OER - Open Educational Resources: OER Overview and Background

"OER are educational materials that are specifically designed by their creator/s to be openly available, and are often licensed to be re-used, re-mixed, and re-distributed. Open is not just about low cost (though that is an important benefit of using OER) but about the ability to take what others have created, customize it for your specific educational needs, and then share your creation with others."

From Educause.

"OER are "teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and repurposing by others. OER include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge."

Hewlett Foundation, which has funded much of the open movement.

University of West Florida University Libraries

Are they really free? Are they sustainable? Do they deepen the digital divide? Will the damage the publishing market? From the OER Policy for Europe Project.

The student org leading this Initiative in the MinnState system. ("LeadMN connects college students for the change. We represent the 180,000 two-year college students in Minnesota to help them transform their lives and their communities."
**Includes Toolkit for getting started on your campus.

Minnesota State promotes textbook affordability for students at Minnesota State colleges and universities by supporting and facilitating adoption of open, low-cost, high-quality materials. We strive to do through faculty development, adequate resources, and grants.​

Presentation on OER starts at 28:37. Presentation to MinnState CATT (Campus Academic Technology Teams) AY2017/18.

"As educational institutions of all levels continue to experience tightening budgets, areas in which to reduce costs represent a shrinking pool. Those who have been integrating OERs within curricula over the last few years, however, have quickly recognized not only significant cost savings, but have also pioneered valuable research studies exploring topics around a) student/faculty/administrator/librarian perceptions of OERs in practice; b) various pedagogical approaches; and c) policy and practice implications.
The OER Research Hub “provides a focus for research, designed to give answers to the overall question ‘What is the impact of OER on learning and teaching practices?’ and identify the particular influence of openness”

"The OER Digest is a bi-weekly newsletter for open education updates, opportunities, and reminders. The primary audience is the OER community in the United States and Canada, although subscribers come from all around the world"

"Affordable education. Transparent science. Accessible scholarship. These ideals are slowly becoming a reality thanks to the open education, open science, and open access movements. Running separate—if parallel—courses, they all share a philosophy of equity, progress, and justice. This book shares the stories, motives, insights, and practical tips from global leaders in the open movement."
This book walks the talk: it's Open Access (free).

"High-quality open educational resources that are freely shared and improved upon have enormous appeal, but they’re not a reality yet—and may never be."