The #GoOpen initiative and the growing network of States, districts, and educators has not only provided a space for robust discussions about the merits of OER, but also supported broader dialogue and dissemination of information on the policies and practices that impact teaching, learning, and collaboration. #GoOpen State and district leaders are documenting and sharing new approaches to professional learning for teachers, and curating resources that offer students and teachers options for personalizing learning, and strategies to support curating, creating, adapting and sharing OER. Read our #GoOpen Exchange press release and our Open Education Symposium fact sheet for more on these commitments.
Why #GoOpen?
Openly licensed educational resources have enormous potential to increase access to high-quality education opportunities in the United States. Switching to openly licensed educational materials has enabled school districts to repurpose funding typically spent on textbooks for other pressing needs, such as investing in the transition to digital learning. Visit our Open Education page to learn how resources that are openly licensed can benefit schools.
What it means to #GoOpen
School districts that #GoOpen are committing to transition to using high-quality, openly licensed educational resources in their schools. These districts will be supported by #GoOpen Ambassador districts who have already taken steps toward implementing the use of openly licensed materials at the district-level.
#GoOpen Launch Districts:
- Identify a district #GoOpen team who will work to develop a strategy for the implementation of openly-licensed educational materials.
- Commit to replace at least one textbook with openly-licensed educational materials in the next year.
- Document and share their implementation process.
#GoOpen Ambassador Districts:
- Mentor #GoOpen Launch Districts as they design and implement their strategy for transitioning to openly licensed educational resources.
- Share the openly licensed materials they’ve created.
If you are interested in becoming a #GoOpen Launch or Ambassador District, please email tech@ed.gov.
How to #GoOpen
![](https://tech.ed.gov/files/2016/06/District-Launch-Packet-Cover-150w.jpg)
#GoOpen District Launch Packet
Across the country, districts are choosing to #GoOpen and transitioning to the use of openly licensed educational resources to improve student learning in their schools. This resource is designed for districts that have decided to implement a systematic approach to incorporating openly licensed educational resources into their curriculum by becoming a #GoOpen District.
Stories from the Field
#GoOpen District Stories
Launch and Ambassador Districts using openly-licensed educational resources in their schools share strategies and advice for districts working to #GoOpen. By amplifying great stories and sharing good practices, we hope to connect districts, schools, and educators so they can learn from each other’s experiences.
Want to share your #GoOpen story? Send us a message at tech@ed.gov!
#GoOpen Launch Districts
- Decatur City Schools, AL
- Athens City Schools, AL
- Bonita Unified School District, CA
- Cajon Valley Union School District, CA
- Carlsbad Unified School District, CA
- Coachella Valley Unified School District, CA
- Coronado Unified School District, CA
- Encinitas Union School District, CA
- Fallbrook Union Elementary School District, CA
- Huntington Beach Union School District, CA
- Madera Unified School District, CA
- Napa Valley Unified School District, CA
- Oceanside Unified School District, CA
- Oxnard Union High School District, CA
- Panama Buena Vista Unified School District, CA
- Poway Unified School District, CA
- Riverside Unified School District, CA
- San Antonio Union School District, CA
- San Diego Unified School District, CA
- Colorado Digital BOCES, CO
- Moffat County School District RE1, CO
- Connecticut Technical High School System, CT
- Greenwich Public Schools, CT
- Colonial Public Schools, DE
- Red Clay School District, DE
- Broward County Public Schools, FL
- Orange County Public Schools, FL
- The School District of Palm Beach County, FL
- Forsyth County Public Schools, GA
- Cedar Rapids Community School District, IA
- Council Bluffs Community Schools, IA
- Lewis Central CSD, IA
- Southeast Polk Community School District, IA
- United Community School District, IA
- West Branch Community School District, IA
- Nampa School District, ID
- DeKalb CUSD #428, IL
- Illini Bluffs CUSD #327, IL
- Macomb CUSD #185, IL
- Urbana School District 116, IL
- East Noble School Corporation, IN
- Hamilton Southeastern Schools, IN
- Noblesville School District, IN
- MSD Warren Township, IN
- MSD Southwest Allen County, IN
- Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation, IN
- Topeka Public Schools, KS
- Burlington Public Schools, MA
- Medfield Public Schools, MA
- North Reading Public Schools, MA
- Anne Arundel Public Schools, MD
- Howard County Public Schools, MD
- Dryden Community Schools, MI
- Marlette Community Schools, MI
- Marysville Public Schools, MI
- Mona Shores Public Schools, MI
- Wayland Union Schools, MI
- Grain Valley School District, MO
- Hancock Place School District, MO
- Harrisonville Cass R-IX School District, MO
- Kearney School District, MO
- Lee’s Summit R-VII School District, MO
- Parkway School District, MO
- Pattonville School District, MO
- Ritenour School District, MO
- Sherwood Cass R-VIII School District, MO
- St. Clair R-XIII School District, MO
- Northwest Public Schools, NE
- York Public Schools, NE
- Jamesburg Public Schools, NJ
- Lavallette and Bay Head School District, NJ
- Spotswood Public Schools, NJ
- Rio Rancho Public Schools, NM
- Zuni Public Schools, NM
- Carson City School District, NV
- Ballston Spa Central School District, NY
- Middletown City School District, NY
- Mineola UFSD
- Avonworth School District, PA
- Bethel Park School District, PA
- Carlynton School District, PA
- Centennial School District, PA
- Deer Lakes School District, PA
- Duquesne City, PA
- Downingtown Area School District, PA
- Ephrata Area School District, PA
- Fox Chapel Area School District, PA
- Garnet Valley Area School District, PA
- Hampton Township School District, PA
- Mars Area School District, PA
- Plum Borough School District, PA
- Steel Valley School District, PA
- Charlottesville City Schools, VA
- Henry County Public Schools, VA
- Loudoun County Public Schools, VA
- Virginia Beach City Public Schools, VA
- Sun Prairie Area School District, WI
- Weston County School District #7, WY
#GoOpen Ambassador Districts
- Deer Valley Unified School District, AZ
- Grossmont Union High School District, CA
- Vista Unified School District, CA
- Williamsfield Community School District, IL
- Lawrence Public Schools, KS
- Hollister R-V School District, MO
- Liberty Public Schools, MO
- North Kansas City School District, MO
- Columbus Municipal School District, MS
- Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School, NY
- Mentor School District, OH
- Broken Arrow Public Schools, OK
- Central Valley School District, PA
- Upper Perkiomen School District, PA
- Bristol Tennessee Schools, TN
- Tullahoma City Schools, TN
- El Paso Independent School District, TX
- Mountain Heights Academy, UT
- Chesterfield County Public Schools, VA
- Hampton City Schools, VA
- Bethel School District, WA
- Puyallup School District, WA
- Kettle Moraine School District, WI
#GoOpen Supporting Organizations
#GoOpen supporting organizations are organizations that are doing complementary work in the field and that share a common commitment to increasing broad and open access to high quality learning resources for all students and educators. #GoOpen supporting organizations pledge time and resources to undertake the following:
- Attend a bi-monthly call of supporting organizations to share updates on new activities or resources.
- Contribute updates on new activities or resources relevant to #GoOpen states and districts to the monthly #GoOpen Newsletter.
- Continue to spread awareness about the #GoOpen Initiative, and connect states and districts interested in #GoOpen to the Department.
- Share news of our commitment and ongoing collaboration with the #GoOpen Initiative with our networks via social media, e-mail, blogs, and other online platforms, as appropriate for our organization.
Learn more about the additional activities our supporting organizations plan to undertake in support of the growing network of states and districts choosing to explore and expand the use of open educational resources.
Interested in becoming a #GoOpen Supporting Organization? Send us a note.
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) continues to support the #GoOpen Initiative and work to advance broad and open access to high-quality instructional materials in states and districts that choose to explore and expand the use of openly licensed educational resources (OER). CCSSO believes that open educational resources (OER) can lead to deeper, more personalized learning because they can be flexibly adapted and shared to meet a diversity of student needs. OER should be held to the same high standard of other instructional materials and evaluated using the same criteria. In order for district leaders and teachers to make informed decisions about how to use and adapt OER, we believe that it is essential that they deeply understand state standards and learning progressions to ensure pedagogical coherence and equitable learning experiences for all students. Therefore, CCSSO will continue to:
- Work with #GoOpen states to document their implementation strategies by developing case studies, articles, and blog posts that highlight promising state practices.
- Develop technical assistance resources to support #GoOpen state needs, particularly as it pertains to high-quality instructional strategies, standards alignment, and professional learning.
- Host and promote free webinars to spotlight the work of #GoOpen state leaders and open education issues, such as OER, research, open educational practice and curriculum.
As a #GoOpen supporting organization, COERLL will:
- Advise by email and phone school districts whose language departments are interested in creating, adapting, adopting, or sharing OER.
- Advocate for more OER adoption and #GoOpen participation in Texas.
- Award digital badges to validate and promote the stories of language departments in #GoOpen districts who have used OER, through COERLL’s Language OER Network and other communication channels.
- Develop and share an FAQ guide for language departments interested in going open.
- If possible, provide teachers access to COERLL’s professional development events.
As a #GoOpen supporting organization, CC-USA will:
- Host online educational and training opportunities around copyright questions, potential challenges with procurement, and other legal considerations during the creation and adoption phases of open education.
- Attend in-person meetings and GoOpen Summits to engage and troubleshoot with practitioners.
- Develop targeted, shareable resources aimed at problem-solving challenges for states and districts, as well as defining best practices and addressing common misconceptions.
- Assist with general efforts to organize and expand the GoOpen network.
As a #GoOpen supporting organization, Digital Promise will:
- Send a representative to present at a #GoOpen Regional Summit.
- Host and promote free webinars to spotlight open education issues (e.g. OER, research, open
educational practice) as they connect with the work of Digital Promise. - Support the curation of classroom resources to foster States and districts the use of OER assets.
- Author articles and blog posts about #GoOpen and/or open education topics of interest.
As a #GoOpen supporting organization, the Library of Congress will:
-
- Alert our Teaching With Primary Sources consortium members to the #GoOpen Initiative, and ensure that the curriculum materials they create and the professional learning opportunities they present are, and are promoted as, OER.
- Author posts about #GoOpen for our Teaching with the Library of Congress blog at http://blogs.loc.gov/teachers.
As a #GoOpen supporting organization, New America will:
-
-
- Author and/or support the development of articles and blog posts about #GoOpen and open education topics of interest.
- Document State and district #GoOpen and open education work through ongoing research and case studies, and sharing that information through future events.
- Present ongoing writing and research to states and districts through #GoOpen Regional Summits, open education events, and other opportunities for professional learning.
-
As a #GoOpen supporting organization, SETDA will:
-
-
- Continue to collaborate with Counsel of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the Office Educational Technology (OET) to support the regular state #GoOpen online meetings to provide the opportunity to collaborate, learn and share regularly.
- Continue to gather details and report on state policies and practices in support of OER and #GoOpen including via our various instructional materials resources including the Digital Instructional Materials Acquisition for States (dmaps.setda.org), the Guide to Quality Instructional Materials (qualitycontent.setda.org) and via our annual Navigating the Digital Shift report. We will work with OET and state leaders to ensure that the content and information is valuable to stakeholders.
- Provide regular updates to our full membership regarding #GoOpen initiatives via our newsletter and social media as appropriate.
- Provide OET the opportunity to meet in-person with state leaders as a part of our annual convenings. During these meetings, OET may choose to discuss #GoOpen and other efforts supporting OER.
-
As a #GoOpen supporting organization, The Learning Accelerator will:
-
-
- Investigate OER practice in classroom and system settings and capture and share promising strategies emerging from the field on OER implementation with the #GoOpen community.
- Author and/or support the guest authoring of articles and blog posts about #GoOpen and open education topics of interest to be featured on TLA web sites.
-