What are OERs and Why Use Them?

Open Educational Resources (OERs) refer to any type of educational materials that are published under a public domain such as Creative Commons (CC) and General Public License GNU. This openly licensed content can come in the form of:

  1. Textbooks
  2. Videos
  3. Labs
  4. Courseware

Content under a CC license has 5 key points that can describe how it can be used:

  1. Reuse – Content can be reused in its unaltered original format
  2. Retain – Copies of content can be retained for personal archives or reference
  3. Revise – Content can be modified or altered to suit specific needs
  4. Remix – Content can be adapted with other similar content to create something new
  5. Redistribute – Content can be shared with anyone else in its original or altered format

The 5 Rs of OER, retian, reuse, revise, remix, redistibute

There are a number of benefits associated with the use of OERs for both faculty and students. For faculty, using OERs can provide resources for little to no cost, have content custom made for their course, and while doing so spread and develop their professional career. For students, OERs are free, readily available, and can be used beyond the conclusion of the course.

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Media Attributions

  • 5Rs-7(transparent)

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Making Open Educational Resources: A Guide for Students by Students Copyright © by Ashlyne O'Neil; Jykee Pavo; Mikayla Bornais; Tariq Al-Rfouh; Chris Nardone; Elijah Annoh-Waithe; Lawrence Villacorte; Lorenzo Pernasilici; Marianne Kantati; Mitchel Macmillan; Mohamed Eldabagh; Norman Ha; Devin Wacheski; Anas Al-Chalabi; Dave Cormier; Brandon Mailloux; Ghanem Ghanem; Kamaal Kusow; Kristen Swiatoschik; Patrick Carnevale; Rana Kilani; Steven Shlimoon; and Zain Raza is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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