If something is available online, does it mean that it is an OER?
No! Remember that the key characteristic of OER is that you have the right to retain, reuse, revise, remix, or redistribute. If you found something online, make sure that it has an open license statement (usually Creative Commons). This is the only way that you will know if the material is, in fact, an OER.
Are free resources the same as OER?
No. OER are licensed in a way that allows you to modify and re-share them, but not all free resources have copyrights that allow that. While OERs are free, not all free resources are OER.
What kind of learning materials are regarded as OER?
"OER could be any type of educational resources (including textbooks, curriculum maps, course materials, video clips, multimedia applications, images, podcasts, and any other materials that have been designed for use in teaching and learning) that are openly licensed."
Are OERs really free?
Open Educational resources are free because they are available under free licenses and they allow anyone to use and modify them for free. They can be free in terms of cost for the end user though it doesn’t mean they are always totally gratis (source). If you want to purchase a print textbook, instead of a free digital one, you will have to pay for printing costs. Beware of companies that claim to offer OER for a subscription cost.
How do I choose an OER?
There isn't a single place where you can look for OER. Several websites are listed in this guide.
How can I share the OER I chose with my students?
What is an open textbook?
"An open textbook is an openly licensed textbook that is freely available to students, educators, and members of the public to reuse, revise, remix, retain, and redistribute. A type of open educational resource (OER), open textbooks are increasingly seen as a solution to the concerns with affordability and equitable access presented with commercial textbooks. The development of open textbooks is often funded by philanthropic organizations (e.g., the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation), government (e.g., British Columbia Ministry for Advanced Education, NY State), universities (e.g., Oregon State University), and professional organizations (e.g., Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction). Many open textbook projects, such as OpenStax and the BC Open Textbook Project, target the highest-enrolled undergraduate courses for maximum impact."
Can open textbooks be used offline?
Yes! Open textbooks can be saved and printed. While commercial textbooks often cost more than two hundred dollars each, Open Educational Resource textbooks, or just the portion a student needs, by contrast, can be printed directly by students for the cost of paper and ink or by commercial publishers seeking a profit at much lower prices, typically less than $30 each.
Why should I adopt an open textbook?
"Open textbooks relieve the burden on students of commercial textbook costs, providing more equitable access to education. A growing body of research shows that students using open textbooks tend to perform the same as or better than those using commercial textbooks (see Hilton, 2016 2, for a review), and that adopting open textbooks has the potential to improve course enrollment, persistence, and completion. Open licensing also permits faculty to adapt and contextualize open textbooks to suit their local context and pedagogical goals. Open textbooks thus have pricing, flexibility, and customization advantages over commercial textbooks".
This box was created by librarians at Touro College and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If you re-use, remix or link to this guide, it would be appreciated if you could notify our staff.