Section 67423 of California Education Code defines Open Educational Resources (OER) as:
"high-quality teaching, learning, and research resources that:
Open educational resources include, but are not limited to: textbooks, course materials, modules, faculty-created content, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge. Unlike traditionally copyrighted material, these resources are available for "open" use, which means users can edit, modify, and share resources freely.
Between 2008 and 2016 the cost of college textbooks has risen 88% (Bureau of Labor Statistics), and the College Board estimates that full-time students in 2-year colleges will spend as much as $1,420 per year (2017-18) on textbooks. Struggling students and their families are increasingly forced to make hard choices about whether to purchase required course materials that they cannot afford or attempt to pass their courses without them. Though students are the ones that have to pay for course textbooks, they may have very little ability to influence the textbook market. Only faculty members have the power to determine the amount of money students will have to spend on their course materials. Interested in replacing your expensive textbooks with an OER but don't know how to get started? This guide can help!
Within the bounds of Creative Commons licensing there are 5 key points to consider when using OERs:
OERs include a wide range of materials: assessments, assignments, books, case studies, courses, journals, primary sources, reference materials, simulations, tutorials, tests, and textbooks.
https://libraries.etsu.edu/research/oer/home: This material is based on original writing by David Wiley, which was published freely under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license at http://opencontent.org/definition
Why Open Education by David Blake is licensed under CC BY 3.0.