Open Educational Resources

What is OER?

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]

Why use OER?

According to SPARC:

• Textbook costs should not be a barrier to education. 
• Students learn more when they have access to quality materials.
• Technology holds boundless potential to improve teaching and learning. 
• Better education means a better future. [2]

How do I know if a resource is an OER?

The key distinguishing characteristic of OER is its intellectual property license and the freedoms the license grants to others to share and adapt it. 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.[2]

[1] Definition from the Hewlett Foundation - CC License
[2] Adapted from SPARC Open Education - CC License

What the Library Can Do

• Help faculty identify existing OER materials, including alternatives to textbooks
• Make suggestions on where to search for OER
• Give options for ways that students can access resources
• Advise on use of Creative Commons licenses

What the Library Cannot Do

• Be completely knowledgeable of your subject area
• Make the final call on the quality of a resource
• Choose your textbook or course material
• Interfere with your academic freedom

Adapted from "OER Toolkit: Curating" by The Learning Portal College Libraries Ontario and is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

This LibGuide was created by Angela Davis, Pitt Community College and adapted for use by Paula Hopper, Director BCCC Library.  

Unless otherwise noted, OER: Open Educational Resources by Pitt Community College Library is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.