Open educational resources

Open educational resources
Jonathasmello · CC BY 3.0 · source
Name	Open educational resources
Established	2002
Type	Educational resources
License	Various open licenses

Open educational resources are teaching, learning, and research materials made available under licenses that permit free use, adaptation, and distribution. They encompass textbooks, course modules, lesson plans, videos, assessment items, and software produced by universities, foundations, nonprofits, and governments. Practitioners and advocates span institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Toronto, University of Melbourne, Peking University, University of Cape Town, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, University of São Paulo, University of Tokyo, ETH Zurich, Sorbonne University, National University of Singapore, University of British Columbia, University of Delhi, University of Nairobi, University of the Philippines, University of Nairobi, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Karolinska Institutet, Australian National University, University of Amsterdam, University of Edinburgh, University of Helsinki, Seoul National University, Tsinghua University, McGill University, University of Hong Kong, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, University of Bologna, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, University of Buenos Aires, University of Auckland, University of Pretoria, Cairo University, King's College London, Columbia University, Yale University, Princeton University, University of Chicago, Cornell University, California Institute of Technology, Imperial College London, London School of Economics, University of Michigan, University of Texas at Austin, University of Washington, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Pennsylvania State University, Ohio State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, University of Pennsylvania, National Autonomous University of Honduras, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Eötvös Loránd University, University of Zurich, University of Geneva, Heidelberg University, University of Cologne, KU Leuven, Ghent University, Trinity College Dublin, University of Copenhagen, Uppsala University, University of Oslo, Stockholm University, Charles University.

Definition and Scope

Open educational resources cover freely accessible educational materials produced by entities such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Wikimedia Foundation, Creative Commons, UNESCO, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Mozilla Foundation, Google, Microsoft, Apple Inc., Khan Academy, edX, Coursera, FutureLearn, Saylor Foundation, MERLOT, OER Commons, OpenStax, BCcampus, Jisc, Athabasca University, Open University (UK), University of Southern California, National Science Foundation, European Commission, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Bank, African Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Asia Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme. Scope includes open textbooks, open courseware, open assessments, open data sets, open simulations, and open educational software from producers including MIT OpenCourseWare, HarvardX, Stanford Engineering Everywhere, OpenLearn, Saylor Academy, Open Textbook Library, CK-12 Foundation, PhET Interactive Simulations.

History and Development

Origins trace to early digital libraries and initiatives at Massachusetts Institute of Technology with MIT OpenCourseWare and philanthropic support from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Milestones include declarations and meetings hosted by UNESCO, policy statements from the European Commission, research projects funded by the National Science Foundation, and large platform launches such as edX, Coursera, FutureLearn, and community repositories like Wikimedia Foundation projects. Regional development involves initiatives at Open University (UK), Athabasca University, University of Cape Town, University of the Philippines, Peking University, Tsinghua University, and coordination through bodies like Jisc, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, and OECD.

Licensing and Legal Framework

Licensing practices rely heavily on frameworks developed by Creative Commons and legal work influenced by decisions in jurisdictions like United States v. Microsoft Corp. (context for software licensing debates), legislation such as national copyright laws in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, India, Canada, European Union directives, and treaty regimes under the Berne Convention. Common legal instruments include Creative Commons Attribution, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike, and permissive licenses used for software like MIT License and GNU General Public License. Institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford University, Yale University, Princeton University, University of California, University of Michigan, University of Toronto, and organizations including Creative Commons, Open Knowledge Foundation, Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Knowledge shape policy and practice.

Pedagogical Practices and Benefits

OER support pedagogies employed at Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Oxford, University of Melbourne, University of British Columbia, University of Sydney, National University of Singapore, University of Cape Town, and UNESCO programs. Benefits cited by advocates like Khan Academy and OpenStax include cost reduction for students at institutions such as California State University, University of Texas System, University of British Columbia, improved curricular adaptability in programs at Athabasca University, Open University (UK), University of Phoenix, and enhanced collaborative practices exemplified by projects at Wikimedia Foundation, MERLOT, and OER Commons. Pedagogical approaches include remixing content used in courses at edX, Coursera, FutureLearn, MITx, and integrating open data from sources such as World Bank, UNESCO, European Data Portal, and NASA.

Technology and Platforms

Platforms and tools include Moodle, Canvas (learning management system), Sakai, edX, Coursera, FutureLearn, Open edX, Google Classroom, YouTube, Vimeo, GitHub, GitLab, Wikimedia Commons, Internet Archive, Zenodo, Figshare, Dryad (repository), Open Science Framework, OpenStax, PhET Interactive Simulations, CK-12 Foundation, MERLOT, OER Commons, BCcampus OpenEd Resources, Jisc Open Educational Resources, and content delivery networks run by Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure. Interoperability standards from IMS Global Learning Consortium, Experience API, SCORM, and initiatives at IEEE enable integrations with institutional systems at University of Michigan, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Pennsylvania State University, and national platforms sponsored by European Commission projects.

Policy, Adoption, and Funding

Adoption has been driven by national and institutional policies at ministries and universities such as Ministry of Education (India), U.S. Department of Education, Department for Education (UK), European Commission, OECD, UNESCO, and funding from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, World Bank, National Science Foundation, and regional development banks. Programs include open textbook initiatives in the State of California, State of Washington, Province of British Columbia, Government of India schemes, and university mandates at University of California, University of Minnesota, University of Georgia, University of British Columbia, University of Minnesota, and consortia coordinated by Jisc and BCcampus.

Challenges and Criticisms

Critiques raised by scholars at Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of Toronto, University of Melbourne, University of Cape Town, and policy analysts at OECD and UNESCO include sustainability of funding debated in contexts like National Science Foundation grant cycles, quality assurance compared to commercial publishers such as Pearson PLC and McGraw Hill, discoverability issues versus repositories like Google Scholar and WorldCat, localization and language coverage for regions represented by UNESCO and African Development Bank, intellectual property conflicts litigated in courts such as United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and technical barriers related to platforms like Moodle and cloud providers including Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Equity concerns address digital divides described in reports by World Bank, UNESCO, International Telecommunication Union, and national agencies including Ofcom and Federal Communications Commission.

Category:Open content