OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER)
OER AND OPEN EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE
As explained by UNESCO, Open Educational Resources (OER) are any type of educational materials that are in the public domain or introduced with an open license. The nature of these open materials means that anyone can legally and freely copy, use, adapt and re-share them. OERs range from textbooks to curricula, syllabi, lecture notes, assignments, tests, projects, audio, video and animation. Learn more about OERs here and check out our OER LibGuide for ideas about how to use OERs in your classes. In addition, you can learn more about Open Educational Practice (OEP) here, in this well-curated collection of general resources that support various aspects of OER, including design, evaluation, and advocacy.
TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION COMMONS™
The Technology and Innovation Commons™ contains more than 3,500 open-access, full-text articles.
SELECTED TECHNOLOGY OER
Following are selected OER that relate specifically to technology subjects.
A GUIDE TO MAKING OPEN TEXTBOOKS WITH STUDENTS
This comprehensive, CC-licensed guide includes case studies and covers topics ranging from licensing strategies to privacy and anonymity.
As explained by Creative Commons, CC licenses allow creative material to be shared and reused under terms that are flexible and legally sound. Visit the Creative Commons website for information, tools, and FAQs relating to CC copyright licenses. Another great reource is Made with Creative Commons, which covers a variety of topics, including a discussion of the different types of Creative Commons licenses.
CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE TOOLS
Following are some useful tools and resources that will help you use Creative Commons licenses:
COPYRIGHT AND FAIR USE
COPYRIGHT AND TEACH ACT RESOURCES
This excellent LibGuide by the University of Minnesota Libraries discusses various issues surrounding the transition of courses "from in-person to online." For an excellent discussion of the TEACH Act, see "TEACHing from a Distance and Copyright Considerations," an excellent blog post by Holland Gormley, a Public Affairs Specialist in the Outreach and Education section of the U.S. Copyright Office at the Library of Congress, that discusses a range of topics, including the distinction between online and face-to-face courses in context of various Copyright considerations. Finally, as an additional resource, the LSU Libraries's Original TEACH Act Toolkit provides an excellent, multifaceted discussion of the Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH Act), together with checklists, guides, and frequently asked questions.
FAIR USE
As explained by the University of Chicago’s Copyright Information Center, copyright law provides for the principle, commonly called "fair use" that the reproduction of copyright works for certain limited, educational purposes, does not constitute copyright infringement. The Copyright Act establishes a four factor test, the "fair use test," to use to determine whether a use of a copyrighted work is fair use that does not require the permission of the copyright owner. The fair use test is highly fact specific, and much can turn on seemingly insignificant variations on the proposed use. Visit the University of Chicago’s Copyright Information Center website to learn more about fair use, and other copyright topics including the public domain.
FAIR USE BEST PRACTICES, FILM AND MEDIA
The Society for Cinema and Media Studies’ Statement of Best Practices for Fair Use in Teaching for Film and Media Educators is an excellent resource that addresses issues concerning the permissible use of media for teaching.
This LibGuide was designed and created and is maintained by Michael Moore. User suggestions and comments are welcome.
The icons used in this LibGuide were produced by Icons8 and are used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license. Hand-drawn signature typeface, Tuesday Night, by Font Forestry.