This is a curated list of resources to help you understand, find, and use OER in the classroom.
OER stands for Open Educational Resources.
OER are openly licensed teaching and learning materials that you may use, adapt, and share at no cost to the student. They typically use Creative Commons licenses to grant these permissions to all users.
Textbooks are the best-known OER, but there are many different types of OER that you can incorporate into your instruction to supplement and complement other sources.
|
|
Many OER textbooks can be downloaded in a format that allows re-upload into Learning Management Systems!
Creative Commons (CC) licenses allow creators to release rights to others.
Without these licenses, copyright assumes "all rights reserved." CC Licenses, in comparison, might be considered "some rights reserved." Which rights are reserved depends on the type of CC license applied, but all of the licenses require detailed attribution.
Visit the guide linked below to learn about different types of licenses.
We often engage with materials that appear to be freely available. Unless they are openly licensed, they are not OER and should not be treated as such. Pay attention to these details to avoid copyright infringement and respect others' work.
Most websites, webpages, and online videos are not OER. They can be accessed for free but usually do not use a Creative Commons license to allow others permissions like redistributing or revising the material. It's best practice to link to online sources rather than re-upload to an LMS.
Library materials are not OER. Libraries purchase limited licenses to articles and books that allow them to be shared with a defined population, in this case the Aurora University students, staff, and faculty. Redistributing items from library databases is generally a breach of copyright and license agreements. These also do not allow other permissions like revising. It's best practice to link to online sources rather than re-upload to an LMS. In the library catalog, you may find OER or Open Access materials, but these are the exception, not the norm!
Open Access monographs and journals often are not considered OER in that they do not allow all the permissions expected of an OER. They may be free to access and even redistribute but look for a Creative Commons license for details about what particular rights are permitted. For example, there are typically restrictions on remixing or revising.
