What are OER?
Open Educational Resources (OER) are free digital learning materials that may be reused and/or customized. They often use Creative Commons copyright licenses. OER can include:
- Textbooks
- Lesson plans
- Learning modules
- Lecture notes and slides
- Syllabi
- Assignments
- Podcasts and videos
- Training materials
True OER designed with Open Content are licensed in ways that allows free and perpetual permission to use any of the 5R activities:
- Retain - the right to make, own, and control copies of the content (e.g., download, duplicate, store, and manage)
- 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 material 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)
You should never pay for anything that calls itself OER.
How Do I Learn About OER?
Useful OER information provided by Halle Library at Eastern Michigan University
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