How do you tell if a free resource is "open?"
The key distinguishing characteristic of OER is its intellectual property license and the freedoms the license grants to others to share and adapt it. These freedoms include:
- Retain – the right to make, own, and control copies of the content (e.g., download, duplicate, store, and manage)
- Reuse – the right to use the content in a wide range of ways (e.g., in a class, in a study group, on a website, in a video)
- Revise – the right to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself (e.g., translate the content into another language)
- Remix – the right to combine the original or revised content with other material to create something new (e.g., incorporate the content into a mashup)
- Redistribute – the right to share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others (e.g., give a copy of the content to a friend)
This material is adapted from "Defining the 'Open' in Open Content and Open Educational Resources" by David Wiley, which was published freely under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
If a lesson plan or activity is not clearly tagged or marked as being in the public domain or having an open license, it is not OER. The most common way to release materials as OER is through Creative Commons copyright licenses (pictured on the right).
Creative Commons licenses are customizable copyright licenses that work alongside copyright law to give explicit permission for users to reuse items under specific circumstances. Applying a Creative Commons license to your work changes the familiar "All rights reserved" to "Some rights reserved," with explicit rules about what can and cannot be done with the item. See our Copyright Support page for more help with this topic.
What is the difference between OER and other free online resources?
All OER are free to access, but not all free resources are OER. What makes OER different is their copyright licenses. Free-but-not-open resources cannot be edited without obtaining permission from the copyright holder.
Can I get OER in print?
Most OER start as digital files, but like traditional resources, OER can be made available to students in both digital and print formats. Sometimes the OER publisher will offer a printed and bound textbook that can be ordered directly from their website or purchased through the ISU Book Store. Because students are only paying for the actual print and distribution costs, the price of the printed OER will still be substantially lower than that of a commercial textbook. If a print copy isn't available, or if you are using your own compilation of OER, the ISU Book Store can work with you to create a course pack.
What is the difference between OER and Immediate Access texts?
The Open & Affordable Education Committee supports OER as well as other affordable course content options, such as Immediate Access resources. Immediate Access is a program between the ISU Book Store, faculty, and publishers. This program allows instructors to use their usual publisher-provided textbooks to their students at a discounted rate by opting in all students to pay for their books through their U-Bill. The Immediate Access program is called "immediate" because it ensures that all students have access to content digitally on the first day of class.
Want to explore other affordable course material options for your course? Check out our page: Explore Other Affordable Content
Why Use OER?
OER have been shown to increase student learning while breaking down barriers of affordability and accessibility. Feldstein et al. (2012) conducted a research study at Virginia State University, where OER were implemented across nine different courses in the business department. Researchers found that students in courses that used OER more frequently had better grades and lower failure and withdrawal rates than their counterparts in courses that did not use OER.
How do OER help educators and students?
Open educational resources give instructors the ability to adapt instructional resources to the individual needs of their students, ensure that resources are up-to-date, and ensure that cost is not a barrier to accessing high-quality standards-aligned resources. OER are already being used across America in K-12, higher education, workforce training, informal learning, and more.
Hilton, J. (2016) Open educational resources and college textbook choices: a review of research on efficacy and perceptions synthesizes the results of 16 studies that examine either (1) the influence of OER on student learning outcomes in higher education settings or (2) the perceptions of college students and instructors of OER. Results across multiple studies indicate that students generally achieve the same learning outcomes when OER are utilized and simultaneously save significant amounts of money.
Other advantages of using OER include:
- Expanded access to learning. Students anywhere in the world can access OER at any time, and they can access the material repeatedly.
- Scalability. OER are easy to distribute widely with little or no cost.
- Augmentation of class materials. OER can supplement textbooks and lectures where deficiencies in information are evident.
- Enhancement of regular course content. For example, multimedia material such as videos can accompany text. Presenting information in multiple formats may help students to more easily learn the material being taught.
- Quick circulation. Information may be disseminated rapidly (especially when compared to information published in textbooks or journals, which may take months or even years to become available). Quick availability of material may increase the timeliness and/or relevance of the material being presented.
- Showcasing of innovation and talent. A wide audience may learn of faculty research interests and expertise. Potential students and donors may be impressed, and student and faculty recruitment efforts may be enhanced.
- Ties for alumni. OER provide an excellent way for alumni to stay connected to the institution and continue with a program of lifelong learning.
- Continually improved resources. Unlike textbooks and other static sources of information, OER can be improved quickly through direct editing by users or through solicitation and incorporation of user feedback. Instructors can take an existing OER, adapt it for a class, and make the modified OER available for others to use.
Why do I need permission to use a work?
When a work is protected by copyright, the holder of the copyright is given a set of exclusive rights over the work, including the right to copy, distribute, perform, and adapt the work. These rights are subject to a number of exceptions, including Fair Use and exemptions for classroom teaching. Unless your use of a work meets the requirements of one of these exceptions, copyright law requires you to get permission from the copyright holder before using their work.
If I want to use a work for educational purposes, isn't that Fair Use?
Possibly, but not necessarily. Fair Use allows limited use of copyrighted works without requiring permission from the copyright holder for a number of educational purposes -- commentary, criticism, research, teaching, or scholarship. However, it is important to remember that an educational purpose alone does not mean that your use will be protected as Fair Use. Copyright law sets forth a number of fact-specific criteria that must be evaluated to determine whether a use is "Fair." Please refer to the Fair Use section of this guide for more information.
Do I need permission to show a movie in class?
No, you do not need permission from the copyright holder to show a copyrighted movie in a face-to-face (i.e., not online) classroom. This is because copyright law provides for a specific exemption that allows performances or displays of works during face-to-face teaching activities at nonprofit educational institutions, whether in the classroom or in a "similar place devoted to instruction." This exemption applies not just to movies, but to any copyrighted work. This exemption does not extend to situations where you have reason to believe that the copy of the work was "not lawfully made," e.g., an illegally copied DVD.
What about to make copies of course readings for my students?
Before making copies, you should check whether course readings can be made available through direct links by a library resource -- if the material you wish to distribute already has been licensed by the library, you will not need to worry about getting permission. However, if the work you wish to distribute has not been licensed by the library, then you should consult the four factors of fair use prior to disseminating the materials.
Do I need permission to link to materials on the web?
Generally, providing links to materials on the web does not require the permission of the copyright holder. It is a good rule of thumb to use linking to provide access to copyrighted materials whenever possible, rather than posting PDFs or otherwise reproducing web materials.
Do I need to get permission in writing?
You should make a habit of getting permission in writing whenever possible. Having a record of the grant of permission offers you greater protection should questions, or disputes arise in the future. Depending on how you plan to use the work, you may need documentary evidence to show others that you have the permission of the copyright holder. For example, many publishers will require written proof of permission in order to include copyrighted works in your own publication.
Learn More
Additional resources are pulled into a list below:
- The OER Starter Kit: This starter kit has been created to provide instructors with an introduction to the use and creation of open educational resources (OER). The text is broken into five sections: Getting Started, Copyright, Finding OER, Teaching with OER, and Creating OER. A workbook version with accompanying worksheets is also available.
- Accessibility Toolkit – 2nd Edition: The goal of the Accessibility Toolkit – 2nd Edition is to provide resources for each content creator, instructional designer, educational technologist, librarian, administrator, and teaching assistant to create a truly open textbook—one that is free and accessible for all students.
- Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for OER: Educators can apply fair use confidently within a consistent legal framework while authoring, adapting, and adopting open educational resources. The Code describes an approach to reasoning the application of fair use to issues both familiar and emergent.
- Adaptation Guide: A reference to adapting or revising an open textbook: The Adaptation Guide is a practical reference about how to customize — or adapt — an open textbook so that it better fits your needs in the classroom and elsewhere. This guide defines the term adaptation and discusses reasons for revising a book, why this is possible with an open textbook, and the challenges involved.
- The Rebus Guide to Publishing Open Textbooks (So Far): This is a living repository of collective knowledge, written to equip all those who want to publish open textbooks with the resources they need. Representing two years of collaboration, innumerable conversations, and a wide range of collective knowledge and experience, the Guide is a book-in-progress and will evolve and grow over time.
- A Guide to Making Open Textbooks with Students: A handbook for faculty interested in practicing open pedagogy by involving students in the making of open textbooks, ancillary materials, or other Open Educational Resources. This is a first edition, compiled by Rebus Community, and we welcome feedback and ideas to expand the text.
Attribution
The image used for the button on the Resources & Support page leading to this page was retrieved from LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash.
This page is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 International License. It was adapted by Abbey Elder from FAQ: Open Educational Resources [pdf] by Nicole Allen and Kirkwood Community College's OER FAQ.