Open and Affordable Course Materials

The concept of Open Educational Resources (OERs) derives from the larger Open Education movement. Creative Commons provides a succinct definition of open education:

Open education is an idea, a set of content, practices, policy, and community which, properly leveraged, can help everyone in the world access free, effective, open learning materials for the marginal cost of zero.

Within the Minnesota State system, you will also hear the terms "textbook affordability," or "zero cost materials" in relation to OERs and open education. Or, you may have heard about Z-Degrees, where the "z" then stands for "zero cost." You may be the most familiar with the idea of "open textbooks." OERs are not solely limited to textbooks, however. Here is another brief definition, this time from the Creative Commons Wiki:

Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research materials that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others.

So, OERs can be anything from textbooks, to videos and tutorials, to modules, to entire open courses. Note, however, that to be labeled a proper "OER," there are criteria that materials need to meet. Not all affordable/low-cost materials are OERs.

Yes, first and foremost, OERs contribute towards equitable education through increased affordability: OERs are open, so they are free of cost/zero-cost. Purchasing textbooks is one of the most expensive parts of being a student. Even in the event that a student wishes to have a print-copy of an open textbook, the cost of printing--as through a university print shop--will normally be lower than the market alternative. 

Affordability is not the sole benefit of OERs, however. As a faculty member, you may have experienced a sense of confinement working with traditional textbooks. Communities of practice around OERs also seek to address this ongoing issue.

For five more considerable benefits, let's look to the UTA Libraries. On this page, they speak to all five, so give it a quick skim. We will just provide bullet-points here. "Transformative" benefits of OERs include: 

• Customization: you can tailor content to your curriculum
• Innovative Pedagogy: the digital transformability of OERs allows for interaction with interactive tools and platforms (e.g. H5P)
• Sense of Belonging: OER creators can work with students when building resources, and instructors have the opportunity to include more of their own voice into the text than a traditional textbook
• Global Reach: Simply by existing in their open form, OERs can contribute to larger global conversations about pedagogy, and pedagogues can make global connections
• Legal Clarity: The frequent use of Creative Commons licenses helps clear up confusing around copyright, both in creating and using OERs. 

One reason we are sharing their list with you is because each bullet point hits home that OERs can empower educators, and students may be able to engage with them in ways that traditional instruction materials cannot.

This is not to say that OERs cannot work in tandem with traditional instruction materials! To say that they cannot would be to limit, and, dare we say, close up the potential impact of OERs in your classes. We understand that developing or even simply implementing OERs into your instruction takes time and effort, and you only have so much energy to spare, so do not hesitate to lean into local and global communities of practice again and again for help and inspiration.

What are the criteria for determining whether something can be labeled an OER? Different hosting platforms  may have different expectations for what types of open licenses (e.g. a Creative Commons license) you need to upload a work, so they may also have different definitions of what can be considered "open." One of the most common frameworks you will see, and that many communities of practice follow closely, is by David Wiley. His 5Rs are as follows -- something can be called an OER if it allows the public to:

1. Retain – make, own, and control a copy of the resource (e.g., download and keep your own copy)
2. Revise – edit, adapt, and modify your copy of the resource (e.g., translate into another language)
3. Remix – combine your original or revised copy of the resource with other existing material to create something new (e.g., make a mashup)
4. Reuse – use your original, revised, or remixed copy of the resource publicly (e.g., on a website, in a presentation, in a class)
5. Redistribute – share copies of your original, revised, or remixed copy of the resource with others (e.g., post a copy online or give one to a friend)

Note that things licensed under most Creative Commons licenses will meet these criteria. The exception are the licenses with NoDerivatives (ND) attributes, as the user is not permitted to revise or remix. To get started with Creative Commons licenses, take a look at our Copyright, Creative Commons, and Public Domain guide.

Furthermore, while not explicitly stated in the 5Rs themselves, Wiley states that his "operational definition of OER" also requires that there be "free and unfettered access to the resource."