Open Educational Resources (OER) are defined by the Hewlett Foundation as "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 and repurposing by others. OER include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge."
The OER movement is often affiliated with free or open textbooks, intended to replace expensive texts from traditional publishers. Textbook costs rose 88% over the ten years between 2006 and 2016, according to the Consumer Price Index (compared to a 21% increase for all items).
What does it mean for a learning resource to be "open"? The 5R framework, proposed by David Wiley, defines the major characteristics of "open" content.
Retain
the right to make, own, and control copies of the content
Reuse
the right to use the content in a wide range of ways (e.g., 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 (e.g., translate the content into another language)
Remix
the right to combine the original or revised content with other open content to create something new (e.g., incorporate the content into a mashup)
Redistribute
the right to share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others (e.g., give a copy of the content to a friend)
This material was created by David Wiley and published freely under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license at: http://opencontent.org/blog/archives/3221