License
This guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Open Education
Notes on Board by Polina Zimmerman, via Pexels
Open education is an attitude, a practice, and a method of teaching that inspires inquiry, equal access to course materials, and sharing lessons and materials with the wider community. At the center of open education is the belief that education is strengthened when shared openly. Open education relies on open educational resources (OER) and open licensing.
To practitioners of open education, OERs are the best way ensure that all students are provided equitable access to course materials. They will follow the "Five Rs" of OER when adopting, adapting, or creating OERs.
- Defining the "Open" in Open Content and Open Educational ResourcesLearn the reasoning behind the Five Rs.
The Five "Rs" of OER
The 5Rs detailed below form the ethos of how OERs are created and subsequently licensed for others to use.
- Retain - make, own, and control a copy of the resource (e.g., download and keep your own copy)
- Revise - edit, adapt, and modify your copy of the resource (e.g., translate into another language)
- Remix - combine your original or revised copy of the resource with other existing material to create something new (e.g., make a mashup)
- Reuse - use your original, revised, or remixed copy of the resource publicly (e.g., on a website, in a presentation, in a class)
- 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)
Most authors of OER materials use Creative Commons licenses to define how their work may be used, shared, or adapted.
Open Licenses
Open licensing is at the core of OER work. Open licenses have been used to great effect in the software community for many years prior to their principles being adapted outside of their communities.
For educators, creatives, and other proponents of openness, Creative Commons is the best way to share work openly while respecting copyright.
Our page on Creative Commons details the finer points on getting started using CC licenses on your own work.
- Creative CommonsLearn about Creative Commons licensing, an alternative to copyright, and find creative common licensed works that you can share and reuse.
- Copyright Research GuideOur guide on copyright contains many resources for understanding authorial rights.
- Copyright and Fair UseRich with legal information about copyright, including treaties, from the Stanford University Libraries.
- Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources: A Guide for Authors, Adapters & Adopters of Openly Licensed Teaching and Learning MaterialsThis guide, written by faculty at Program of Information Justice and Intellectual Property at American University's Washington School of Law, provides legal context to applying fair use concepts to OER work. [Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for OER, available at auw.cl/oer is licensed under CC BY 4.0.]
Credits
This material is an adaptation of Defining the "Open" in Open Content and Open Educational Resources by David Wiley and is published freely under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.