🌐 Overview

Before You Begin: Tap Into the OER Community. Remember that you're not alone before you try to do this all alone. The OER community is collaborative, generous, and constantly evolving. Reaching out to broader networks can save time, spark new ideas, and connect you with others who’ve faced (and solved) similar challenges. Whether you’re looking for templates, peer feedback, or moral support, these listservs and organizations are a great place to start.

📖 Table of Contents

Listservs & Forums for OER Practitioners
Key Organizations Advancing OER
Historical Context and Advocacy Resources

✔️ Listservs and Forums for OER Practitioners

ASCCC OER - The listserv for the ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative to be plugged into CA-specific information.
SPARC Listserv – Updates on open education, open access, and advocacy from a national leader.
OER Digest – Biweekly newsletter covering OER policy, resources, and community updates across North America.
OE Global Connect – Peer-to-peer Q&A, webinars, and archived conversations.
Creative Commons Open Education Platform – Global network discussions on OER and open licensing.
Rebus Community Forum – Collaborative space for building, reviewing, and sharing open textbooks.
Student PIRGs Email List – Student-led affordability updates and campaign strategies.

✔️ Key Organizations Advancing OER

✔️ Historical Context and Advocacy Resources

Cape Town Open Education Declaration – A global call to release educational materials under open licenses.
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) – Curated index of quality-controlled open access journals.
Jisc's open policy finder – Check publisher copyright policies before reusing or adapting content.
Expanding Public Access to Federally Funded Research (Stebbins, 2013) – U.S. open access policy guidance and its ripple effects.
The Open Access Movement – Michael Eisen – Key text on the shift toward scholarly open access publishing.

🐜 Wisdom: Embrace the wisdom of the ant and build a colony of collaborators. A single ant cannot accomplish much alone, but a colony becomes a superorganism that can achieve greatness. We are stronger together!