OER 101

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Definition

According to UNESCO (2017), OER refer to "teaching, learning and research materials in any medium, digital or otherwise, that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions" (para. 1).

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (2017) further defines Open Educational Resources as "teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and repurposing by others. OER include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge" (para. 7).

The video below provides a brief overview of OER, beginning with their definition and examples of material types. It goes on to discuss why there is a demand for OER, citing the need for content to support the adoption of Common Core State Standards, the expense of instructional materials, and the ease of online content sharing. Subsequently, it touches on OER-related concerns, namely those revolving around keeping student data private and lacking training when it comes to vetting OER (Education Week, 2017).

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History

While the development of OER can also be traced through the learning objects movement, English teacher Lauren McNeil's infographic below provides a history of OER through the lens of copyright law and licenses.

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Benefits

The primary function of Open Educational Resources concerns the human right to access high quality education (OER Commons, n.d.a). According to former U.S. Education Secretary John King, OER can increase educational equity by providing access to high quality, relevant, and updated content, regardless of one's physical location (Rivero, 2016).

Open Educational Resources empower educators by giving them greater curricular control, as they may tailor OER to meet the needs of their individual students instead of using purchased pre-packaged materials. OER can expand pedagogy and provide access to new ways of educating; for example, teachers can empower students and enrich their learning by engaging them in content creation, an act that moves students into the expert role. Furthermore, Open Educational Resources also help educators broaden their own professional learning, such as in their growing familiarity with learning standards and collaboration with other educators. Since Open Educational Resources are free, they give users more financial flexibility, allowing them to reallocate funds to support other areas of need--such as technology purchases--instead of pouring them into expensive instructional materials (The Council of Chief State School Officers, 2016).

Some evidence suggests that Open Educational Resources are frequently more successful in improving student academic performance than conventional materials and are connected to greater learner endurance (Salem, 2017). For instance, a study conducted by T. Jared Robinson, Lane Fischer, David Wiley, and John Hilton III (2014) analyzing the effects of open science textbook adoption on secondary student learning outcomes concluded that students who utilized open textbooks scored 0.65 points higher on state standardized science tests than students who used traditional textbooks. Another study that examined the effect of student-generated OER in a digital photography class at Mountain Heights Academy in Utah found that average course grades were statistically significantly higher when student-created OER were added to the curriculum than when the course had no student-created OER (Wiley, Webb, Weston, & Tonks, 2017).

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News

Click on the links below to read recent news articles regarding OER.

Debbie Sklar's (2017) Times of San Diego article "Grossmont College Partners with OpenStax to Promote Free Textbooks" (timesofsandiego.com/education/2017/06/16/grossmont-college-partners-with-openstax-to-promote-free-textbooks/) discusses Grossmont College's application for the 2017-2018 OpenStax Institutional Partnership Program being accepted due to the college's willingness to implement OER, particularly the utilization of free and peer-reviewed open textbooks. The article points out that in doing away with cost barriers for students and permitting unrestricted access to academic materials, Open Educational Resources improve the probability of students' successful course completion.

John Hageman's (2017) West Fargo Pioneer article "North Dakota legislators set study priorities for interim" (westfargopioneer.com/news/4276129-north-dakota-legislators-set-study-priorities-interim) addresses North Dakota legislators' rejection of various studies, including those regarding OER, likely due to budget cuts.

T. Keung Hui's (2017) The News & Observer article "Say goodbye to school textbooks. Wake County moving to free online materials" (newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article148374489.html) concerns Wake County school system's partnering with EL Education and the Mathematics Vision Project to adopt Open Educational Resources in lieu of printed textbooks. The article highlights the school system's consequent ability to shift funds from textbook purchases to professional development, namely training on the new materials, as well as the value and high quality of free online materials that are created by teachers, for teachers.

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Academic Resources

Click on the links below to read scholarly pieces regarding OER. Please note: For links preceded by an "*," article viewing requires a subscription to a database.

In his Educational Leadership article "Open Educational Resources: On the Web and Free" (http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar14/vol71/num06/Open-Educational-Resources@-On-the-Web-and-Free.aspx), Doug Johnson (2014) discusses how the confluence of new state social studies standards for Minnesota--and the subsequent need for new textbooks--as well as the implementation of a 1:1 tablet initiative led to his school district's movement toward OER. He also encourages teachers to take on the role of curators and provides a list of resources: Moodle, OpedEd, the Digital Public Library of America, the Library of Congress, Gooru, Creative Commons, and CK-12.

In encouraging districts to #GoOpen, Fran Kompar's (2016) Teacher Librarian article "The Trending Librarian" (*http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=119117886&site=ehost-live&scope=site) provides background and basic information regarding OER, with a particular focus on copyright and the role of Creative Commons therein. The author also emphasizes the role of the teacher librarian in OER implementation, encouraging school librarians to provide professional development--such as regarding copyright--and to join teams to examine and evaluate the quality of OER, curate Open Educational Resources, and choose a platform for open content delivery. A list of resources--OpenEd, Gooru, OER Commons, and CK-12--is also included.

Victor Rivero's (2016) Internet@Schools article "Open Educational Resources: Ensuring Equity of Access to Education Resources for All Students" (http://www.internetatschools.com/Articles/Editorial/Features/TOOLS-FOR-LEARNING---Open-for-Learning-Open-Educational-Resources-Ensuring-Equity-of-Access-to-Education-Resources-for-All-Students--114517.aspx) defines OER, discusses the realities of OER (such as the overwhelming nature of OER curation), and provides a list of resources: Creative Commons, Lumen Learning, The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), CK-12, Gooru, Khan Academy, OER Commons, Open Up Resources, and Cengage Learning. It also brings into focus the Williamsfield School District, which decided to #GoOpen.

Krista Welz's (2017) Knowledge Quest article "School Librarians and Open Educational Resources Aid and Implement Common Core Instructional Content in the Classroom" (*http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lls&AN=121512463&site=ehost-live&scope=site) defines OER; provides a background on Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and OER, including how CCSS adoption created the perfect storm to drive the OER movement; discusses the role of the school librarian as a leader, provider of professional development, and team member in the support of OER initiatives; describes the early adopters of OER; examines OER policies, barriers, and evaluation; and includes a helpful spreadsheet containing a lengthy list of OER sites.

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Books

Click on the book covers below to visit Amazon.com and access more information about these texts that address OER by clicking on the Amazon item description link.

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Social Media Presence & Blogs

Click on the links below to visit sites regarding OER.

#GoOpen is a Twitter hashtag regarding the OER adoption movement. You can search Twitter for it (https://twitter.com/hashtag/goopen) to view relevant Tweets.

Edutopia's (2017) Open Education Resources blog (edutopia.org/blogs/tag/open-education-resources) is provided by the George Lucas Educational Foundation and allows you to explore--either by browsing by most recent or most viewed--articles and discussions relating to OER. If you sign up, you can start discussions yourself. It also contains OER videos.

Some of the websites discussed on other pages--such as Creative Commons and Merlot II--host blogs concerning OER as well.

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Additional Videos

Click on the videos regarding OER below to learn more.

The video below discusses not only why Open Educational Resources are important in harnessing the power of the internet and democratizing education but also how open content is a natural evolution of education because education has always been about sharing. It also touches on copyright and licensing (Blake, 2012).

The video below offers a variety of voices and perspectives as to Open Educational Resources' changing the face and being the future of education. OER are defined, and their advantages--such as their providing opportunities for creation and collaboration--are discussed. Common threads include the following ideas: education is about people's desire to learn, and Open Educational Resources allow them to do so, even if they do not otherwise have learning opportunities; academic freedom is essential and fair; and Open Educational Resources allow for increased equity around the world, as they are accessible to people in every country (Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education, 2012).

In the video below, Matt Miller discusses the exorbitant costs of textbooks and how that money would be better spent in other ways, namely reinvesting in education's best resource, the classroom teacher, by providing much-needed time, tools, resources, and professional development. He also acknowledges that devices permit the utilization of OER now more than ever and asserts that joining the #GoOpen movement should be a priority (Tedx Talks, 2016).

The video below demonstrates the basic qualities of OER through a scenario in which, a few years ago, a professor who taught a climate change course decided to make it available online; people then shared the content with others in various geographic locations, even other countries, who then re-mixed, translated, revised, and reused the content. This illustrative example conveys that OER are important because sharing is important; Open Educational Resources help create quality educational content, cut costs, and give everyone--even the many who previously lacked it--access to knowledge, which is a right and a public good. Such benefits help explain why years later, schools began to open access to their materials, governments began encouraging the use of open textbooks, and some universities began making open courses available to people all over the world. Helpfully, the video offers closed captioning in a variety of languages, with the default being Spanish (Mireles, 2012).

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