OER Knowledge CloudConference Paper2006Kirschner, Paul A.Varvick, Petervan Dorp, Cornelis AdrianusLane, Andyself-learners resourcesnon-English OERnational educational policyLifelong Learninghigher educationdistance educationUnited StatesengIn contrast to the face-to-face learning of campus based universities and the focus on traditional students, distance teaching universities focus on a mix of distance learning, e-learning, open learning, virtual mobility, learning communities, and the integration of earning and learning. In doing so, they are taking a leading role in helping to increase and widen participation in lifelong open and flexible learning in higher education by non-traditional groups. This paper discusses three leading-edge European Open Educational Resource initiatives. The initiatives are special in nature and differ from the offers of traditional universities in the sense that they: consist of pedagogically-rich learning materials, specifically designed and developed for distance learning and intended for independent self-study; are compiled in the national languages, with the EADTU initiative being multilingual, reflecting the European dimension; and, support and are supported by the policies of the national governments and the European Commission.http://oro.open.ac.uk/17831/http://oro.open.ac.uk/17831/North Logan, UT, United States, Europe