Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research materials that are either in the public domain or openly licensed, allowing free and ongoing permission to reuse and adapt the content. OER can include open textbooks, readings, videos, assignments, lab activities, slides, assessments, course modules, and other learning materials. What makes OER different is not just being “free to access,” but having an open license that grants permissions to use, revise, and share the material.

Why use OER?

• Cost savings for students
  • OER are free to access, reducing or eliminating textbook costs.
• Immediate access
  • Students can access materials on day one.
• Teaching flexibility
  • Instructors can tailor materials to course outcomes, local context, and student needs.
• Sharing and collaboration
  • Open licenses support continuous improvement and re-use across courses and institutions.

Understanding open licenses and the 5Rs

The “open” in OER is often described as free + permissions. Those permissions are commonly summarized as the 5R activities: retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute.

• Retain: keep and control copies of the content
• Reuse: use the content in a range of ways
• Revise: adapt or modify
• Remix: combine with other open content to create something new
• Redistribute: share copies of the original, revised, or remixed content

Many OER use Creative Commons licenses, which clearly communicate how a resource can be used and shared. 

Adopt, adapt, or create

There are multiple ways to bring OER into your course. You can start small by adding a single open reading or video, or redesign a course around an open textbook.

• Adopt: use an existing OER as-is
• Adapt: revise or remix an OER to better fit your course
• Create: author and share new open materials