University of Houston Libraries

We offer access to Pressbooks for the creation of OER. Pressbooks is a Wordpress-based OER authoring tool that allows you to:

• Embed multimedia and interactive content
• Incorporate accessibility features
• Make your OER available in multiple formats (web, PDF, EPUB, etc.)

The platform is available to UH instructors who want to create their own course materials or adapt existing OER.

Fill out this form to create a Pressbooks account.

Quality Checklist for Creating OER

Use this checklist as a guide when creating your open educational resources. The Open Education Services Department will conduct a light review of your completed resource(s) to identify updates needed before depositing your OER to the UH Cougar ROAR Institutional Repository. This may be a review of only a portion of your OER rather than the entire resource(s).

OER Authoring Guides

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.

Self-Publishing Guide – Provides details on the preparation, planning, writing, publication, and maintenance of an open textbook.

The Rebus Guide to Publishing Open Textbooks – Includes chapters on project scoping and building a team, content creation and editing, getting feedback and reviews, coordinating release and adoptions, and sustaining the book’s community.

OER Accessibility Toolkit – Provides resources needed to create an OER that is accessible to all students. Includes best practices for images, tables, multimedia, weblinks, and more.

Modifying an Open Textbook: What You Need to Know – This is a five-step guide for modifying an open textbook. Step-by-step instructions for importing and editing common open textbook file and platform types are included.

Presentation Recordings

Modifying and Creating OER (45 min., Microsoft Stream)

OER in the Health Sciences: Increasing Customization & Affordability (43 min.)