Open Educational Resources

Open education focuses on resources, tools, and practices adapted in a digital environment that are free of financial and technical barriers. This movement seeks to improve access to and support of more affordable, effective teaching and learning with a foundation of Open Educational Resources. According to the Open Education Consortium, sharing is one of the most basic characteristics of education: sharing knowledge, insights and information with others, upon which new knowledge, skills, ideas and understanding can be built.

UNESCO defines Open Educational Resources (OER) as learning, teaching and research materials in any format and medium that reside in the public domain or are under copyright that have been released under an open license, that permit no-cost access, re-use, re-purpose, adaptation and redistribution by others. Using OER creates opportunities for increased student learning while breaking down barriers of affordability and accessibility. The five R's of open educational resources are the following:

Retain: Make, own, and control a copy of the resource (e.g., download and keep your own copy).

Revise: Edit, adapt, and modify your copy of the resource (e.g., translate into another language).

Remix: Combine your original or revised copy of the resource with other existing material to create something new (e.g., make a mashup).

Reuse: Use your original, revised, or remixed copy of the resource publicly (e.g., on a website, in a presentation, in a class).

Redistribute: Share copies of your original, revised, or remixed copy of the resource with others (e.g., post a copy online or give one to a friend).

• Achieving the Dream is a three year OER degree initiative spanning 38 community colleges in 13 states reaching nearly 160,000 students and 2,000 instructors.
• Inside Higher Ed presented this 2018 article on the truth about OER and solutions for struggling faculty members.
• Four regional higher education compacts, the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, New England Board of Higher Education, Southern Regional Education Board, and Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, share findings and conclusions from a 2020 national environmental scan and gap analysis of OER adoption.
• A study of efficacy and perception, involving 121,168 college students or faculty, examines OER in higher education settings and the perceptions of students and/or instructors who have used OER.

• OER Commons: This digital public library and collaboration platform offers a curriculum framework for instructors at all levels to identify high-quality OER, collaborate around their creation, and use it to address the needs of each learner.
• SPARC: As a non-profit advocacy organization, SPARC supports systems for open and equitable research and education with the intention of everyone having access to the knowledge that shapes our world.
• Creative Commons: This international nonprofit organization works to develop practical solutions in sharing knowledge that is contextual, inclusive, just, equitable, reciprocal, and sustainable.
• OpenStax: Part of Rice University, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable corporation, OpenStax is an educational initiative seeking to improve access and learning for everyone through philanthropic partnerships and alliance with other educational resource companies.
• Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources: CCCOER provides and promotes resources, support, and opportunities for equitable access to education, particularly for underserved students while supporting academic freedom and faculty choice of openly licensed curriculum materials.