About Open Educational Resources

Have you heard about Open Educational Resources (OER) and want to know more? This module presents an overview of what they are, why they matter to post-secondary education, and how to get started on your OER journey.

Defining OER

What are Open Educational Resources (OER)?

Open Educational Resources, or OER, refer to any teaching and learning materials that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open licence, such as a  Creative Commons Licence or  GNU General Public Licence, that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution with no or limited restrictions

OER Can Be: Full courses, learning objects, tests or any other tools, materials, or techniques for use in teaching, learning, and research.

Attribution:

OER Can Be and the associated images are a derivative of the  BCOER Poster by  BCcampus, licensed under CC BY 4.0

Definition of OER is from  UNESCO and  The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

The 5 R Permissions of OER

The “5 Rs” is a framework that encourages educators to capitalize on the unique rights associated with open content. These rights include the ability to:

  • Retain

Make and own copies of the work (e.g., download, duplicate, store, and manage)

  • Reuse

​​​​​​​Use the work in a wide range of ways (e.g., in a class, in a study group, on a website, in a video)

  • Revise

​​​​​​​Adapt, modify and translate the work (e.g., translate the content into another language)

  • Remix

​​​​​​​Combine it with another resource to make a new work (e.g., incorporate the content into a mashup)

  • Redistribute

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Share the work with others (e.g., give a copy of the content to a friend)

These rights, or permissions, are made possible through open licensing. For example, Creative Commons open licences help creators of OER retain copyright while allowing others to reproduce, distribute, and make some uses of their work.

Attribution:

The 5 Rs of OER is a derivative of the  5 R Permissions of OER by  Lumen Learning, licensed under  CC BY 4.0

What's Not OER

Below are four key categories of resources that are often considered to fall outside the definition of what is truly OER. Of course, the best mix of materials to meet any given set of learning outcomes will vary, and may include a combination of OER and the materials listed below. The key is knowing which resources will best meet your objectives for instruction, and for learners.

Through open licensing, the mission of the OER movement is to encourage the full range of the “5 Rs” permissions of use (see prior tab). Some argue that unless an open licence allows for adaptations, then the resource is not truly OER.

The image below positions  Creative Commons Licenses on a spectrum from more to less open. As depicted, resources that are licensed ND (No Derivatives), are in some cases considered not to be OER.

oer licenses

Attribution:

The Six Creative Commons Licences image is a derivative of an image in  Keynote Slides (November 2014) , by Cable Green, licensed under  CC BY 4.0.

Web-Based Resources that are Fully Copyrighted

All the available resources on the web that you may have access to, but that are not in the public domain, or do not carry a Creative Commons licence or other open licence, are not OER.

Subscription-Based Library Collections

A library’s subscription-based resources (journals, videos, and other materials), while accessible to students and faculty, are also not OER. This is because their use in education may be limited by licence agreements.

Open Access Resources

Open access is an important concept, which is related to – but distinct from – that of OER. Open access typically refers to research publications of some kind released under an open licence that allows for their free access and use (definition from  Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources, 2015).

Open access publications sometimes do not allow for adaptation and remixing. While open access articles are freely accessible, authors may retain their copyright and/or assign rights to publishers or users, so permission may be needed for copying and adaptation.

Why OER Matters

Benefits for faculty:

  • Increases student retention by reducing costs
  • Assures academic freedom to modify or add content to your specifications
  • Extends your academic profile
  • Provides more relevant and engaging materials for your students

Benefits for students:

  • Low cost or free
  • Easy to find and access -- even before classes start
  • More customised and relevant

Attribution:

"Benefits for faculty and students" is a modified derivative of the poster  “BCOER” by  BCcampus, licensed under CC BY 4.0

Quick Start Kit for Faculty

  • Start by looking for suitable resources that will contribute to your instructional objectives. Search dedicated OER repositories, including the  eCampus Open Textbook Library.
  • Consider your own materials that may be available offline, including lecture notes, handouts and other resources prepared previously. Be sure to check your  college's intellectual property policies to see if a material you’ve developed can be used and shared as OER, with an open licence.

Attribution:

The text in the Faculty Quick Start Kit is derivative of content in  OER Handbook for Educators, by  WikiEducator, licensed under  CC BY 4.0

  • With your collection of resources at your disposal, start piecing them together to create a learning resource or set of resources to meet your instructional objectives and learning outcomes.
  • This is a creative design process of building an educational resource from scratch and/or using components you have found.
  • As you compose, use OER authoring tools to support your work, such as the  Open Author Module Builder.

Attribution:

The text in the Faculty Quick Start Kit is derivative of content in  OER Handbook for Educators, by  WikiEducator, licensed under  CC BY 4.0

  • You may decide to use the OER that you compile “as is,” by printing or downloading them, or sharing the links with your students.
  • You may also decide to adapt the resources to local needs, or even revise them later based on feedback once implemented.
  • Your adaptations may involve minor corrections and improvements, remixing or adding new components, or even completely reworking the resources.

Attribution:

The text in the Faculty Quick Start Kit is derivative of content in  OER Handbook for Educators, by  WikiEducator, licensed under  CC BY 4.0

  • Through open licencing, OER opens up possibilities for new, more collaborative teaching and learning practices--because the materials can be used, adapted and shared within and across learning communities.
  • As you implement OER in your courses, take advantage of these possibilities. Pair up with a colleague on the implementation of OER, invite peer and student critique of the materials, or engage students as co-creators in OER-based assignments.

Attribution:

The text in the Faculty Quick Start Kit is derivative of content in  OER Handbook for Educators, by  WikiEducator, licensed under  CC BY 4.0

  • Make your resources available for your peers and the open education community to find, and to begin the life cycle again.
  • Add descriptors so that others can find and use the resource, and select the appropriate licence for any new/adapted resources.
  • Access online tools that can help you describe and share your resources. Try  OER Commons, or  LiveBinders
  • The library can also host faculty-created OERs in our library system

Attribution:

The text in the Faculty Quick Start Kit is derivative of content in  OER Handbook for Educators, by  WikiEducator, licensed under  CC BY 4.0

Tools

Attribution

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