What’s an Open Course Pack?

An open course pack is a set of openly licensed course materials that integrate with an open textbook. Open course packs allow instructors to build on existing learning pathways that are fully aligned with an open textbook’s learning outcomes and content. Because open course packs have an open license, other educators can retain, revise, remix, reuse, and redistribute them. Even further, when open course packs are designed with an equity lens, they center the voices and experiences of underserved student populations. This means that future adaptations of an open course pack can promote and integrate equity-minded design.

What’s included in an Open Course Pack?

Open course packs include the following openly-licensed course materials, also called textbook ancillaries:

• Instructor Guide (short document written for future instructors on how to adapt the course)
• Course Map (an outline of each unit of a 10 week term, showing alignment between unit objectives, assignments, activities, and readings/media)
• Course Assessment Package
  • Formative and summative Assignment Instructions
  • Formative and summative Assignment Rubrics
• Supplemental Course Materials and Resources
  • Short lecture videos/scripts developed by the pilot instructor on key course concepts
  • Handouts or infographics that supplement the textbook
  • Slide decks that support student learning
• LMS Course Export File (ie, Moodle, Canvas, Blackboard) and Additional Course Files
  • .imscc file and/or link to course export file in an institutional repository
  • examples/exemplars of openly licensed student work

What is NOT included?

• Instructor lectures videos/scripts that they do not wish to share
• Instructor content that is all rights reserved
• Student work that students do not wish to share
• Student personal data (make sure that this is not included in openly licensed course files)
• Test banks that instructors would like to keep private
• Files of supplemental course readings that are all rights reserved

How can revising authors help to align open course packs?

In our project, pilot instructors developed course packs that aligned with the first pilot version of the textbook. Working with instructional designers, they incorporated transparency in learning and teaching (TILT), universal design for learning (UDL), and culturally responsive teaching (CRT) into their course development.

As the revising author of the open textbook, you will be intimately familiar with the changes between the first and final versions of the textbook. This means that you’re well-positioned to update key parts of the course pack – the course map and instructor guide – to avoid outdated references or content that might confuse future educators or students.

Sometimes, the revisions to the first version of the textbook will be so significant or substantial that the pilot course pack will require too much revision to remain relevant to the project. Most often, however, revising authors can  keep pilot course packs relevant by aligning language in existing course maps and instructor guides to meet the naming conventions and revised learning outcomes of the revised textbook.

To align course maps and instructor guides, you’ll use the following checklist:

• Naming conventions
  • Course map + instructor guide reference the revised book title and chapter titles, as well as accurate chapter numbers
    • If not, revise the course map so that book title and chapter titles as well as chapter numbers accurately reflect the revised textbook
• Learning Outcomes
  • Course map + instructor guide reference revised textbook learning outcomes, while also preserving any institutional learning outcomes
    • If learning outcomes changed from the first to the final version, revise learning outcomes to match
• Assignments/Activities
  • Course map + instructor guide reference assignments and activities that accurately measure the revised learning outcomes
    • If not, recommend necessary changes to the course pilot ID to make assignments and activities more relevant