What counts as an open educational resource
An open educational resource, usually shortened to OER, is a teaching or learning material that carries a license or public-domain status allowing people to use it without asking permission each time. Most commonly that means a Creative Commons license, which lets others read, copy and share the work under stated conditions, and often lets them change it too.
The word “free” is not the same as “open”. A website you can read without paying may still forbid copying, translating or handing out printed copies. An open resource explicitly gives those permissions, within the limits of its license. That difference is what lets a teacher adapt a worksheet for a class or a student share study notes without worrying about breaking a rule.
OER can take almost any form: full textbooks, lesson plans, slide decks, quizzes, images, videos, data sets, short readings and complete course outlines. Some are made by individual teachers, some by university teams, some by non-profit projects, and some by public bodies.
Where open resources come from
Open materials arise in several ways. Individual educators often release their own lesson materials so colleagues can reuse them. Groups of academics sometimes write open textbooks together, partly because of concern about textbook costs for students. Public institutions and funders sometimes require that materials they pay for be released under an open license. And a good deal of material is simply placed in the public domain, for example older works whose copyright has expired.
Because these origins differ, quality varies. A resource written and reviewed by a team may be polished; a single teacher’s slide deck may be rough but exactly what you need. Treat openness as a statement about permissions, not about quality.
Understanding the license
Before using anything, check the license. The common Creative Commons conditions are:
- Attribution (BY): you must credit the creator.
- ShareAlike (SA): if you adapt the work, you share your version under the same license.
- NonCommercial (NC): you may not use it for commercial purposes.
- NoDerivatives (ND): you may share it but not change it.
Some resources use CC0, which waives rights as far as the law allows. Mixing resources under different conditions can cause conflicts, and copyright law differs between countries, so for anything important consult the license text itself and, if needed, an official or institutional source. This guide is general information, not legal advice.
How educators use open resources
Teachers tend to use OER in three ways. The simplest is using a resource as it is: assigning a chapter or showing a diagram. The second is adapting it, trimming a reading, adding local examples, translating terms or rewriting questions to suit a group. The third is creating something new and releasing it so others can build on it.
Adapting is where openness pays off most, but it takes time. Many teachers start small, replacing one unit or one reading before considering anything larger. Keeping a short record of the original source, its license and what you changed makes later sharing far easier.
Some educators go further and ask students to help create or improve materials, an approach often called open pedagogy. Whether it suits a particular class depends on the age of the students, the subject and the time available, and evidence about its effects is still mixed.
How learners use open resources
Students use open materials differently. A learner may find an openly licensed textbook as a lower-cost or free alternative to a printed one, or look for a second explanation of a topic they found confusing. Self-directed learners often use open readings, videos and exercises to study something with no formal course at all, sometimes starting from free course directories that list what is available.
Because anyone can publish an open resource, learners benefit from a little information literacy: checking who made a resource, when it was last updated, and whether other trusted sources agree with it. An open license does not guarantee accuracy.
Learners can also use the permissions. Where the license allows, you can print a resource, annotate a copy, or reorganize material into your own notes. Just keep the credit line if you pass it on.
Finding good material
Good places to start include the collections run by universities and non-profit projects, subject-specific libraries, and the search tools of large media-sharing sites that let you filter by license. Library services at schools and colleges often include staff who know where reliable open material sits and can help check licenses.
When you find something promising, ask a few quick questions:
- Who created it, and are they identifiable and qualified for the topic?
- Is the license clearly stated on the resource itself?
- Is it current enough for your purpose?
- Does it work on the devices your learners actually have?
Making resources usable by everyone
A resource is only useful if people can use it. Text that screen readers cannot read, videos without captions, and images with no description exclude some learners. Open licenses make it possible to fix such problems, because you are allowed to produce a more accessible version, but it is better when resources are built well from the start. Many readers look for accessible learning materials specifically, and checking this before adoption saves effort later.
Realistic expectations
Open resources are tools, not a guarantee of better teaching or better grades. Evidence on their effects is varied, and results depend on how they are chosen, adapted and used. Savings on cost are often the clearest benefit, but they have to be weighed against the time needed to find, check and adapt material.
A sensible way in for both groups is to pick one small, specific need, such as a reading for next week or a quiz for one topic, find an openly licensed option, check the license, and try it. From there the other practical questions, such as sourcing, adapting, creating, attributing and sharing, can be explored one at a time.