Open Education Practices

The term "open educational resources" (OERs) describes any content published in tangible format that is licensed by the creator to provide all users with free and perpetual permission to use that content for engaging in the 5R activities (listed below), typically utilizing a Creative Commons license.

The 5 Rs:

1. Retain - make, own, and control a copy of the resource (e.g., download and keep your own copy)
2. Revise - edit, adapt, and modify your copy of the resource (e.g., translate into another language)
3. Remix - combine your original or revised copy of the resource with other existing material to create something new (e.g., make a mashup)
4. Reuse - use your original, revised, or remixed copy of the resource publicly (e.g., on a website, in a presentation, in a class)
5. 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)

Attribution: Future Success Through Backwards Design by Gabby Hernandez is licensed under CC BY 4.0 and depicted here with a modified title: The Five Rs of OERs.

Is this the same as Open Access?

Although you have the right to retain Open Access journal articles or eBooks, and in certain cases redistribute them, you cannot revise, remix, or reuse them, so they are not considered OERs.

Open Source software are also not typically considered OERs because they aren't pedagogical in nature, although they are released with the same type of 5R rights.

The research consistently demonstrates that on average, students using OER experience slightly better or equal outcomes to those using commercial textbooks. The Affordability Solution: a Systematic Review of Open Educational Resources (Mullens & Hoffman, 2023) synthesis these findings.