Open Educational Resources (OER): About OER

Benefits for students:

• Save on textbook costs with low cost or free resources.
• Access resources before classes start.
• Engage with content that is customised and relevant.

Creative Commons is a type of licensing that allows for certain rights to use a work (e.g., modify, share, etc.) under certain conditions (e.g., for non-commercial use only, only if the resulting work is similarly shared, etc.). The creator specifies how their work can be used by applying the license of their choice. In some cases, Creative Commons-licensed materials can be freely used, shared or modified. Always check the license to see what is required in order to use the work. For example, you may be required to give credit to the creator, to share the resulting work in the same way or may not be able to use the work for commercial purposes.

Rather than locking down a work, as Copyright automatically does, Creative Commons licensing allows the copyright owner to choose how the work is used!

• Creative Commons License Options
• Creative Commons License Chooser (for creators)
• Creative Commons FAQ

Public Domain works are works whose copyright has expired and so people are free to use, share, modify, copy, or adapt these works.

•  As of December 30, 2022, works enter the public domain in Canada 70 years after the author’s death on January 1st of the year following the expiration of the copyright
•  Before December 30, 2022, works entered the public domain in Canada 50 years after the death of the author and remain in the public domain, despite the change.
•  Note that if a work in the public domain is modified into a new work, the modified work is protected by copyright. For example, if an artist modifies a photograph in the public domain, thereby creating a new work, that new work is protected under copyright. Also, sometimes parts of a public domain work may still be protected by copyright, for example, a drawing within a novel. For these reasons, it can be complicated to determine if a work is in the public domain; please reach out to the Library if you are unsure how you can legally use a work.

Open Access is the free, unrestricted access to digital materials, such as research articles and software. In addition, rights are granted to use the content freely in the digital environment. It also describes a type of publishing model that makes research and journal articles freely available. You may see some articles flagged as "Open Access" when searching the Library's "Search Everything" tool. These articles are free to use for anybody.

The 5 R Permissions of OER

The "5 Rs" is a framework that encourages educators to capitalize on the unique rights associated with open content. These rights include the ability to:

• Retain: Make and own copies of the work (e.g., download, duplicate, store and manage)
• Reuse: Use the work in a wide range of ways (e.g., in a class, in a study group, on a website, in a video)
• Revise: Adapt, modify and translate the work (e.g., translate the content into another language)
• Remix: Combine it with another resource to make a new work (e.g., incorporate the content into a mashup)
• Redistribute: Share the work with others (e.g., give a copy of the content to a friend)

These rights, or permissions, are made possible through open licensing. For example, Creative Commons open licences help creators of OER retain copyright while allowing others to reproduce, distribute, and make some use of their work.

What's Not OER

Below are four key categories of resources that are often considered to fall outside of what is truly OER. Of course, the best mix of materials to meet any given set of learning outcomes will vary and may include a combination of OER and the materials listed below. The key is knowing which resources will best meet your objectives for instruction, and for learners.

Resources that Cannot be Adapted:

Through open licensing, the mission of the OER movement is to exploit the full range of the "5 Rs" permissions of use (see prior tab). Some argue that unless an open licence allows for adaptation of content, then the resource is not truly OER.

The Six Creative Commons Licences

In descending order from least to most restrictive, here are 6 frequently used creative commons licenses:

1. CC BY: Open
2. CC BY SA: Open
3. CC BY NC: Open
4. CC BY NC SA: Open
5. CC BY ND: Not open
6. CC BY NC ND: Not open

Web-based Resources that are Fully Copyrighted

All the available resources on the web that you may have access to, but that are not in the public domain, or do not carry a Creative Commons licence or other open licence, are not OER.

Subscription-Based Library Collections

A library's subscription-based resources (journals, videos, and other materials), while accessible to students and faculty, are also not OER. This is because their use in education may be limited by licence agreements.

Open Access Resources

Open access is an important concept, which is related to - but distinct from - OER. Open access typically refers to research publications released under an open licence that allows for their free access and use.

Open access publications sometimes do not allow for adaptation and remixing. While open access articles are freely accessible, authors may retain their copyright and/or assign rights to publishers or users, so permission may be needed for copying and adaptation.

Composing OER

• Once you've gathered a selection of suitable open materials, piece them together to create a learning resource or set of resources to meet your instructional objectives and learning outcomes.
• This is a creative design process of building an educational resource from scratch and/or using components that you have found.
• As you compose, use OER authoring tools to support your work, such as the Open Author Module Builder.

See the Creating Module in this guide for additional support in composing OER or contact your Liaison Librarian for help.

Adopting/Adapting OER

• You may decide to use the OER that you compile "as is" by printing or downloading them, or sharing the links with your students.
• You may also decide to adapt the resources to local needs, or even revise them later based on feedback once implemented.
• Your adaptations may involve minor corrections and improvements, remixing or adding new components, or even completely reworking the resources.

See the Creating Module and the Curating Module in the OER Toolkit from The Learning Portal for additional help adopting or adapting OER or contact your Liaison Librarian for help.

Using OER

• Through open licencing, OER opens up possibilities for new, more collaborative teaching and learning practices--because the materials can be used, adapted and shared within and across learning communities
• As you implement OER in your courses, take advantage of these possibilities. Pair up with a colleague on the implementation of OER, invite peer and student critique of the materials, or engage students as co-creators in OER-based assignments

For additional information on OER practices such as these, see the Teaching Module in the OER toolkit from The Learning Portal, or contact your Liaison Librarian.

Sharing OER

• Make your resources available for your peers and the open education community to find, and to begin the life cycle again.
• Add descriptors so that others can find and use the resource and select the appropriate licence for any new/adapted resources.
• Access online tools that can help you describe and share your resources. Try OER Commons or LibGuides.

For additional information on sharing OER, see the Curating Module in the OER Toolkit from the Learning Portal.