Defining OER
Open Educational Resources (OER) are freely available learning materials that can be copied, edited, and shared to better serve all students. In some cases, that means you can download a resource and share it with colleagues and students. In other cases, you may be able to download a resource, edit it in some way, and then re-post it as a remixed work.
How do you know your options? Usually, OER are openly licensed (for example, via Creative Commons — more on that a little later), to let you know how the material may be retained, reused, revised, remixed, and redistributed. For educators, this means that you may freely and legally use these materials at no cost and without needing to ask permission. For students, this means that they can use the learning materials that you select or create at no cost and that were tailored personally to their learning needs, goals, and outcomes.
The Open Education movement is rooted in the human right to access high-quality education. This movement aims to reduce costs by providing access to openly licensed content. In addition, the movement aims to expand opportunities to participate in creating and sharing education and to expand the existing bodies of knowledge to include more BIPOC perspectives and voices.
Learn More
First, please watch this brief video (1:39) which provides a more detailed and eloquent definition of OER:
The 5 Rs
The most important aspect of “open,” whether open content, open educational resources, or open pedagogy, is the permissions. In order to allow for participation in a wide range of activities that empower students and faculty alike, OER should be licensed to give users free and perpetual permission to engage in what are known as the 5R activities:
- Retain – the right to make, own, and control copies of the content (e.g., download, duplicate, store, and manage)
- Reuse – the right to use the content in a wide range of ways (e.g., in a class, in a study group, on a website, in a video)
- Revise – the right to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself (e.g., translate the content into another language)
- Remix – the right to combine the original or revised content with other material to create something new (e.g., incorporate the content into a mashup)
- Redistribute – the right to share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others (e.g., give a copy of the content to a friend)
