The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation provides the following definition for OER:
OER are teaching, learning and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use or re-purposing by others. Open educational resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials or techniques used to support access to knowledge.[source]
We believe that opening educational materials will not only reduce the cost of education for schools, districts, and students by providing free access to textbooks and other commonly used resources, but also help to improve the quality and relevance of these materials by encouraging contributions from all community members. Rather than limiting ideas those approved by a small group of publishers, OER allows educational communities to pool individual resources from around the world to bring together the best ideas.
This model encourages author participation by making it easier to publish and update content, allowing them to share their ideas with the world without navigating the many barriers associated with traditional publication models. Educators can use OER as a way of accessing the most up-to-date, relevant information available, and customizing that content for the specific needs of their students. Students can take advantage of the zero-dollar price tag to gain access to educational resources regardless of income, making a high-quality education more affordable and available for everyone.
