About Open Educational Resources

Open educational resources are educational materials and resources offered freely and openly for anyone and available under a license that allows users to retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute.

Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials that you may freely use and reuse, without charge. That means they have been authored or created by an individual or organization that chooses to retain few, if any, ownership rights. For some of these resources, that means you can download the resource and share it with colleagues and students. For others, it may be that you can download a resource, edit it in some way, and then re-post it as a remixed work. OER often have a Creative Commons or GNU license that state specifically how the material may be used, reused, adapted, and shared.  - OER Commons

Examples of OER

• Learning content: full courses, course materials, modules, syllabi, activities, journals, etc. 
• Tools: Software to support the creation, delivery, use and improvement of open learning content including searching and organization of content, content and learning management systems, content development tools, and online learning communities.

Benefits of Creating and Using OER

• improving student performance and satisfaction
• increasing access to educational materials for a wider range of learners, predominantly those underserved by traditional educational opportunities
• professional development through engaging in critical reflection of educational resources
• helping students, districts, and educational institutions save money 
• wider visibility for pedagogical work
• including more diverse perspectives and representation in educational materials 
• attracting informal learners and serving as a gateway from informal learning to formal educational programs

Learn more

• COERLL's Introduction to OER for Language Teachers, a series of modules on searching for, licensing, attributing, remixing, revising, creating, publishing, and sharing OER
• COERLL is a supporting organization of the US Department of Education Office of Educational Technology's #GoOpen initiative, which provides many resources for K-12 school districts adopting OER, including a district launch packet
• Going Open with LangOER – a user-friendly guide to creative commons licenses and open education, by and for language teachers at the LangOER project
• COERLL is part of an OER Working Group with UT Libraries and Texas Digital Library. For more information about going open at the University of Texas at Austin, see the UT Libraries OER LibGuide
• Basic instructions for adding a Creative Commons license to your work
• For current research on the benefits of using OER, visit the OER Research Hub.

Get involved

• If you teach with, create, or promote open educational resources, you can earn a badge and be featured on COERLL's Language OER Network!