THE OER KNOWLEDGE CLOUD
A SURVEY AND REPOSITORY OF OER RESEARCH
The OER Knowledge Cloud is a curated database and repository to identify, collect, preserve and disseminate documents related to open educational resources. There are currently 2917 published records by 4939 authors from 1035 sources, with 1755 file archives.
LATEST EDITORIAL NOTES
WHY OER? WHY OA? UNESCO PUBLISHES TWO NEW BROCHURES
Dan Wilton · April 16, 2026
UNESCO has published two new brochures authored by Dr. Tel Amiel, UNESCO Chair in Open Education and Technologies for the Common Good, Universidade de Brasília.
Why OER: Open Educational Resources outlines the uses and benefits of open educational resources in promoting access to quality education for all. It makes the distinction between "open" and "free", and addresses common worries and misconceptions academics might have when opening up their work as OER, including citation, control, the effort required, potential uses as training material for AI, and institutional policy.
Why OA: Open Access focuses on research outputs, promoting the fair and ethical sharing of scientific knowledge as a global public resource. It compares models for open access publishing, recommending Diamond Open Access, and addresses common concerns such as the perception of quality for open access works, its potential use in training AI, and the differences between sharing research through social media and publishing it through an open license.
Both brochures are available from UNESCO.
...AEGIS-OA LAUNCHES TO ADVANCE SUSTAINABLE DIAMOND OPEN ACCESS PUBLISHING IN EUROPE
Dan Wilton · March 30, 2026
AEGIS-OA (Activate European Guidance and Incentives for Sustainable Open Access publishing) launched 19-20 March 2026 as a consortium of research organisations, service providers, and National Capacity Centres aiming "to strengthen a transparent, sustainable, and high-quality open access scholarly publishing ecosystem in Europe."
Its goal is to build upon the services of the European Diamond Capacity Hub (EDCH), enhancing its discovery tools and service infrastructures, as well as broadening the scope of Diamond Open Access to include monographs and edited volumes.
For more information, review their press release below or visit the European Diamond Capacity Hub.
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WHO OWNS AI-GENERATED CONTENT?
Dan Wilton · March 23, 2026
As a contribution to the "Sharing is a Challenge" series for OEWeek 2026 from the Unitwin Network on Open Education, the web article, Who Owns AI-Generated Content? by Rory McGreal, UNESCO/ICDE Chair in Open Educational Resources, addresses two "paralyzing concerns" regarding the use of AI-generated learning materials: the paralysis of legal uncertainty, and the crisis of trust in shared content.
"This article confronts these intertwined problems directly. We move beyond generic advice to address the specific apprehensions that hinder creators. Our goal is to demystify the legal landscape, provide current information on using shared material, and rebuild the confidence needed to engage with the digital commons—not recklessly, but with informed and empowered knowledge.
"Presently, a clear legal trend is emerging that strongly supports openness in education. The evolving copyright landscape for GenAI, characterized by the denial of protection for purely AI-generated works, aligns with fair use/dealing doctrines and statutory exceptions for education. This creates a novel and powerful foundation for a new class of fully accessible Open Educational Resources (OER), democratizing content creation and freeing it from traditional copyright restrictions."
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OERSI: OER DATABASE
The Cloud is a database of OER research. If you are looking for a search index for OER, visit OERSI.
RECENT RECORDS
School Leadership Perspectives on Policies Related to Open Educational Resources in Primary and Secondary Education: Implications for Policy Development Through the Lens of UNESCO's Recommendations
Lo, Chung Kwan; Xu, Simin; Tlili, Ahmed
To ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all, high-quality open educational resources (OER) are essential. However, the lack of appropriate policies governing the development and adoption of OER presents ...
Posted August 29, 2026
Open eDesign Platform for Empowering Student Co-Creation and Capacity Building in Engineering Education
Jayawardena, Chulantha Lakmal; Peramunugamage, Anuradha
The Open eDesign Platform is an innovative, collaborative digital environment designed to transform engineering education through open access, student co-creation, and data-driven design practices. At its core, the ...
Posted August 29, 2026
Justice Reimagined: Open Pedagogy as a Catalyst for Equity in Criminal Justice Education
Trotman, Grace
This article examines Open Pedagogy (OP) as a catalytic framework for reimagining criminal justice education through an equity lens. Drawing from critical pedagogy, constructivism, and social justice theories, the ...
Posted August 29, 2026
An Application of the I-AER Framework to Understand OER Effectiveness at Community Colleges
Pilipshen, Adam G.
Higher education institutions face a fundamental disconnect between extensive data collection and actionable understanding of student learning, a practitioner's dilemma perpetuated by fragmented institutional ...
Posted June 26, 2026
Assessment of digital competence for the utilisation of open educational resources by English Language students in tertiary institutions in Ebonyi State of Nigeria
Igwe, Maureen Chidera
The world is now digital, and all human activities are following the path of integrating and applying digital technologies. Digital technologies increasingly shape educational processes and access to learning resources. ...
Posted June 15, 2026
Prospects and Challenges of Open Education Resources in the Teaching of Business Education in Federal College of Education, Ilawe-Ekiti, Nigeria
Aremu, Victoria Bamitale
This paper examines the prospects and challenges of Open Education Resources (OER) in teaching the Business Education curriculum in Federal College of Education, Ilawe-Ekiti, Nigeria. Some of the specific objectives of ...
Posted June 14, 2026
A Systematic Review of Open Educational Resources (OER) Research (2017–2025): Trends, Thematic Shifts, and Future Directions
Tasir, Zaidatun; Harun, Jamalludin; Zainul Rashid, Rozaina
This study presents a systematic literature review of research on open educational resources published between 2017 and 2025. Using the PRISMA guidelines, 18 studies were selected and a thematic analysis approach was ...
Posted May 25, 2026
