What are OER?

Open Educational Resources are teaching and learning materials that are freely available online, licensed in a way which enables them to be used and adapted by anyone worldwide, while ensuring that the original creators will always be acknowledged and credited for their work, and their rights as authors respected.  OER come in all shapes and sizes and can include anything from a simple reading list to a full course.  Some of the more common types of OER include course notes, slides, images, podcasts and videos.  There are thousands of OER already available online, with many of them released by the most prestigious universities worldwide.  Most OER are licensed with a Creative Commons licence.