This guide is designed to increase awareness about Open Educational Resources (OER) by describing what they are and offering instructors a starting place to begin incorporating them into their teaching and learning.
In short, Open Educational Resources (OER) are educational materials that are free and open for anyone to use. These may include online modules, software, video, course materials, textbooks or, even, full courses. Most take advantage of creative commons licenses that encourage sharing and customization. Incorporating Open Educational Resources (OER) into your courses is an easy and effective means of making them affordable to your students.
Though still in its infancy, the OER movement continues to have a significant impact on students, faculty, and the way teaching is occurring. OER can overcome barriers to students' access to course materials while also reducing the cost of higher education and providing opportunities for faculty to customize materials to their curriculum and to students' needs, potentially increasing student success.
