ABOUT OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
A SURVEY OF OER RESEARCH ACTIVITY
In its simplest form, the concept of Open Educational Resource (OER) describes any educational resource (including curriculum maps, course materials, textbooks, streaming videos, multimedia applications, podcasts, and any other materials that have been designed for use in teaching and learning) that is openly available for use by educators and students, without an accompanying need to pay royalties or licence fees. The following articles provide further background to OER.
The Cloud scans a number of journals automatically. Select from the journals below for a scan of current articles.
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OLnet Open Learning Network
Searching out the evidence for use and reuse of open educational resources
IRRODL
irrodl.org
The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning is a refereed, open access e-journal that disseminates original research, theory, and best practice in open and distributed learning worldwide. IRRODL is available free-of-charge to anyone with access to the Internet, and there are no article submission or access charges for publication in this open journal. Visit IRRODL for the latest in open and distributed research.
CIDER
cider.athabascau.ca
The Canadian Initiative for Distance Eduation Research offers a regular webinar series featuring researchers presenting their latest findings in open and distance education. Visit CIDER for our latest seminar series schedule and archives.
THE eMUNDUS ATLAS
emundusatlas.org
The eMundus Atlas is a world map exploring successful patterns of international collaboration in open educational resources, MOOCs, and credential mobility. Visit the eMundus Atlas and contribute your own project.
- What are Open Educational Resources (OER)?
- Are OER the same as open learning/open education?
- Are OER the same as e-learning?
- Who will guarantee the quality of OER?
- Shouldn't I worry about 'giving away' my intellectual property?
- How can education benefit by harnessing OER?
- What is the difference between OER and open access publishing?
- Are OER related to the concept of resource-based learning?
- Are OER really free?
- Where can I learn more about Creative Commons licenses and copyright?
- Where did the questions and answers in this FAQ section come from?
JOURNAL SCAN
The Cloud scans a number of journals automatically. Select from the journals below for a scan of current articles.
Scanning journals for availability
OER RESEARCH AND SUPPORT NETWORKS
OLnet Open Learning NetworkSearching out the evidence for use and reuse of open educational resources
OER REPOSITORIES AND RESOURCES
- Mason MetaFinder
- Open Up Resources
- OnlineEducation.com
- OpenStax
- BC Open Textbooks
- Community College for Open Educational Resources
OUR SISTER SITES
IRRODLirrodl.org
The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning is a refereed, open access e-journal that disseminates original research, theory, and best practice in open and distributed learning worldwide. IRRODL is available free-of-charge to anyone with access to the Internet, and there are no article submission or access charges for publication in this open journal. Visit IRRODL for the latest in open and distributed research.
CIDERcider.athabascau.ca
The Canadian Initiative for Distance Eduation Research offers a regular webinar series featuring researchers presenting their latest findings in open and distance education. Visit CIDER for our latest seminar series schedule and archives.
THE eMUNDUS ATLASemundusatlas.org
The eMundus Atlas is a world map exploring successful patterns of international collaboration in open educational resources, MOOCs, and credential mobility. Visit the eMundus Atlas and contribute your own project.
RECENT NOTES
July 20, 2024
The OER Foundation (OERF) continues to develop and refine its web services through a tool set built around the "Fediverse" (the set of libre technologies tied together through the ActivityPub open standard). Through these services, the OERF continues to provide access to learning for tens of thousands of registered users and hundreds of thousands of anonymous learners. In this post , the OERF gives its update for July 2024 on its rich, complex, and cost-efficient set of technologies, their positions in the Fediverse, and how they contribute to the open learning services provided by the Foundation. Updating OER Foundation Web services for July 2024 ...
March 30, 2022
This report titled “Open Innovation Framework: Emerging Narratives from the ICDE OER Advocacy Committee”, written by the ICDE OER Advocacy Committee (OERAC), addresses Open Educational Resources and Open Science through a proposed framework for Open Innovation. It includes a summary and outputs from a workshop hosted by the committee during the ICDE Virtual Global Conference Week in October 2021. Open Innovation Framework: Emerging Narratives from the ICDE OER Advocacy Committee ...
March 22, 2022
The Commonwealth of Learning has published two new OER-related reports: Open Educational Resources in the Commonwealth 2021 reports on the status of OER in the Commonwealth in the context of the challenges posed by Covid-19 to help countries develop strategies and action plans for the implementation of the 2019 UNESCO Recommendation on OER. Integrating OER in Teaching: A Guide for Teachers in the Pacific , developed as part of the Pacific Partnership for Open, Distance and Flexible Learning Project, is intended to assist teachers in the Pacific to integrate OER into their teaching. ...
December 19, 2021
This open-access edited volume published by EdTech Books features chapters by leading and emerging authors and researchers in the field of open education and open educational resources. Sections include the foundations of OE and OER, current research including open textbooks and dashboards, obstacles in the use of OER and open scholarship, and future directions such as open pedagogy. The appendices include several student presentations as slides and videos that can themselves be used as open educational resources. Edited by Yvette Arts, Hannah Call, Melissa Cavan, Theresa P. Holmes, Jacob Rogers, Sara H. Tuiloma, Layne West, and Royce Kimmons. ...
April 7, 2021
The Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property at the American University Washington College of Law has released its Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources. This document is intended to support authors, teachers, professors, librarians, and all open educators in evaluating when and how they can incorporate third party copyright materials into Open Educational Resources to meet their pedagogical goals. Click here for the report's Cloud record and downloadable Code of Best Practices. ...
