OER: Open Educational Resources

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What is OER?

Open Educational Resources are teaching, learning and research materials in any medium – digital or otherwise – that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions. [1]

Why use OER?

Open educational resources give educators the ability to adapt instructional resources to the individual needs of their students, to ensure that resources are up-to-date, and to ensure that cost is not a barrier to accessing high-quality standards-aligned resources. [2]

According to SPARC:

• Textbook costs should not be a barrier to education. 
• Students learn more when they have access to quality materials.
• Technology holds boundless potential to improve teaching and learning. 
• Better education means a better future. [3]

How do I know if a resource is an OER?

The key distinguishing characteristic of OER is its intellectual property license and the freedoms the license grants to others to share and adapt it. If a lesson plan or activity is not clearly tagged or marked as being in the public domain or having an open license, it is not OER.[2]

[1] Definition from the Hewlett Foundation - CC License
[2] Adapted from OER Commons Help Center - CC License
[3] Adapted from SPARC Open Education - CC License

This LibGuide was created by Angela Davis, Instruction and Web Services Librarian, as part of professional development sessions held for the faculty of Pitt Community College on September 26 & 27, 2018. 

Reused and adapted here by permission.