OER Licenses
It is important to understand that OER is not immediately free to use and repurpose. OER is subject to licenses, which means that owners of a creative work permit others to reuse their work under specific terms. The reuse of a creative work follows the 5Rs:
Retain
Users have the right to make, archive, and ‘own’ copies of the content.
Reuse
Content can be reused in its unaltered form.
Revise
Content can be adapted, adjusted, modified or altered; Professors have the ability to change the information presented in the OER.
Remix
The original or revised content can be combined with other content to create something new.
Redistribute
Copies of the content can be shared with others in its original, revised, or remixed form.
Understanding Creative Common Licenses
Many OER resources are licensed through a Creative Commons license. This resource describes and informs on the different licenses available through the Creative Commons.
OER Definitions for Various Organizations
This Creative Commons Wiki provides definitions for many types of OER and explains their licensing.
The above image is a CCO Public Domain Dedication work. A transcript of the image can be found here: https://teaching.resources.osu.edu/node/872
Best Practices and Policy
A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER)
This resources includes making the case for OER, overview of open licenses, distance education, technology, OER mapping, etc.
Guide for Open Educational Resources (OER) in Higher Education, UNESCO
Provides Guidelines on OER for governments, higher education institutions, academic staff, student bodies, and accreditation bodies created by UNESCO.
This starter kit has been created to provide instructors with an introduction to the use and creation of open educational resources (OER). The text is broken into five sections: Getting Started, Copyright, Finding OER, Teaching with OER, and Creating OER.
Open Textbooks: The Billion-Dollar Solution
A report created by the Student Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG). This analyzes open textbook programs at Amherst, Kansas State University, Tacoma Community College, University of Minnesota, and the University of Maryland. It also presents challenges and policy recommendations for institutions, faculty, and policymakers.
A free self-paced course about all things OER, developed by the Austin Community College District.
Texas Toolkit for OER Course Markings (a living guide): Getting Started
a guide from UT at Arlington on how to implement OER course markings pursuant to Texas law.