Open educational resources (OER) are educational materials (i.e. textbooks, videos, curriculum, classroom activities, courseware, etc...) that are either in the public domain or contain a Creative Commons attribution license that allow their free use and potential repurposing. These materials do not require royalties or licensing fees for their use, nor permission for use due to copyright. The term "OER" was coined at a 2002 global education forum organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, & Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In 2005, with funding from the Hewlett Foundation, UNESCO founded a global OER community to share resources and information. UNESCO continues to produce publications on practices in OER (see below).

 

OER can be developed by anyone, but generally faculty create these resources for teaching courses in a specific discipline. The goal is to provide high quality, engaging materials that can be easily shared with anyone, anywhere in the world. Another goal for OER is to provide an alternative to high cost textbooks to help alleviate some of the financial burden that students bear in college. Rising costs of tuition, fees, and overall cost of living have made college unaffordable for many; OER is one piece of the puzzle in helping students progress and succeed in college.