OER

Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research materials that are freely accessible and openly licensed for use, reuse, adaptation, and redistribution. They are designed to reduce barriers to education by allowing instructors and students to customize content for local needs and contexts, rather than relying solely on traditional, commercially published materials. OER materials are commonly released under licenses such as Creative Commons or other open licenses that permit derivative works and redistribution.

Types of OER include textbooks, course readings, lesson plans, syllabi, lecture videos, simulations, assessments, and sometimes software tools. They can exist as full courses, modular units, or standalone resources, and may be hosted in repositories, institutional libraries, or teaching platforms.

Licensing is a key feature of OER. Open licenses typically require attribution and may allow adaptation and commercial use, depending on the license. This explicit permission framework distinguishes OER from other freely available content and supports reuse across different educational settings.

Access and impact vary, but OER generally aim to lower costs for students, broaden access to educational materials, and enable multilingual or culturally relevant adaptations. They support flexible teaching modalities, including online, blended, and competency-based learning, and can contribute to collaborative curriculum development.

Quality, sustainability, and policy considerations are ongoing concerns. Quality assurance practices, version control, and metadata standards help with discovery and evaluation. Sustainability depends on ongoing funding, contributor communities, and institutional support. International bodies and governments have promoted OER through policy initiatives, funding programs, and capacity-building efforts.

Notable examples include open textbooks, publicly available course materials, and repositories that aggregate OER for various disciplines. Studies on outcomes show potential cost savings and learning benefits, though results vary by context and implementation.