Open Michigan is a free University of Michigan initiative that helps share research, teaching, and creative work with audiences beyond campus. It provides expertise and services for open educational resources, open data, and open publications, and visitors can search for material from within and beyond the university for teaching and research. Its educational collection includes course materials, videos, lectures, student work, and other teaching resources from U-M faculty, students, staff, and partner institutions. Nearly all resources in the OER collection are openly licensed for reuse under Creative Commons. The initiative can help publish syllabi, courses, and learning modules, promote educational resources, and make data publicly available. It describes open access scholarship as available online to read for free. Open Michigan is a partnership of the University Library and Health Information Technology and Services, and supports the university community, Michigan residents, and the broader public. Many older resources are not ideal for screen readers, and many videos lack sufficient captions; remediation is underway. Hosted content published after January 1, 2017 receives accessibility review, with a stated aim of WCAG 2.0 AA compliance. Open Michigan deposits hosted digital works in the university's Deep Blue repository rather than providing permanent extended-term service.
Who it is for
It suits University of Michigan community members, Michigan residents, and the public looking for open teaching, research, and publication resources. Scholars and students can also use its publishing support to share educational materials and data.
What is good
- Free access to search for open content
- Nearly all OER are Creative Commons licensed
- Support for publishing courses and learning modules
- Offers help making data publicly available
What to know first
- Many older OER are not ideal for screen readers
- Many videos lack sufficient captioning
- Hosted works are deposited in Deep Blue, not permanently hosted
Verdict
Open Michigan supports finding and sharing educational resources, data, and scholarship, with help for publishing and promotion. Readers should note its stated accessibility gaps and that hosted digital works are deposited in Deep Blue rather than kept permanently on the service.
Compared on open educational resource platforms
- Free plan
- Yes
- Remix and adaptation
- Yes
- Publishing workflow
- Yes
- Content review
- Yes
