Dynamic, Customizable, and Free: Increasing Inclusion in Human Sexuality Courses Using OER

Abstract

Traditional commercial textbooks at the college level are slow to update, often have problematic language or content related to queer and trans identities, and are likely to be prohibitively expensive. As an alternative, I explore the benefits of using open educational resources (OER) and free-to-access resources for a human sexuality course. I argue that using OER gives instructors the ability to customize content that is relevant to their students and location while spotlighting experiences that are frequently left out of commercial textbooks. Further, using OER provides opportunities for instructors and students to depathologize queer identities and challenge systems of oppression. Using my own experience, I present a case study of redesigning a human sexuality course with OER, including the process of evaluating and selecting sources. Finally, I offer suggestions for instructors who want to utilize OER and related free-to-access resources in their own classes.

Keywords:

• Open pedagogy
• OER
• LGBTQ+ inclusion

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

Notes

1 I use “queer-inclusive” as a large category to describe inclusion of all genders, sexualities, and relationships that challenge cisnormative and heteronormative expectations.

2 My OER course redesign was completed while I was part of an OER Learning Circle sponsored by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.