JCU Library

Find & Access Guides

Skip to Main Content

Open Educational Resources (OER)

A curation of materials relating to Open Educational Resources and their use

What is an OER?

Open Educational Resources can be learning, teaching or research materials in any format or medium (this might include textbooks, activities, courses, tests, software, audio, video and animation). They are defined by their availability to the general public to be freely used, reused, adapted, adopted and redistributed. The video above provides a good introduction to OER.

What are the benefits of OER to students, academics and educators?

OER have a range of educational benefits for a diverse group of people globally:

FLEXIBILITY

  • can be accessed anytime, anywhere and repeatedly, unlike commercial resources which may have conditions attached (e.g. a library resource where only two students can read at a time.)
  • may be customised by academics and educators to suit students
  • can complement and enhance existing educational materials
  • can be regularly updated and expanded to suit the changing requirements of individual courses
  • provide the potential for student collaboration and active learning
  • being able to cherry pick from different resources and only use what is relevant to you, rather than trying to make a single commercial textbook fit a course.
  • the ability to continually improve and fix mistakes found in learning materials and open textbooks

 

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUITY

  • Students have free access to high quality educational materials
  • can be customised to include local perspectives and those of marginalised or traditionally underepresented groups.
  • all students begin the course with immediate, equal access to the learning materials
  • the potential to build in accessibility features when creating OER

 

 

 

 

 

 

GLOBAL REACH

 

  • increased exposure and use of your educational materials because they are not trapped behind a paywall and a great opportunity to showcase innovation and talent within your local academic ecosystem and beyond.
  • Knowledge and expertise is shared globally, while ensuring that the creator of the materials is given credit.
  • the sharing of open resources contributes to open collegial culture both locally and globally
  • access to the global open education community through the sharing of resources can provide fresh ideas and inspiration

 

How do OER relate to Open Access?

OPEN ACCESS

Resources that are Open Access, while freely available to read, usually lack an open license and have some restrictions imposed on the alteration or adaptation of the content. Open Access works are usually scholarly, and are primarily intended to advance academic conversation and innovation. They might typically include journal article or scholarly books.

 

OER

The main difference between OER and Open Access materials lies in their use. While Open Access is free to read, OER are free to use. Depending on the individual license, the resource may be reused, revised, remixed, retained or redistributed. See below for more information.

 

Overview - Open Educational Resources - Library Guides at Victoria UniversityRetain
the right to make, own, and control copies of the content

Reuse
the right to use the content in a wide range of ways (e.g. in a class, in a study group, on a website, in a video)

Revise
the right to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself (e.g. translate the content into another language)

Remix
the right to combine the original or revised content with other open content to create something new (e.g. incorporate the content into a mashup)

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)

This material was created by David Wiley and published freely under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license at: opencontent.org/blog/archives/3221

What are some resources often confused with OER?

Open Access resources (mentioned above) are sometimes confused with OER but are not the same. Some other resources commonly confused with OER include:

  • Other resources that are free to read, but not to reuse. This might include library subscription resources which are subject to licence agreements and cannot be changed or redistributed.
  • Resources from the web that are copyrighted. Again, those these are free to access and to read, they do not have the same flexibility of reuse that OER do. They may only be used within the copyright exceptions of the country you are in.

It is important to always check the license conditions of the resource you want to use, and more information may be found on this on the Use OER page.

How do OER relate to UN Sustainable Development Goals?

OER potentially contribute to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:

  • Goal 4: Quality education - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
  • Goal 5: Gender equality - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
  • Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.
  • Goal 10: Reduced inequalities - Reduce inequality within and among countries.
  • Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions - Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
  • Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.

 

We acknowledge the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation and acknowledge Traditional Owners of the lands where our staff and students, live, learn and work.Acknowledgement of Country

Creative Commons Licence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International License, unless otherwise noted. Content from this Guide should be attributed to James Cook University Library. This does not apply to images, third party material (seek permission from the original owner) or any logos or insignia belonging to JCU or other bodies, which remain All Rights Reserved.

.