What is an OER?

What is an Open Education Resource?

Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching materials that are freely available to the public either through being in the public domain or having a creative commons license. OER are designed for free use, adaptation, remixing, and redistribution. These resources can save students money, and help faculty tailor their learning resources to fit the specific needs of their students.
OER can take many forms including:
  • Open textbooks
  • Lecture notes
  • Assignments
  • Lesson plans
  • Lab manuals
  • Case studies
  • Exams or quizzes
  • Multimedia content
  • Electronic library resources


To learn even more about OER, refer to the OER StarterToolkit authored by Abbey Elder at Iowa State University. 

Contact a Librarian


Keith Cich
Librarian
Ruth A. Myers Library
218.879.0837
​keith.cich@fdltcc.edu

 

Finding OER

Open Textbooks

OER Quickstart Guides
Quick start guides from Minnesota State feature subject-specific resources for faculty seeking to transition their courses to be Z-degree eligible.
OpenStax
A collection of openly licensed, peer-reviewed textbooks with options for low-cost print versions.
Open Textbook Library
A collection of over 1500 open textbooks hosted by the Open Education Network through the University of Minnesota. 
B.C. Open Collection
High quality open textbooks and additional course materials. Canada based with a preference for resources that incorporate indigenous perspectives and pedagogies.
Pressbooks Directory
Free, searchable catalog that includes 7,759 open access books published by 195 organizations and networks using Pressbooks. Filter by subject and creative commons license type.
Lumen Learning
Open course materials curated and created for general education courses.
American Institute of Math - Open Textbook Initiative
Open textbooks that have been judged to meet the evaluation criteria set by the AIM editorial board.

Open Repositories

Opendora
Repository for learning resources created or used by faculty at Minnesota State institutions. 
Mason OER Metafinder (MOM)
Simultaneously searches across up to 22 different open education resource platforms.
Merlot
Access to curated online learning and support materials and content creation tools.
OASIS
This search tool searches over 120 different sources for open content. Keyword search or browse of subject.
OER Commons
public digital library of open educational resources. Filter by subject and education level.
 

Public Domain Resources

Digital Public Library of American (DPLA)
Hathi Trust Digital Library
Library of Congress Digital Collections
New York Public Library Digital Collections
Public Domain Review
Wikimedia Commons



 

Creative Commons

What is Creative Commons?

Creative Commons (CC) is a non-profit organization that provides free legal tools to allow the sharing of knowledge and culture in the public interest. 

Creative Commons Licenses

The Creative Commons license assigned to a resource tells us how it can be used and shared.
A graphic explaining Creative Commons licenses, the icons used for each license, and the terms of each license.

 

There are six different license types, listed from most to least permissive here:

CC BY

This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. CC BY includes the following elements:

 BY: credit must be given to the creator.

CC BY-SA

This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms. CC BY-SA includes the following elements:

 BY: credit must be given to the creator.
 SA: Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.

CC BY-NC

This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. CC BY-NC includes the following elements:

 BY: credit must be given to the creator.
 NC: Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted.

CC BY-NC-SA

This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms. CC BY-NC-SA includes the following elements:

 BY: credit must be given to the creator.
 NC: Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted.
 SA: Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.

CC BY-ND

This license enables reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. CC BY-ND includes the following elements:

 BY: credit must be given to the creator.
 ND: No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted.

CC BY-NC-ND

This license enables reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. CC BY-NC-ND includes the following elements:

 BY: credit must be given to the creator.
 NC: Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted.
 ND: No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted.

The CC0 Public Domain Dedication

CC0 (aka CC Zero) is a public dedication tool, which enables creators to give up their copyright and put their works into the worldwide public domain. CC0 enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, with no conditions.

(Content adapted from About CC Licenses - Creative Commons)
© 2019. This work is openly licensed via CC BY 4.0.