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 2911 published records by 4933 authors from 1032 sources, with 1752 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
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
Expanding OER with GenAI
Eaton, Lance; Davis, Larry
Generative artificial intelligence can expand the reach of open educational resources, but educators and institutions need a clear framework for licensing, disclosure, and responsible use.
Posted May 25, 2026
Video-based online mathematics instruction with GeoGebra: a visual learning analytics-supported study to enhance open educational resources and practices
Huang, Xiaowei; Lo, Chung Kwan; He, Jiaju; Chen, Gaowei; Tlili, Ahmed
Open Educational Resources (OER) have the potential to enhance equity in education. Many regions and education systems thus prioritise integrating these low-cost or free resources into mathematics teaching and learning. ...
Posted May 25, 2026
A Closer Look At West Virginia’s Broadband Barriers and The Potential of Open Educational Resources: A Systematic Review
Miltenberger, Taylor
West Virginia (WV) faces a unique convergence of socio-economic and geographic challenges, including persistent rural poverty, a declining extractive economy, and a severe opioid crisis (Alzarrad, 2024; Douglas & ...
Posted May 25, 2026
Why OA: Open Access
Amiel, Tel
Open access (OA) promotes the fair and ethical sharing of scientific knowledge as a global public resource, in accordance with the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science (2021). It is intended to make research outputs ...
Posted April 16, 2026
Why OER: Open Educational Resources
Amiel, Tel
Open Educational Resources (OER) are born out of the idea that everyone should have access to quality education and educational resources to support teaching and learning. Most resources you find online and in print are ...
Posted April 16, 2026
Who Owns AI-Generated Content?
McGreal, Rory
The rapid emergence of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) has ignited profound legal and ethical debates within open and online education. At the heart of these debates lies a critical question: who owns ...
Posted March 23, 2026
