This guide contains key resources for engaging with, discovering and practising the use of Open Educational Resources, or OER. Once you have learned how to find and access OER, there are three different levels of use:
You can also find out more about relevant licences and copyright, and look at our Frequently Asked Questions for more detailed information. The guide also contains an index and a glossary of terms.
Open Educational Resources are defined by UNESCO as
“… teaching, learning and research materials in any medium – digital or otherwise – that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions....”
Open Textbooks are textbooks that are freely available to students and teaching staff and are licensed for reuse and adaptation, so they can be adjusted to suit the needs of a specific cohort or course.
Open Textbooks can benefit staff and students by supporting enhanced engagement, participation rates, and retention.
The University Library is often constrained by licensing agreements for how its electronic textbooks can be shared with, and used by, students. Read more in the Council of Australian University Librarians' statement on eBook provision below:
OER can take many forms:
digital learning objects (infographics, videos, quizzes, etc.)
books and chapters,
guides and tutorial materials.
You don’t even have to be an academic or researcher – professional staff have also produced OER such as orientation guides for students.
Is there anything more you would like us to include in this guide? Let us know on our Feedback page and we will do our very best to add the resources you want.