Defining Open Educational Resources
Creative Commons Licensing
About CC Licenses
Creative Commons licenses give everyone from individual creators to large institutions a standardized way to grant the public permission to use their creative work under copyright law. From the reuser’s perspective, the presence of a Creative Commons license on a copyrighted work answers the question, What can I do with this work? For help with selecting a CC license, use the License Chooser.
The CC License options
There are six different license types, listed from most to least permissive here:
This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. CC BY includes the following elements:
BY: credit must be given to the creator.
CC BY-SA
This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms. CC BY-SA includes the following elements:
BY: credit must be given to the creator.
SA: Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.
CC BY-NC
This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. CC BY-NC includes the following elements:
BY: credit must be given to the creator.
NC: Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted.
CC BY-NC-SA
This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms. CC BY-NC-SA includes the following elements:
BY: credit must be given to the creator.
NC: Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted.
SA: Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.
CC BY-ND
This license enables reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. CC BY-ND includes the following elements:
BY: credit must be given to the creator.
ND: No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted.
CC BY-NC-ND
This license enables reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. CC BY-NC-ND includes the following elements:
BY: credit must be given to the creator.
NC: Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted.
ND: No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted.
The CC0 Public Domain Dedication
CC0 (aka CC Zero) is a public dedication tool, which enables creators to give up their copyright and put their works into the worldwide public domain. CC0 enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, with no conditions.
Adapted from About CC Licenses, CC-BY 4.0
Research
Databases
- Education Collection (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowIncludes Education Database and ERIC, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. It Provides full text journal articles from hundreds of education journals. It forms part of the Social Science Premium Collection.
Dates covered: 1966-present. - ERIC (Educational Resource Information Center) This link opens in a new window
The world's most widely used index to educational-related literature. ERIC is supported by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences and is the largest education database in the world. It includes over 1 million records of journal articles, research reports, curriculum and teaching guides, conference papers, and books. It is also available as part of of ProQuest Education Collection.
Dates covered: 1966-present.
Journals
- European Journal of Open, Distance and E-LearningThe European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning (EURODL) is an electronic, multi-media, open access journal. This double blind peer-review journal publishes the accounts of research and presents scholarly work and solid information about open, distance, online and e-learning in technology-enhanced education and training in its most inclusive definition since 1995.
- International Journal of Open Educational ResourcesThe International Journal of Open Educational Resources (IJOER) is a bi-annual, open access, double-blind peer-reviewed academic publication sponsored by the American Public University System (APUS) and the Policy Studies Organization (PSO).
- International Review of Research in Open and Distributed LearningThe International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning (IRRODL) is a refereed, open access e-journal that disseminates original research, theory, and best practice in open and distributed learning worldwide.
- Open Education GroupThe Open Education Group is an interdisciplinary research group that (1) conducts original, rigorous, empirical research on the impact of OER adoption on a range of educational outcomes and (2) designs and shares methodological and conceptual frameworks for studying the impact of OER adoption.
- Open PraxisOpen Praxis is a peer-reviewed open access scholarly journal focusing on research and innovation in open, distance, and flexible education. It is published by International Council for Open and Distance Education - ICDE
- Open Review of Educational ResearchOpen Review of Educational Research publishes double-blind peer-reviewed articles from a multidisciplinary perspective. Their scope is underpinned by an approach to educational studies and research that is committed to the principles of openness in education and research, and by philosophies of education that seek to explore the purpose of education and the role of new open technologies which promote greater exchange, interactivity, sharing and collaboration across academic specialties and across cultures. (Publishing ended 2019)
Selected Books
Affordable Course Materials: Electronic Textbooks and Open Educational Resources by Call Number: Lincoln Park Stacks ; 025.21877 A2572ISBN: 9780838915806Publication Date: 2017-07-21Association for Library Collections & Technical Services has gathered its members' expertise to describe affordable text initiatives that promise to improve student learning and student retention.
The Battle for Open: How Openness Won and Why It Doesn't Feel Like Victory by ISBN: 9781909188341Publication Date: 2014-11-28Examines four key areas that have been central to the developments within open education: open access, MOOCs, open education resources and open scholarship.
Enhancing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) in Open Educational Resources (OER) by ISBN: 9780645326Publication Date: 2022This practical guide provides a framework and tips to enhance inclusion, diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in Open Educational Resources.
Interactive Open Educational Resources by Call Number: Lincoln Park Stacks ; 001.42 S5286IISBN: 9781118277454Publication Date: 2014-01-21This one-of-a-kind book demonstrates the best tools, resources, and techniques for discovering, selecting, and integrating interactive open educational resources (OERs) into the teaching and learning process.
Open Education: International Perspectives in Higher Education by ISBN: 1783742798Publication Date: 2016-12-19This insightful collection of essays explores the ways in which open education can democratise access to education for all.
Open Educational Resources (OER) Pedagogy and Practices by ISBN: 9781799812029Publication Date: 2019-11-29This book examines open educational resources in education with a focus on pedagogical discussion and practices in teaching and learning in higher education and in K-12 schools.
Using Open Educational Resources to Promote Social Justice by ISBN: 9780838936771Publication Date: 2022-11-04Using Open Educational Resources to Promote Social Justice takes a multidisciplinary approach and is filled with examples of the ways OER and open pedagogy can be used to support social justice in education.
Learning Resources
- SUNY OER Training Courses (self-paced)These SUNY OER Training Courses will introduce you to the fundamental principles and effective practices related to Open Educational Resources. Throughout this learning space, you will have the opportunity to explore and discuss methods and approaches to finding, adopting, customizing, integrating, creating, publishing, and licensing OER.
- Open Education ConferenceThe Open Education Conference is an annual convening for sharing and learning about open educational resources, open pedagogy, and open education initiatives. This dynamic gathering celebrates the core values of open education that strive to realize education ecosystems that are accessible, affordable, equitable and inclusive to everyone, regardless of their background.
- Open Education Global Conferencehe OE Global conference is the most internationally diverse conference devoted exclusively to open education, attracting researchers, practitioners, policy makers, educators and students from more than 35 countries to discuss and explore how Open Education advances educational practices around the world.
Locating OER
- Mason OER Metafinder ToolMason OER Metafinder launches a real-time, simultaneous search across 22 different sources of open educational materials.
- Open Textbook LibraryThe Open Textbook Network project comes from the University of Minnesota. It offers open textbooks that are licensed for teachers and students to use freely, adapt, and distribute.
- Pressbooks DirectoryPressbooks Directory is a free, searchable catalog that includes 6,581 open access books published by 176 organizations and networks using Pressbooks.