OER for Art: Art Starting Points

Tip: Log into your Canvas faculty account *before* clicking on this link! OER Canvas course shared by SBCTC, 2020. Includes modules, assignments, quizzes, and discussions. CC BY (Creative Commons - Attribution) license.

Tip: Log into your Canvas faculty account *before* clicking on this link! OER Canvas course shared by CanvasNet, 2019. Organized into 11 main modules of content, with readings, integrated videos, quizzes, and journal assignment prompts. Some modules have additional ancillary materials, like practice tests. CC BY NC SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - NonCommercial - ShareAlike) license.

Tip: Log into your Canvas faculty account *before* clicking on this link! Canvas course created by Art instructor at Northeast Alabama Community College, May 2019. Organized into 15 main modules of content. The first half of the modules focus on "Elements of Art," and the second half of the modules focus on "Application of Art." Includes ancillary materials like quizzes, flash cards, key terms, lecture videos, and review pages. CC BY SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - ShareAlike) license.

Deborah Gustlin & Zoe Gustlin, Evergreen Valley College, 2019. "This is a more representational textbook that students can identify with based on ethnic experiences they possess, presented in a time sequence. This Art Appreciation (ARTH 100) textbook is inclusive of multiple civilizations around the world with a better distribution of art. Some of the art will be well known, and some of the writing is about art and cultures not usually included in the standard textbooks." Organized into 15 main chapters. Online, PDF, and zip files (Tip: Hover over the blue "Downloads" button in the upper right corner). CC BY-NC-SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - NonCommercial - ShareAlike) license.

Lumen Learning mastery course. Organized into 6 modules with readings and videos. Online course format with a PDF download option. Course overall has CC BY, but some content may have different or additional licenses.

This openly licensed textbook "offers a comprehensive introduction to the world of Art. Authored by four USG faculty members with advance degrees in the arts, this textbooks offers up-to-date original scholarship. It includes over 400 high-quality images illustrating the history of art, its technical applications, and its many uses." Chapters include "test yourself" questions and key terms. Organized into 11 chapters, from "What is Art?" to "Art and Ethics." Formats include PDF, accessible PDF, chapter bundle PDFs, and a Japanese translation. CC BY SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - ShareAlike) license.

Online class developed by Lehman College, City University of New York. Organized into 14 weekly modules, which include readings, videos, links to additional sources, as well as links to integrated worksheets and assignments. Online format via Wordpress. CC BY NC SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - NonCommercial - Share Alike) license.

OER readings, powerpoints, and assignments created by Marie Porterfield Barry, art faculty at East Tennessee State University, 2019. This course "explores the world’s visual arts, focusing on the development of visual awareness, assessment, and appreciation by examining a variety of styles from various periods and cultures while emphasizing the development of a common visual language." 24 lessons total. PDF and Word versions, with additional PowerPoint and assignment files. CC BY NC SA (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike) license.

Ohio State University, 2020. This open website is used for a course on Art and Music since 1945. Includes a collection of biographies of artists and musicians, a sample syllabus, and assignments. CC BY (Creative Commons - Attribution) license.

Online course modules created by Smarthistory. Modules for Why Art Matters; Elements of art; and Principles of Composition. Thematic modules include readings, videos, and primary sources. Online format. CC BY NC SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - NonCommercial -ShareAlike) license.

Online course modules created by Smarthistory. Modules, organized by tools and themes, include readings, videos, and primary sources. Online format. CC BY NC SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - NonCommercial -ShareAlike) license.

Online course modules created by Smarthistory. Thematic modules include readings, videos, and primary sources. Online format. CC BY NC SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - NonCommercial -ShareAlike) license.

Tip: Log into your Canvas faculty account *before* clicking on this link! Canvas course shared by Briana Simmons, Santa Monica College, 2020. "Survey of the major visual arts of Europe from the Renaissance to 1800s." Uses a variety of OER and open access readings and videos. Organized into modules, with readings, assignments, discussions, and quizzes. CC BY (Creative Commons - Attribution) license.

Tip: Log into your Canvas faculty account *before* clicking on this link! Canvas course shared by Chelsea Taylor, San Diego Community College District, 2020. Uses Textbook by Cengage "Exploring Art" by Margaret Lazzari, 5th Edition. "Uses Global Thematic Approach: Surveys Art History Globally, Geographically, and Chronologically." Organized into chapter modules, with lectures, assignments, discussions, and quizzes. Public domainvlicense.

Tip: Log into your Canvas faculty account *before* clicking on this link! Online Canvas course shared by Kristen Koblik, Contra Costa Community College District, 2017. Uses a variety of OER and online readings and videos. Organized into modules, with readings, assignments, discussions, and quizzes. CC BY NC SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - NonCommercial -ShareAlike) license.

Tip: Log into your Canvas faculty account *before* clicking on this link! Online Canvas course shared by Kristen Koblik, 2017. Uses a variety of OER and open access readings and videos. Organized into modules. CC BY NC SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - NonCommercial - ShareAlike) license.

Tip: Log into your Canvas faculty account *before* clicking on this link! Canvas course materials shared by Sheila Lynch, 2020. "Art History Glossary: Prehistory through Middle Ages Includes over 250 key terms with definitions and more than 100 images with attribution and links." CC-BY-NC (Creative Commons - Attribution - NonCommercial) license.

Boundless content hosted on Lumen Learning platform. Modules organized by location/culture and time period, from Prehistoric Art to Global Art Since 1950 CE. Instructor resources freely available upon verified request. CC BY SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - ShareAlike) license.

Online course modules created by Smarthistory. Modules for Introduction to Art History; Language of Art History; Brief histories of Art and Cultures; Questions in Art History; and Current Issues in Art History. Thematic modules include readings, videos, and primary sources. Online format. CC BY NC SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - NonCommercial -ShareAlike) license.

High-quality art textbooks available to read online or print for free. Several volumes for AP Art History and Guides to Ancient Mediterranean Art. PDF format. CC BY NC SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - NonCommercial -ShareAlike) license. read online or print out for free

Created by Katherine Taylor, Whatcom Community College, 2016. "Historical developments in Western art from 18th century to the mid-20th century. Focus on European and American art." Uses Smarthistory, Khan Academy, and other openly licensed sources and images. Organized into 11 modules + glossary. Online format. CC BY (Creative Commons - Attribution) license.

"Five decades of Met publications on art history, available to read, download, and/or search for free." Includes exhibition and collection catalogs and museum guides, articles, and bulletins.

Course syllabus developed by Art instructor at Portland Community College, 2018, links out to a variety of open/free readings. Scroll down to page 3 for course outline + linked reading assignments.

Open access platform which provides over 50 free films to support the teaching of Art History, provided by the UK-based Open University. Short films range from 6-20 minutes long apiece. Browse films by film category or by film period. Open access; educational use encouraged.

Khan Academy videos and lessons relating to art history. Content retains traditional copyright but are freely available to view and link to.

Peer-populated platform for art history teachers. Includes lesson plans, syllabi, assignments and rubrics. CC BY NC (Creative Commons - Attribution - NonCommercial) license.

“Smarthistory opens museums and cultural sites up to the world, one video at a time. We’re creating world-class resources on art and cultural objects for learners from around the globe—for free.” Lessons, videos, and essays. Everything on this site is openly licensed, under a CC BY NC SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - NonCommercial - ShareAlike) 4.0 license.

This resource from the Met (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) features art and global culture.

Ohio State University, 2020. This open website is used for a course on Art and Music since 1945. Includes a collection of biographies of artists and musicians, a sample syllabus, and assignments. CC BY (Creative Commons - Attribution) license.

Tip: Log into your Canvas faculty account *before* clicking on this link! Canvas course shell shared by Susan Mackowiak, Ivy Tech Community College, 2017. "This course introduces students to fundamental design theory. Investigations into design theory and color dynamics will provide experiences in applying design theory, ideas and creative problem solving." Uses Stephen Pentak's Design Basics as the course textbook. Course shell includes chapter slides, lecture notes, and projects. Public domain lciense.

GCF Global site. Part of the Beginning Graphic Design tutorial. Includes videos and illustrations for basic visual elements, including line, shape, form, texture, and balance. Not openly licensed but freely available to view online and link to.

National Gallery of Art, 2013. "The goal of this unit is to introduce students to the basic elements of art (color, line, shape, form, and texture) and to show students how artists use these elements in different ways in their work. In the unit, students will answer questions as they look carefully at paintings and sculpture to identify the elements and analyze how they are used by different artists." Designed for elementary level of students, but could be scaled up for community college level. Complete lesson plans, worksheets, etc. for units on Color, Line, Shape, Form, and Texture. Terms of use allow educational use of materials, with proper attribution.

Eastern Maine Community College, 2016. Syllabus, weekly assignments, and final for a two-dimensional design course. Word files. CC BY (Creative Commons - Attribution) license.

Tip: Log into your Canvas faculty account *before* clicking on this link! OER course developed and shared by Art instructor at Northeast Alabama Community College, 2020. Course uses low-cost tutorial and sketchbook "You Will Be Able to Draw By the End of this Book." Includes additional readings and assignments. CC BY SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - ShareAlike) license.

Text and illustration for the 1859 edition of this classic work. "This classic retains its relevance some 150 years after its first appearance and should be on every artist's bookshelf." Public domain.

OER textbook published by British Columbia Institute of Technology, 2015. This textbook "addresses the many steps of creating and then producing physical, printed, or other imaged products that people interact with on a daily basis. It covers the concept that, while most modern graphic design is created on computers using design software, the ideas and concepts don't stay on the computer. Keywords are highlighted throughout and summarized in a Glossary at the end of the book, and each chapter includes exercises and suggested readings." Faculty peer reviews of the text available on this site. PDF, EPUB, and editable OpenDocument formats. CC BY (Creative Commons - Attribution) license.

Xtine Burrough, Michael Mandiberg, 2014. "This book was written by two artist educators who teach digital art and design studio foundation classes [...] This book is a mash-up of the Bauhaus Basic Course and open source software such as Inkscape, Gimp, Firefox, and Processing. We have taken some of the visual principles and exercises from the Bauhaus Basic Course and adapted them into exercises for these applications." Online and PDF formats.

Tip: Log into your Canvas faculty account *before* clicking on this link! Chauncey Rion Huffman, Pitt State, 2019. "This is a complete course for introductory studio product photography techniques. It includes a few Power Point presentations, assignments, a quiz, video and static resources and a module structure. Much of this information will require the instructor to demonstrate these techniques for the students, and the demonstrations are not included in this version." Organized into 7 modules. CC BY SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - ShareAlike) license.

"The purpose of this book is to serve as a reference for a one-semester course in digital photography for graphic communications.” Organized into 8 chapters. Online and print PDF formats. CC BY (Creative Commons - Attribution) license.

YouTube playlist of OER videos for Exposure Overview; Exposure in the Camera; Exposure: Shutter; Exposure: ISO; and Exposure: Aperture. Last updated 2019. Each video is 7-12 minutes long. CC BY (Creative Commons - Attribution) license.

Assignment developed by Art instructor at CUNY La Guardia Community College, 2019. "Digital retouching has become a staple of the commercial photography industry. This exercise shows the students the level of quality that will be expected of them after graduation, along with helping them to become market ready." CC BY (Creative Commons - Attribution) license.

Course materials focusing on still photography and how photographs “are to be understood and interpreted; whether they have clear-cut content and meanings; how they shape and are shaped by politics, economics, and social life.” The most useful part of this undergraduate course is the “Photos” section with PDFs of slides of different kinds of photographs, all cited. Course materials are licensed under a CC BY NC SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - NonCommercial - ShareAlike) license.

Open-source photo and image editing software, a free alternative to Photoshop.

Tip: Log into your Canvas faculty account *before* clicking on this link! OER course developed and shared by Art instructor at Northeast Alabama Community College, 2020. Course includes readings, assignments, and quizzes. CC BY SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - ShareAlike) license.

Tip: Log into your Canvas faculty account *before* clicking on this link! OER Canvas course shared by Art instructor at Bucks County Community College, 2019. Weekly modules include PowerPoints and project assignments. Public domain license.

Google doc of potential OER, open access, and TCC Library resources compiled by OER librarian Jennifer Snoek-Brown, 2019. Document organized into weekly themed modules; resources are linked throughout.

Created by Dalton State College instructors, revised in 2018. Topics include arts integration, music, visual arts, literary arts, performing arts, and physical education and movement. Lecture slides also available. Accessible PDF and Word formats. CC BY NC SA (Creative Commons - Attribution - NonCommercial ShareAlike) license.

Open textbook developed by ECE instructors, College of the Canyons, 2019. This textbook focuses on "how to effectively plan curriculum for young children." Organized into 5 sections, with 17 chapters, plus appendices. Section IV focuses on curriculum planning for specific areas, including Language and Literacy, Mathematics, Science, Health and Safety, etc. PDF format via Google Docs. CC BY (Creative Commons - Attribution) license.

Art lessons, guides, and activities for K-12 educators and students. Everything in the J. Paul Getty Museum Curricula is CC BY licensed (Creative Commons - Attribution).