Open Educational Resources (OER) are learning, teaching and research materials in any format and medium that reside in the public domain or are under copyright that have been released under an open license, that permit no-cost access, re-use, re-purpose, adaptation and redistribution by others. For example, instructors may download the material, tailor it to one’s course, save a copy locally to share with one’s students and share it back out with attribution. OER can include textbooks, course materials and full courses, modules, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge. An open source (or open) textbook is a textbook which is OER.
Within the bounds of Creative Commons licensing there are 5 key points to consider when using OERs:
Reuse - Content can be reused in its unaltered original format
Retain - Copies of content can be retained for personal archives or reference
Revise - Content can be modified or altered to suit specific needs
Remix - Content can be adapted with other similar content to create something new
Redistribute - Content can be shared with anyone else in its original or altered format
Image from BCOER Librarians
There are many reasons for using OERs in learning and teaching.
For teaching staff, OERs can supplement and add value to existing curriculum resources.
At the same time, it can reduce the cost of education for your students (reducing financial stress by removing textbook purchases).
For students, using OERs can expose students to a wider range of digital learning opportunities in the form of open texts, open images, open courseware, and self-assessment tools. According to JISC, learners can benefit from:
Watch video below:
This video is part of Open Life Sciences Programe and the subtitles are available in Arabic and English. The OLS program is for people interested in applying open principles in their work and becoming Open Science ambassadors in their communities. Please cite: Malvika Sharan, Emmy Tsang, Yo Yehudi, Bérénice Batut, Carlos Martinez, Helena Rasche, Hao Ye, Esther Plomp, Andre Maia Chagas, Georgia Aitkenhead, Suzanne lwai, Otis Smith, Emma Anne Harris, Thomas Mboa, Alex Holinski, Zulidyana Rusnalasari, Nelsy Mtsweni, Rowland Mosbergen, Iratxe Puebla, … Anelda van der Walt. (2021, September 19).