UWM Libraries Research and Course Guides: Open Educational Resources (OER): OER Performing Arts Content

Mason OER Metafinder

The Mason OER Metafinder helps you find Open Educational Resources with a real-time, simultaneous search across 21 different sources of open educational materials. Mason searches OER repositories like OpenStax, OER Commons, MERLOT but also sites like HathiTrust, DPLA, Internet Archive and NYPL Digital Collections where valuable but often overlooked yet often “open” educational materials may be found. In this case "open" is in quotes because the materials in these additional digital collections have some Copyright restrictions, but are widely and reliably accessible to students on the Web and can be curated in your course following Fair Use.

The Mason OER Metafinder allows users to do a deeper web search than a typical Google search, revealing documents, essays, etc.

No-Cost Resource For Performing Arts Courses

Low Cost Resources

General repositories and databases for searching for performing arts oers:

Merlot
Merlot is a repository of peer reviewed, open access resources designed to aid in teaching, learning, and faculty development. It includes OER instruction and pedagogy resources for faculty & students of higher education from around the world and is maintained by the California State University System.
OER by Discipline Directory
The BCcampus Open Education OER by Discipline Directory lists a wide range of open educational resources organized by discipline. This directory is updated as new resources are identified
WiscOnline
"Wisc-Online is a repository of high-quality educational learning materials FREE to learners and educators.Wisc-Online offers an ever-growing library of learning objects freely available to students and learners at any level."

Here are some examples of specific and useful OER content for the Performing Arts: Music and Dance

Open Music Theory
Open Music Theory is an open-source, interactive, online “text”book for college-level music theory courses. OMT was built on resources authored by Kris Shaffer, Bryn Hughes, and Brian Moseley. It is edited by Kris Shaffer and Robin Wharton, and is published by Hybrid Pedagogy Publishing.
Kennedy Center Education Digital Learning
The Kennedy Center Education Digital Learning Library is the Youtube channel for open access videos of performances, tuitorials, and lessons related to the performing arts.
Kennedy Center Educational Resource Collections
Kennedy Center Resource Collections are education resources availble from the Kennedy Center in a many different fields including the performing arts focusing on music and dance.

Free to access and use through the library.

Naxos Music Library
A streaming library providing a comprehensive library centering around classical western art music, some Jazz and world music. In addition to music listening Naxos provide resources to musicological essays, timelines, aural skills exercises, and other teaching tools.
Grove Music Online
Grove Music Online provides full text access to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians 2nd edition (2001). It also includes the The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (1992), and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd Edition (2001), as well as some coverage of world and popular music. PLEASE NOTE: The UWM Libraries has 8 simultaneous users for this service. If you can not access the service please try again later.
Milwaukee Repertory Theater Photographic History: Mark Avery Collection 1977-1994
The Milwaukee Repertory Theater Photographic History provides a visual chronicle of the artistic productions of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater in the years 1977-1994. The collection presents 1,800 images documenting 195 performances during these 17 seasons.
Digital Theatre Plus
Digital Theatre Plus provides streaming access to digitally captured British theatrical, dance, opera, and symphonic performances from houses such as the The Globe Theatre of London, The Royal Shakespeare Company, the Young Vic, The Liverpool Everyman Theatre, & The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden. It also includes archival captures of Broadway productions and opera performances by the Spanish company Gran Teatre del Liceu. A wide selections of behind-the-scenes documentaries and teaching/learning resources to facilitate a deeper understanding of the works being presented are also available.
National Theatre Collection
National Theatre Collection brings the stage to life through access to high definition streaming video of world-class productions and unique archival material offering significant insight into theatre and performance studies. Through a collaboration with the U.K.'s National Theatre, this collection offers a range of digital performance resources never previously seen outside of the National Theatre’s archive.

Fair Use is broad because it includes all other materials that are not Creative Commons, and that our library does not have direct license to use. Interlibrary Loan is an additional resource in finding supplemental materals that can be used under fair use. Below are some helpful links to examples, information, and scenerios in better understanding fair use doctrine,

Interlibrary Loan at UWM
The home page for Interlibrary Loan at UWM. Interlibrary loan materials can be used and suplimented in course materials under fair use doctrine. Interlibrrary loan is a great place to find materials that we do not have direct access to.
ILLIad for Canvas and Classroom use
This link provides the information for using Interlibrary Loan materials in Canvas, and it additionally gives information on the fair use and copyright for interlibrary loan materials. .
Copyright and Fair Use UWM Libraries
The UWM Guide to Copyright and Fair Use Doctrine from UWM.
Common Scenerios for Fair Use
Here is a link to the California State University Long Beach library guide on fair use, This examples gives common scenerios on whether or not a situation may be considered fair use.

Incorporating low cost textbook options within Performing Arts courses

Instructors in the performing arts who want to reduce reliance on expensive textbooks and anthologies face some extra challenges: performed materials often have multiple levels of copyright involved: composer or playwright, performing ensemble, multiple performers. They also rely on the work of performers and institutions outside the university system who need to be compensated for their work. Music and video performances are only rarely provided in truly free and open access venues. But combining open educational resources and other copyright-compliant methods of access can reduce costs for students while respecting the rights of artists. The three main legal bases for distributing pre-existing material to your students are:

Open educational resources. Free materials with existing licenses that grant rights for broad use in educational contexts.
Paid licensing. Materials with existing licenses that grant limited rights for use by specific groups, like materials paid for by the library or through streaming licenses like Spotify.
Fair use doctrine. Legal protection for certain uses of copyrighted material without the creator's permission.