Open educational resources (OER) are materials available at little or often no cost and can be used for teaching, learning, or research. These resources may include: textbooks, readings, videos, simulations, games, and course content such as quizzes/exams, assignments, and assessment tools (EDUCAUSE, 2010). OER materials are often digital and available to faculty under a Creative Commons or similar usage license. OERs are part of the Open Solutions movement that seeks to ensure that information is freely and fairly available for everyone (UNESCO, 2022).
OER offer an alternative to expensive course materials for students and provide instructors materials that they can tailor to their own needs.
This library resource guide is intended to be resource for faculty members and graduate students interested in learning more about OER and to help them find materials that might be used in their courses.
OER materials are released under an open license granting permission for everyone to do the 5Rs (Retain, Reuse, Revise, Remix, Redistribute).
Retain – the right to make, own, and control copies of the content
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 open content 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)
