Open Educational Resources (OER)

Texas Education Code, Section 51.451, defines Open Educational Resources (OER) as a “teaching, learning, or research resource that is in the public domain or has been released under an intellectual property license that permits the free use, adaptation, and redistribution of the resource by any person. The term may include full course curricula, course materials, modules, textbooks, media, assessments, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques, whether digital or otherwise, used to support access to knowledge.”

Common types of OER include:

• Textbooks
• Tutorials
• Modules
• Lecture slides
• Quizzes
• Videos
• And more!

Open Educational Resources are licensed to allow users with free and perpetual permission to engage in the 5R activities:

• Retain - the right to make, own, and control copies of the content (duplicate, store, manage)
• Reuse - the right to use the content in a wide range of ways (in a class, in a study group, on a website, in a video)
• Revise - the right to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself
• Remix - the right to combine the original or revised content with other material to create something new
• Redistribute - the right to share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others