What are open educational resources?
Open educational resources (OERs) are easy-to-access resources with open licenses that are free to use, adapt, and copy. They are generally licensed using less restrictive licenses such as those from Creative Commons.
OERs include open textbooks, open access journals, open courses, open data, and more!
The most well-known type of open resources are open textbooks, which are online and free to access for students and instructors. These are beneficial as they remove financial barriers for students and allow instructors greater flexibility in terms of course materials.
OER at UCW
As of 2019, UCW has been making strides to support open education and resources. The Open Educational Resource Committee (OERC) was formed in 2019 and supports OER adoption by:
- Educating stakeholders about the benefits of OER
- Advocating and supporting the use of OER on campus
- Creating targeted initiatives to increase the use of OER materials including our Zero Cost Textbook Initiative (ZCT)
Learn more about the Zero Cost Textbook Initiative (ZCT) here.
If you would like to know more about OER at UCW visit our website or contact [email protected].
