Open Educational Resources (OER)

What are Open Educational Resources (OER)?

Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and repurposing by others. OER includes full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge (via William and Flora Hewlett Foundation). 

The 5Rs of Open

The Open Education movement is built around the 5Rs of Open.

1. Retain - the right to make, own, and control copies of the content.
2. Reuse - the right to use the content in a wide range of ways (e.g. in class, in study group, on a public website, in a video.)
3. Revise - the right to adapt, modify, or alter the content itself (e.g., translate the content to another language.)
4. Remix - the right to combine the original or revised content with other open content to create something new (e.g., mashup.)
5. 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.)

Introduction to OER

Check out the OER Starter Kit by Abbey K. Elder from Iowa State University.

Attribution: "An Introduction to Open Educational Resources" by Abby Elder is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 International license. 

Why Use OER?

The cost of books and supplies at Roosevelt University for a single year is $1200. 

According to a report from the Public Interest Network, because of high textbook costs

• 63% of students skipped buying or renting a textbook
• 90% of students were worried forgoing these course materials would negatively impact their grade
• 19% chose classes based on their course materials cost 
• 25% worked extra hours
• 11% skipped meals 

Library Services for OER

Contact Barb Anderson, Robin Hofstetter, or Thom Jencks to get started.