What are OER?
“OER are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use or re-purposing by others. Open educational resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.
Atkins, D.E., Brown, J.S. & Hammond, A.L. (February 2007). A Review of the Open Educational Resources (OER) Movement: Achievements, Challenges, and New Opportunities. Report to The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. p. 4.
"OER are assets that can be adjusted and which provide benefits without restricting the possibilities for others to enjoy them.”
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2007). Giving Knowledge for Free: The Emergence of Open Educational Resources. Paris: Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, OECD. p. 10.
Image Source: "oer_logo_EN_1" by Breno Trautwein is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Are you considering incorporating open resources into your course to save students money and improve teaching and learning? Watch this 6-minute video for some tips for finding Open Educational Resources to build or add to your classes.
Watch this short (2:22 minutes) animated video about open education and why it matters.
Want to learn more? "Paywall: The Business of Scholarship" is CC BY 4.0 Creative Commons licensed documentary on the subject, available to watch for free on Vimeo or to download. Runtime is 1 hour 4 minutes.
This guide contains materials derived from multiple works: "Faculty Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER)" by Highline College licensed under CC BY 4.0 ; "Austin Community College (ACC) Library Services Guide on Open Educational Resources" by Carrie Gits licensed under CC BY 4.0 ; and "OER - Open Educational Resources" by Portland Community College Library licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0.