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Open Educational Resources (OERs)

This guide introduces instructors to OERs and how to find them.

UW-Superior's OER Program

UW-Superior's OER Program is led by the Markwood Center for Learning, Innovation & Collaboration's (CLIC) OER Committee. Established in 2020, the committee's goal is to make education more affordable for all UW-Superior students and holds various professional development programs for instructors to teach them about finding, using, and developing OERs:

  • OER Mini-Grant Program: Each spring, instructors are invited to apply to an OER Mini-Grant to adopt, adapt, remix, or create an OER. UW-Superior instructors can find more information at the CLIC's SharePoint site.
  • OER Intensive Workshop: Each fall, instructors join the committee members for two mornings of workshops, conversations, and idea-sharing. Participants receive a small stipend and are asked to review an open textbook in the Open Textbook Library.
  • Asynchronous OER Training: UWS instructors are invited to self-enroll in this three- to four-hour asynchronous OER training that results in a digital badge.
  • Open Education Week: Each spring, the committee hosts various programs to raise awareness about OERs on campus and celebrate the work our instructors have undertaken to save students money on course materials.

Forty-two instructors and staff have participated in the CLIC's OER Program since 2021, savings students $111,932 in course material costs!

To contact the OER Committee, please email committee chair Emily Moran at emoran4@uwsuper.edu.

OERs at the Universities of Wisconsin

During the 2024-25 academic year, UW's Office of Academic Affairs created an OER Community of Practice to bring together UW's institutions to start a system-wide grant initiative and to establish OER support at the system level. Visit UW's OER website and UW's Pressbooks network for more information.

What OERs are

Open Education Resources are “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” (UNESCO). OERs provide the public with free and perpetual permission to engage in the 5R activities:

  • Retain - The right to make, own, and control a copy of the resource (e.g., download and keep your own copy).
  • Reuse - The right to use the OER material in a variety of ways, such as in a classroom, online presentation, or study group.
  • Revise - The right to to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the OER material, such as translating it into another language.
  • Remix - The right to combine the OER material with other materials to create something new, such as a mashup or new course content.
  • Redistribute - The right to share copies of your original, revised, or remixed copy of the resource with others (e.g., post a copy online or give one to a friend).

The above is adapted from original writing by David Wiley, published under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Why Use OERs

There are several reasons you might wish to use an OER in the classroom:

  • Promote Students' Well-Being and Mental Health

  • High Quality Academic Experiences that Respond to the Needs of Students and the Region
    • Materials can be modified to contextualize information for students, offering more opportunities for diversity or inclusion.
    • Materials can be tailored specifically for a course, assuring academic freedom.

  • Varied and Diverse Professional and Educational Opportunities
    • Students can gain experience through open pedagogical methods.
    • Materials can be updated by instructors, allowing for a diverse range of educational opportunities.

  • A Campus Culture of Care that Embraces Every Student
    • Materials can be utilized to better respond to student needs, making teaching easier. 
    • OERs reduce the cost of course materials to make higher education more accessible and affordable. 

Creative Commons Licenses

OERs are made possible by Creative Commons (CC) Licenses, also called open licenses. CC Licenses fall under Copyright Law. Whereas traditionally copyrighted material are all rights reserved, openly licensed materials have some rights reserved. This is dependent on which of the six CC licenses that a creator chooses to attach to their work and distribute to the public online. 

For more information about CC Licenses, please visit the following resources:

Watch the video below to learn more about the six CC licenses: