John B. Cade Library OER Learning Modules: Module 1 Introduction to OER

The term "open educational resources" was first used by UNESCO at the 2002 Open Courseware in Higher Education forum. The UNESCI OER Recommendation was created in 2019 and was the international framework that sets standards for open resources. The recommendations included creating equitable and inclusive materials and strengthening international cooperation for building them. ^[1] 

The open education movement was originally inspired by the open-source community, with a focus on broadening access to information through the use of free, open content. As Bliss and Smith explain in their breakdown of the history of open education:

“Much of our attention focused on OER’s usefulness at providing knowledge in its original form to those who otherwise might not have access. The implicit goal was to equalize access to disadvantaged and advantaged peoples of the world – in MIT’s language, to create ‘a shared intellectual Common.’” ^[2]

Following the rise of open education in the early 2000s, growing interest in MOOCs, open courseware, and particularly open textbooks catapulted the movement to new heights; however, there are still many instructors who have never heard of open educational resources (OER) today.^[3]

1. Open Education Handbook/History of the OER movement - Wikibooks, open books for an open world. (n.d.). https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Open_Education_Handbook/History_of_the_OER_movement
2. Bliss, T.J. and Smith, M. "A Brief History of Open Educational Resources." In Open: The Philosophy and Practices that are Revolutionizing Education and Science, edited by Rajiv Jhangiani and Robert Biswas-Diener, 9-27. London: Ubiquity Press, 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/bbc.b. ↵
3. Weller, Martin. The Battle for Open: How Openness Won and Why it Doesn't Feel Like Victory. London: Ubiquity Press, 2014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/bam ↵

The most comprehensive definition of OER available today is provided by the Hewlett Foundation:

“Open Educational Resources are 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.”^[1]

1. William & Flora Hewlett Foundation. "Open Educational Resources." Accessed August 19, 2022. https://hewlett.org/strategy/open-educational-resources/ ↵

If a resource is not free or openly licensed, it cannot be described as an OER. For example, most materials accessed through the library’s subscriptions cannot be altered, remixed, or redistributed. These materials require special permission to use and therefore cannot be considered “open.”

Additionally, materials that are under full copyright, or which are not accompanied by a specific license allowing anyone to copy, adapt and share them, are not Open Educational Resources (OER Mythbusting!, n.d.). 

Table 1: Components of an OER

1. Elder, A. (2019, July 1). Introduction to Open Educational Resources – The OER Starter        Kit. Pressbooks. https://iastate.pressbooks.pub/oerstarterkit/chapter/introduction/

2. What an OER is and what it is not | OER Mythbusting! (n.d.-b). https://mythbusting.oerpolicy.eu/what-are-oer-and-what-they-are-not/

Experience

1. Get connected and become a part of the OER movement community:

• Go to OER Commons. Join and sign up to receive e-news.
• Go to Open Learn. Browse topics, register to become a part of the OER community, sign up for the newsletter, and tell one friend about Open Learn.
• Go to Rice University’s Connexions to read the feedback from users and then register.

2. Read at least one of the following about the OER movement:

• Models for Sustainable Open Educational Resources by Stephen Downes, January 30, 2006
• The Current State of Open Educational Resources by David Wiley, February 3, 2006
• Open Educational Resources: Toward a New Educational Paradigm by Petrides & Jimes, October 2006

Reflect

1. Once you have joined OER Commons, make your own posting to the OER Matters Discussions area. Click on OER Matters Teaching and Learning Forum to answer the following question:

"Opening up new avenues for teachers and learners to select and augment learning resources that meet one’s unique teaching and learning needs is the basic mission behind OER. But how do OER impact teaching and learning and what are the issues that we need to take into consideration?""

Apply

Now that you have a general idea of what OER is all about, you should be ready to make a couple of decisions:

1. Do you want to learn more about OER?

• Decide which lessons you want to complete in this tutorial.
• Decide the order in which you want to complete the lessons that makes the most sense for your learning needs.

2. Do you want to get the most out of this learning experience?

• Invite a colleague to join you in this tutorial.
• Complete all the exercises listed in the Activity component of each Lesson.