Why open material changes the build process
Building an online course from nothing is slow. The designer has to decide what to teach, write or record explanations, create practice tasks and assemble everything in a usable form. Open material does not remove that work, but it can supply some of the raw material, so the designer begins with drafts to evaluate and adapt instead of a blank page.
This article follows the process from a designer’s point of view: planning, finding material, checking licenses and quality, adapting and assembling, and keeping records. The emphasis is on the order of the work, since a few early checks can prevent a great deal of rework later.
Step 1: Plan before you search
It is tempting to start browsing for resources straight away. A better order is to write down, first, what learners should be able to do by the end of the course, in a short list of learning objectives, and then sketch the units that lead to them. This gives you a checklist for the search. Without it, you may end up with attractive material that does not support what you set out to teach.
Also note who the learners are: their likely background, the devices and connections they have, and how much time they can give. These factors affect which formats are suitable.
Step 2: Find candidate material
Open material comes from many places, including repositories and libraries maintained by institutions, collaborative projects and individual authors. A librarian can be a great help in searching, and in judging whether a source is reliable. A useful approach is to look for complete or near-complete resources first, such as an open textbook covering your topic, and fill gaps with smaller items like diagrams, exercises or short videos.
Keep a simple list as you go. For each candidate, record where it came from, who made it, the license, the date and a line on what you might use it for. This takes a few minutes per item and saves a lot of trouble later.
Step 3: Check the license
Reuse is only safe if the license permits what you plan to do. Before adopting an item, confirm:
- That a license is stated. If you cannot find one, treat the item as not open to reuse until you have confirmed otherwise with the author or publisher.
- What the license allows. Some allow adaptation; some allow copying only. Some forbid commercial use, which matters if the course is sold or offered by a business.
- What it requires. Most open licenses ask for credit to the author. Some require that adapted versions carry the same license.
- Whether items can be combined. Mixing material under different licenses can create conflicts, so check compatibility before you merge items into one document.
- Whether everything inside is covered. A resource may carry an open license overall but include images or excerpts from other sources under different terms.
These are general principles, not legal advice. Where the course will be sold, or where the licensing is unclear, your institution’s library, copyright office or legal adviser is the right source of guidance. Broader questions about copyright and licensing are covered elsewhere on this site.
Step 4: Check quality
A license says nothing about quality. Judge each resource against the same standards you would apply to any teaching material:
- Accuracy. Is the content correct and consistent with what trusted sources say? Where possible, have a subject expert review it.
- Currency. When was it last updated? In fast-changing subjects, old material may mislead.
- Level and fit. Is it pitched appropriately for your learners and aligned with your objectives?
- Clarity. Are explanations clear and examples helpful?
- Accessibility. Are there captions or transcripts for video, text alternatives for images and a structure that works with screen readers? Many open resources fall short, and fixing this may be part of your job. The idea of accessible course design is a useful guide.
- Technical state. Do links work, do files open, and are the formats ones your platform can handle?
It is better to reject a resource at this stage than to patch it heavily later, unless it is the only material available on a key topic.
Step 5: Adapt and assemble
With suitable material in hand, you can adapt it. Typical changes include shortening or reordering sections, replacing examples with local ones, adding your own introductions to each unit, writing practice questions and aligning terminology. Short linking notes that you write yourself help the course read as a whole instead of a patchwork.
If the license permits editing, keep the original credit and mark clearly what you changed. If you improve something substantially, consider whether you could share your version back under the same license so others benefit.
Do not assume that assembly will be quick. Reuse tends to save time on drafting but costs time on searching, checking and tidying. Many designers find the net gain largest when good material already exists in their subject, and smaller when it does not.
Step 6: Add what open material usually lacks
Open resources often supply explanations but less in the way of structure for online study. You will usually still need to create:
- A clear path through the units with estimated times.
- Activities and assessments that match your objectives.
- Instructions on how to take part and how to get help.
- A plan for feedback.
This is where the design effort concentrates, and it is why a course built from open parts is not simply a collection of links.
Step 7: Keep a record and plan for updates
Finish by writing down the sources, licenses and credits in one place, ideally inside the course too, in the form the licenses require. Note the date of your last check on each item and who will review it again. Open material changes: links break, authors revise, and facts become out of date. A simple review calendar, perhaps once a year, keeps the course healthy.
Where the real benefit lies
Used well, open material shortens the time to a first working version, allows adaptation without asking permission each time and spreads the cost of building across a wider group of users. Used carelessly, it produces a course with unclear rights, uneven quality and no one responsible for upkeep. The difference lies mostly in whether the checks above are made before reuse, not after.