Open Educational Resources
What are Open Educational Resources (OER)?
As the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation explains, 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 and repurposing by others. OER include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.”
Why Use OER?
OER are about more than free or low cost textbooks and course materials (though that is nothing to sneeze at). OER give faculty access to free, customizable learning materials, tools for better student engagement, and opportunities to learn and share with a far-reaching community of educators. For students, in addition to the potential cost savings, OER provide supplementary resources to enhance the educational experience and extend learning beyond the classroom.
Learn about OER copyright and Open Licensing here.
Resources
FEATURED OER
MIT Open Courseware
The Khan Academy
WolframAlpha
OER ARTICLES
Resources (OER)
The 5 Rs of Open Content
7 Things You Should Know About
Open Education Resources
The Cost and Quality of Open
Textbooks