"Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials that you may freely use and reuse, without charge. That means they have been authored or created by an individual or organization that chooses to retain few, if any, ownership rights. For some of these resources, that means you can download the resource and share it with colleagues and students. For others, it may be that you can download a resource, edit it in some way, and then re-post it as a remixed work. OER often have a Creative Commons or GNU license that state specifically how the material may be used, reused, adapted, and shared." - OER Commons

What are the benefits of both creating and using Open Educational Resources?

There are a wide variety of arguments about the benefits of OER, many of which revolve around the possibility of:

improving student performance and satisfaction
increasing access to educational materials for a wider range of learners, predominantly those underserved by traditional educational opportunities
encouraging educators to engage in critical reflection of educational resources
helping students, districts, and educational institutions save money
attracting informal learners
serving as a gateway from informal learning to formal educational programs

Learn more about current research on the impact of OER at OER Research Hub: http://oerresearchhub.org/

What are some examples of OER?

There are a wide range of Open Educational Resources:

Full university courses, which might include course readings, audio or video recorded lectures, assignments, problem sets, examples of exemplary student work, and even lecture notes.
Modules or other interactive learning activities that provide insight and analysis on a particular subject, problem, question, or concept.
Complete peer-reviewed electronic textbooks.
Elementary school, high school (K-12), community college and other professional programs’ lesson plans, worksheets, and activities that align with state or federal standards.
Software and other tools that support the creation, delivery, use and improvement of open learning content including searching and organization of content, content and learning management systems, content development tools, and on-line learning communities.

What are open licenses and why are they important to Open Educational Resources?

In order to facilitate robust and engaging learning experiences, educators and students rely upon the ability to freely exchange ideas and educational content. But that’s not always easy to do because most publishers and authors of educational materials explicitly restrict your ability to copy, share and modify these resources. Open Educational Resources, on the other hand, clearly state how the author wants you to use them and gives you the right to freely copy, modify, adapt, and build upon them for your desired use

Learn more about Open Licences at Creative Commons: http://www.creativecommons.org

More Resources for Learning about OER

More resources for learning about collaborative creation and sharing of open educational resources.

Educause: 7 Things you should know about OER - http://bit.ly/1fU2o07 (Links to an external site.
Educause: 7 Things you should know about Open Textbook Publishing - http://bit.ly/1cng4jl (Links to an external site.)
Hewlett Foundation: OER: Breaking the Lockbox on Education - http://bit.ly/1cnfMsD (Links to an external site.)
Hewlett Foundation: The Open Education Resources Ecosystem - http://bit.ly/1k9lfeC (Links to an external site.)
Open Michigan: OER: Benefits for Faculty and Students - http://bit.ly/N3CiRa (Links to an external site.)
UNESCO: OER - The Way Forward - http://bit.ly/1jAwHgz (Links to an external site.)
The World is Open by Curtis J. Bonk - http://worldisopen.com/
The Late Age of Print: Everyday Book Culture from Consumerism to Control - Free PDF download at http://www.thelateageofprint.org/download/