What are Open Educational Resources (OER)?
Creative Commons defines OER as teaching, learning, and research materials that are either a) in the public domain or b) licensed in a manner that provides everyone with free and perpetual permission to engage in the 5R activities: retaining, remixing, revising, reusing, and redistributing the resources.
Why use OER?
- Affordability: OER can be used to lower costs of class materials for students
- Customizable: Adapt, update, or correct materials as needed to suit your class needs
- Academic Freedom: Choose from a variety of learning objects, materials, and technologies based on your specific course objectives
- Inclusivity: Incorporate interdisciplinary perspectives that might not be offered by a traditional textbook
- Collaboration: Work with colleagues around the globe on creation, adaptation, and use of OER
What makes OER Open?
Open Educational Resources are not only free: a truly open resource is one that you can not only access and use but one that grants you permission in perpetuity to use it in a variety of ways. The key elements that make a resource an OER are referred to as the 5 Rs:
- Retain: The right to make, own, and control copies of the content (e.g. download, duplicate, store, and manage)
- Reuse: The right to use the content in a variety 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 (e.g. translate the content to another language)
- Remix: The right to combine the original or revised content with other material 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)
OER at TAMU-CC
The Library supports faculty to find, adopt, adapt, or create OER into their courses. Learn more by reading our OER guide or emailing OER@tamucc.edu.
OER Faculty Stipends Program
Bell Library invites faculty to apply for our OER Faculty Stipends Program. Click here to learn more.