Open Educational Resources: About OERs

This LibGuide is designed to introduce Open Educational Resources (OERs) to the University community.   

Open educational resources (OERs) are defined as "resources for teaching, learning, and research that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others."  William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Oregon.gov defines OER as "openly licensed teaching, learning, and research resources (e.g., textbooks, videos, and images) that the public has the legal permissions to use, share, and build upon.  OER are available for free online or in print at low cost."

Using open textbooks or open course materials benefits students in a variety of ways, including:

• reducing the cost of education because the course materials are free or greatly reduced in cost;
• creating a positive impact on academic performance because students have access to the course materials;
• allowing multimedia elements such as images, videos, and podcasts within the content to enhance learning; and
• facilitating quick updating to respond to changes in knowledge.

Armellini, A., & Nie, M. (2013). Open educational practices for curriculum enhancement. Open Learning, 28(1), 7–20.

Clinton, V. (2018). Savings without sacrifice: A case report on open-source textbook adoption. Open Learning, 33(3), 177–189.

Colvard, N. B., Watson, C. E., & Hyojin P. (2018). The impact of open educational resources on various student success metrics. International Journal of Teaching & Learning in Higher Education, 30(2), 262–276.

Feldstein, A., Martin, M., Hudson, A., Warren, K., Hilton, J., III, & Wiley, D. (2012). Open textbooks and increased student access and outcomes. European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning, 2.

Young, J. R. (2015, July 9). In students' minds, textbooks are increasingly optional purchases. The Chronicle of Higher Education.

A collection of definitions for Open Educational Resources by organizations involved in the support of these resources.

• 7 Things you Should Know about Open Educational Resources (EDUCAUSE)
• Open Educational Resources (OER): Overview and Definition (Education Week)
•  What are Open Educational Resources (OERs)? (UNESCO)
• OER Mythbusting (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition)