What are OER?
Open Educational Resources (OER) generally refer to educational content that is available under free licenses, which often include the widely recognized Creative Commons (CC) licenses, or is marked as being in the public domain.
The term was first introduced by UNESCO during a forum on higher education in developing countries back in 2002 (UNESCO, 2002: 24). The fundamental aspects of OER consist of providing free access to educational resources, making them adaptable and facilitating their dissemination via the internet (ibid.).
In order for teaching and learning materials to be disseminated under these conditions, research attempts to define the openness of resources, i.e. the term Open, more precisely: Wiley formulates the 5R-Rules for this purpose, which is the most commonly used practice-oriented definition (Wiley, Bliss & McEwen, 2014: 782; Wiley & Hilton, 2018: 134-135). In German, these are translated as the 5V rules (see 5V graphic).
OER must first be legally permissible for retaining. According to §60a paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Copyright Act (UrhG), teachers have some freedom to use copyrighted material for teaching purposes, but these rights are limited to their educational institution. This means that the materials can only be shared intra-institutionally – they may only be provided to students, teachers, examiners etc. from the same school. A general publication of these materials is not allowed.
The second rule for reusing OER is based on the same conditions. Even though teachers in Germany have some freedom to use material under the UrhG, the potential of OER is that these can be fully utilised in other contexts as well.
The third „R“ requires the ability to revise the resource. Otherwise, according to §23 of the UrhG, protected works cannot be further modified without the author’s consent. This consent to revise is provided through Creative Commons (CC) licenses (unless the license includes „ND“ for „non-derivative,“ meaning that no modifications are allowed) and for works designated as being in the public domain. This permission is crucial, as it may be necessary to translate OER into other languages, correct errors, or adapt them to fit one’s own teaching content.
The fourth „R“ is that OER should be allowed to be remixed. This involves combining material with other OER and adding content to create more targeted learning arrangements. Additionally, remixing allows for the creation of entirely new resources, which represent the core of OER-enabled pedagogy, as proposed by Wiley and Hilton (2018). Free and accessible materials can thus reach many learners and teachers.
The fifth „R,“ redistribution, is especially important, as it is the basic idea of OER, which allows these resources to be shared and disseminated in their original as well as modified forms to reach as many people as possible.
When these five requirements are met, teaching and learning materials can be considered OER. They can be used in formal and informal educational contexts, for independent learning, for a diverse group of learners including pupils, students, workers, trainees, teachers at various institutions, or anyone interested in learning. Overall, the goal of OER is to make education accessible and available to everyone.
To maximise the accessibility of learning resources, it is important to understand their licensing. Most people are familiar with the copyright symbol (©), which indicates that a legal person holds the rights to a symbol, photo, word, product, or any other work of creativity. However, it is not necessary to protect one’s own creations through costly and complex processes. In Germany, the Copyright Act (UrhG) specifies that literary, scientific, and artistic works are protected by their creators (§1). While most people may not consider their vacation photos to be works of art, they are still considered „personal intellectual creations“ and therefore protected by the law (§2, subsection 2). Consequently, photographers who take photos have the rights to them and can publish them, but others cannot distribute them without the authorisation of the rights holder (§31).
To make Open Educational Resources (OER) accessible and usable for everyone, it is important to use licenses that meet the 5-R rules. Various free or open licenses are available to achieve this goal. The Creative Commons (CC) licenses are the most commonly used open licenses (https://creativecommons.org). They can be created quickly and for free on the corresponding website. You can either read about the individual licenses and their features or use an online tool that suggests the appropriate license for your intended use/release based on a few questions. Once created, the license is valid for your product.
There are seven CC licenses in total, each offering different degrees of openness. Although there is no clear agreement on when openness is no longer considered a given in OER, one can compare the CC-licenses with the „5R freedoms“ mentioned earlier. CC0 is a public domain license that allows a product to be used without any conditions. Other licenses, such as CC-BY, allow for the same possibilities for further use but require that the author be credited. The other licenses gradually restrict further processing. CC BY-SA (SAme) requires that any modifications made to the original product be shared under the same license, CC BY-NC (Non-Commercial) prohibits commercial use, and CC BY-ND (No Derivatives) prohibits any modifications to the product. Two other licenses combine these restrictions in different ways: CC BY-NC-SA and CC BY-NC-ND.
Open Educational Resources (OER) have become a pivotal component in contemporary education. The integration of OER into English lessons enables us to reconsider traditional teaching methods and promote innovation. OER disrupt the typical linear process of creating, distributing, and utilising teaching materials, thereby providing numerous ways to open up teaching and learning processes.
OER allow access to alternate, digitally-supported teaching materials with a potentially broader range of content than traditional textbooks. In the midst of digitisation and its related challenges, OER create a new infrastructure for teaching and learning by providing contemporary teaching materials that are widely accessible and adaptable in terms of educational equity. Teachers and learners alike can not only use, but also actively and collaboratively publish materials and products in the public domain, releasing them for use and adaptation. The Five Freedoms of OER, developed by David Wiley (2014), are particularly noteworthy in this regard.
These new opportunities for participation through OER are vital for both learners and teachers. Engagement with OER and the associated use, review, and adaptation of materials created by others is a crucial key competence in the professional development of teachers, encouraging professional exchange among teachers beyond the limits of their own institution. Especially for students, OER play a central role in light of the growing significance of media skills. OER offer new digitally-supported task formats that need to be used and critically evaluated in terms of media literacy. Additionally, OER can play a pivotal role in performance differentiation by providing students with the chance to exercise their right to education based on their own needs outside of formal learning spaces.
