The cost of textbooks and other course materials can be a major barrier for students who cannot afford required or supplemental resources. Luckily, as the online world grows more vast, open educational resources (OER) become increasingly available. This resource was designed to help you (i) better understand the benefits to using open educational resources, and (ii) locate available open resources that can be used in online courses.
In Practice
OER are openly licensed texts or other works that are meant to be used in an educational setting. OER includes a wide range of materials such as textbooks, videos, and even full courses. OER are openly licensed, meaning the author allows others to utilize and repurpose the material without asking for permission. This is in contrast to non-openly licensed materials, which can only be used under a user’s right, like fair use, or with permission from the copyright holder.
OER can be found in many different places, including OpenStax and OER Commons. The Center for Academic Innovation has a very helpful guide on Finding Usable Materials that can help you find a variety of open content.
If you have content you would like to allow other people to reuse, include a Creative Commons license on your materials. You can specify the terms of the license by picking the option that best suits your needs. For example, if you do not want your resource to be used by others for commercial purposes, you can apply a CC BY-NC (attribution noncommercial) license. The Creative Commons License Chooser can guide you through the different options for your work.
Keep in mind you can only legally apply a license to a work when you hold the copyright. You cannot apply a license to someone else’s work without their explicit permission.
FAQs
What are the benefits to using OER?
There are many benefits to using OER. Many instructors use OER to replace traditional textbooks as a way to help mitigate costs for students. The hope is more students will be able to acquire and engage with open readings regardless of financial status.
Beyond price, OER offer instructors more flexibility than a traditional textbook. OER are meant to be combined and remixed to create new works; instead of committing to one textbook, you can pull chapters from several to create something that works best for your specific needs. The best part? Your students will have access to these materials on day one.
If you’re unable to fully move to an OER textbook, you can find OER lesson plans, curricula, or other activities to supplement your course content. OER helps keep courses up to date, diverse, and adaptable for today’s higher education needs.
Is OER really free?
Yes! OER are specifically designed to increase access to content. There has been a major push for collaborative teaching and open resource practices, resulting in an abundance of free materials co-created and shared for educational purposes.
However, it is very important to remember that just because something is online for “free,” it is not automatically an OER. You should look for an open license (like a Creative Commons license) on the work. Typical license terms include an attribution requirement, a limit to non-commercial uses only, and restrictions on how the work can be changed. You are required to follow the terms of the license, so read it closely.
How can I tell if something is an OER?
Simply check the resource’s license to ensure it is labeled for reuse. Most OER use Creative Commons licenses. Creative Commons licenses are an easy way for creators to tell other people how they can use their content. The licenses come in a variety of types that allow the creator to pick the license that best suits their needs. Keep an eye out for phrases such as ‘public domain’, ‘Creative Commons’, and ‘open access’ or their icons.
Here are a few quick search tips for popular media types:
- YouTube Videos:
- Click “Filter” on your YouTube search
- Under “Features” select “Creative Commons”
- Google Images:
- Search for the material you want
- Click “Tools”
- Under “Usage Rights” select “Creative Commons License” in the drop down menu; your search will then show only openly licensed images
How can I tell if something is an OER?
Simply check the resource’s license to ensure it is labeled for reuse. Most OER use Creative Commons licenses. Creative Commons licenses are an easy way for creators to tell other people how they can use their content. The licenses come in a variety of types that allow the creator to pick the license that best suits their needs. Keep an eye out for phrases such as ‘public domain’, ‘Creative Commons’, and ‘open access’ or their representation by their logos.
How do I find OER?
OER can be found just about anywhere on the Internet. The Center for Academic Innovation has a very helpful guide on Finding Usable Materials that can help you find a variety of open content.