LibGuides: Open Educational Resources: Home

What is OER?

What is OER?

The term “Open Educational Resources” (OERs) was created at UNESCO’s 2002 Forum on the Impact of Open Courseware for Higher Education in Developing Countries to describe a new global phenomenon of openly sharing educational resources in 2002. This campaign to make freely adaptable content known as OER widely available has gathered momentum. Subsequently, a global community of OER producers has emerged and institutions are incorporating these resources into their teaching and learning strategies. - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Nutshell version: OER = educational resources that are free to use

Data and Research on OER

Open - Freeing the Textbook
The 2017-2018 survey on teaching materials in U.S. higher education shows a steady growth in awareness of open educational resources (OER).
New Report: Open 101
The US Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG) released a new report, investigating those high textbook prices for common courses at schools across the country. Entitled Open 101: an Action Plan for Affordable Textbooks, the report contains recommendations that, if enacted, could save students billions of dollars by ensuring the materials that students buy for their general education classes are free instead.
Open 101 Full Report
AACU OER Research Database
SPARC OER State Policy Tracker

Why Open Educational Resources?

More about OER

SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition)
SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) is a global coalition committed to making Open the default for research and education. SPARC empowers people to solve big problems and make new discoveries through the adoption of policies and practices that advance Open Access, Open Data, and Open Education.