\">Open Pedagogy<\/a> chapter, including considerations of risk and privacy, but when students publish or share their work openly, they are often extending their scholarly practice beyond the classroom and engaging with communities or people outside of their courses. Here are a couple of examples as a preview:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Students could do some course assignments on open platforms such as blogs (e.g. <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\">UBC Blogs<\/a>) or wikis (e.g., <a href=\"http:\/\/wiki.ubc.ca\">UBC Wiki<\/a>).\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>For example, students in Geography at UBC are creating multiple kinds of educational resources that are posted on a public site, including case studies, infographics, videos and more: <a href=\"http:\/\/environment.geog.ubc.ca\/\">Student Research on Environment and Sustainability Issue.<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>As part of a course, students could edit or create Wikipedia articles.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Students in Spanish 312 at UBC wrote several Wikipedia articles in a project called \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Murder_Madness_and_Mayhem\">Murder, Madness and Mayhem\u201d.<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li>Students in <a href=\"https:\/\/dashboard.wikiedu.org\/courses\/University_of_British_Columbia\/FNH_200_102_Teams_09_to_16_%28Term_2%29\/timeline\">Food, Nutrition and Health at UBC<\/a> wrote or edited Wikipedia articles on various foods.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n&nbsp;","rendered":"<p>In addition to the 5Rs, we can also look at OER according to how people will use them. This can help us think about open educational resources beyond only considering licensing and format. This spectrum allows us to consider what we want to do with OER and how much time and effort may be required for different approaches.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-133\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2593\/2025\/12\/OpenEducation_Spectrum_of_Open_Practice.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"451\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2593\/2025\/12\/OpenEducation_Spectrum_of_Open_Practice.png 768w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2593\/2025\/12\/OpenEducation_Spectrum_of_Open_Practice-300x176.png 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2593\/2025\/12\/OpenEducation_Spectrum_of_Open_Practice-65x38.png 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2593\/2025\/12\/OpenEducation_Spectrum_of_Open_Practice-225x132.png 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2593\/2025\/12\/OpenEducation_Spectrum_of_Open_Practice-350x206.png 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/>The concept of \u201ctouch\u201d that we have articulated here refers to notions of interaction between and among participants in the course as well as interactions with \u201cpublic\u201d communities and individuals. This may also have an impact on the design effort related to the course. For example, courses supporting interaction with various external communities and resources over a period of time (wikipedia editing; publishing on YouTube; etc) require a high touch approach to the design and also to the ongoing support of those interactions.<\/p>\n<h2>Adoption<\/h2>\n<p>Adoption of an open copyright licensed (e.g. Creative Commons) resource is a good first step to engaging in open practice. Replacing a high cost textbook with an open textbook or other open resources (e.g. videos, simulations, etc.) reduces barriers for students to access course material needed for their success. According to the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/s\/c3zo0v7dax9g7go\/IW%20AMS%20AES%202020.pdf?dl=0\"> 2020 AMS Academic Experience Survey (AES)<\/a>, 67% of students surveyed did not buy textbooks due to the cost. Adoption of an open resource supports all students to achieve success by providing equal access to all resources available in the course regardless of their finances.<\/p>\n<h3>Examples<\/h3>\n<p>The following are examples of open resource adoption by faculty at UBC:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Introduction to Physics (PHYS 100) adopted an Open Stax Textbook at <a href=\"http:\/\/flexible.learning.ubc.ca\/news-events\/physics-course-adopts-open-textbook-and-saves-students-90000\/\">UBC in 2015 saving $90,000 in textbook costs<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/science.ubc.ca\/news\/math-cs-lead-adopting-open-education-resources-ubc\">Math, CS lead in adopting open education resources at UBC<\/a><\/li>\n<li>In 2020\/21, an estimated 19,152 UBC students <a href=\"https:\/\/open.ubc.ca\/2021-open-ubc-snapshot\/\">enrolled in courses using open resources in place of paid textbooks<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Adaption<\/h2>\n<p>Adaption is the modification or alteration of an open copyright licensed resource for use within a course. Adaption provides the opportunity to improve teaching materials, provide important local context, and sharing knowledge to ensure sustainability and the ongoing health of open content. There are a variety of ways content can be adapted for course use \u2014 instructors adapt content and\/or students adapt content for their own use. Including students in the adaption process encourages peer-to-peer learning, authentic learning opportunities, and digital and information literacy development.<\/p>\n<h2>Creation<\/h2>\n<p>Many teaching materials can be openly licensed and made available for others to revise or reuse, such as syllabi, lecture notes, presentation slides, case studies, videos, podcasts, study questions, quizzes and more. Some faculty choose to create entire open textbooks (e.g. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.math.ubc.ca\/~CLP\/\">CLP Calculus<\/a>) or to post all of their course materials on an open website (e.g.<a href=\"https:\/\/last100.arts.ubc.ca\/\"> LAST100<\/a>). Of course, there may be some resources you don\u2019t want to share because you want to reuse them in future years yourself (e.g. exams). But you may be willing to share other materials. Even if you think other teachers or students might not find them valuable, even if you think they are very specifically tied to your course context, you might be surprised at how they could spark ideas in others to use in their own teaching.<\/p>\n<p>When you create your own content, you need to consider what someone would want or need to do with your content once they discover it. If they are actively seeking OER content, then we have to assume that they may at some point want to apply any or all of the 5Rs to your materials.<\/p>\n<p>You have to ask yourself the question: \u201cHow OPEN do I want to be in my sharing of content?\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Connection<\/h2>\n<p>Connection is the application of open practice and extends beyond the use and creation of OER to connecting with communities beyond the classroom. Open pedagogy is an umbrella term that is often used in this area to describe the application of open strategies to the social practice of teaching and learning.<\/p>\n<h3>Open Pedagogy<\/h3>\n<p>Defining open pedagogy is challenging and we\u2019ll be exploring it in more depth in the next chapters. Some would say that open access and permissions for re-use are key: \u201cOpen pedagogy is that set of teaching and learning practices only possible in the context of the free access and 5R permissions characteristic of open educational resources.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/opencontent.org\/blog\/archives\/2975\">David Wiley: Defining Open Pedagogy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Others would offer a broader definition:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Looking at open pedagogy as a general philosophy of openness (and connection) in all elements of the pedagogical process, while messy, provides some interesting possibilities. Open is a purposeful path towards connection and community. Open pedagogy could be considered as a blend of strategies, technologies, and networked communities that make the process and products of education more transparent, understandable, and available to all the people involved. \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/campustechnology.com\/articles\/2014\/11\/12\/open-pedagogy-connection-community-and-transparency.aspx\">Tom Woodward in an excerpt from an interview in Campus Technology<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>Open Assignments<\/h3>\n<p>One can also involve students in adapting or creating OER through open assignments. We will discuss much more about open assignments in the <a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/chapter\/wrap-up-2\/\">Open Pedagogy<\/a> chapter, including considerations of risk and privacy, but when students publish or share their work openly, they are often extending their scholarly practice beyond the classroom and engaging with communities or people outside of their courses. Here are a couple of examples as a preview:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Students could do some course assignments on open platforms such as blogs (e.g. <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\">UBC Blogs<\/a>) or wikis (e.g., <a href=\"http:\/\/wiki.ubc.ca\">UBC Wiki<\/a>).\n<ul>\n<li>For example, students in Geography at UBC are creating multiple kinds of educational resources that are posted on a public site, including case studies, infographics, videos and more: <a href=\"http:\/\/environment.geog.ubc.ca\/\">Student Research on Environment and Sustainability Issue.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>As part of a course, students could edit or create Wikipedia articles.\n<ul>\n<li>Students in Spanish 312 at UBC wrote several Wikipedia articles in a project called \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Murder_Madness_and_Mayhem\">Murder, Madness and Mayhem\u201d.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Students in <a href=\"https:\/\/dashboard.wikiedu.org\/courses\/University_of_British_Columbia\/FNH_200_102_Teams_09_to_16_%28Term_2%29\/timeline\">Food, Nutrition and Health at UBC<\/a> wrote or edited Wikipedia articles on various foods.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1076,"menu_order":3,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-134","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":128,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1076"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":439,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/134\/revisions\/439"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/128"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/134\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=134"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=134"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/openscholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}