Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning and research materials in any medium – digital or otherwise – that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions.
--UNESCO
[They] 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 re-purposing by others. Open educational resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.
1. Textbook Prices
2. Control Over Course Content
3. Students' and Institutions' Performance
1. Decide that you want to!
Whether it be recorded lectures, assignments, or a textbook, decide that you want to supplement your course with OER material.
2. Decide what you need-- a textbook, asyllabus, assignments, lecture slides-- then start looking for it*
*a librarian can easily assist you with this step, if you'd like
3a. Does what you need exist? Great!
Plant that into your course! You've just either saved yourself some time/energy, or saved your students money!
3b. Did you find something close to what you needed, but not quite on the mark?
Use what you found as a base, and modify it as needed to meet your requirements!
3c. Does what you need not exist? Not even a librarian was able to find it?
Consider creating it yourself! It will take some time/energy to do it, but by creating an OER yourself, you'll be making something that suits your needs exactly, saves your students money, and becomes a potential resource for other students and teachers all over the world!
4. Don't forget to credit anyone whose OER inspired you, and to license your OER for sharing and re-use by others.
"What can I expect a librarian to do to help me find and use OER?"
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