OER are teaching, learning, and research resources released under an open license that permits free use, adaptation, and redistribution by others.
They can include:
- Course syllabi or curricula
- Course materials (handouts, assignments, learning objects)
- Lesson plans/modules
- Open textbooks
- Videos/media
- Games
- Tests, quizzes, or assessments
- Tutorials
- Software
OER allow users to:
- 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;
- 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, revise,d or remixed for
For more information about OER, checkout the OER Toolkit (College Libraries Ontario).
For an overview of how to get started using OER, see The OER Starter Kit by Abbey Elder, 2019.