The OER Tag allows Commons users to identify sites and groups that “use, compile, or function as” open educational resources. This tag can be used for:
- A site or group that compiles and/or links to openly-licensed OER materials on the web
- A site or group that offers (self-created, professor- or student-created) openly-licensed content that can be used and remixed by others
| A site or group with the OER tag may contain a mixture of open and closed materials. Look for Creative Commons licenses to determine which materials are OER. Learn more below. |
What are Open Educational Resources?
Open Educational Resources are not just any materials that are free! OER are free and openly licensed materials that you can use in your course. A defining feature of Open Educational resources is that they have an “open license”, typically a Creative Commons license, which indicates that the author/creator of the material has made the work available for others to use, share, and adapt (depending on the license type).
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
When determining if you are using OER ask:
- Are these materials openly licensed?
- Did the author/creator provide legal permission to use these materials and share them publicly? (check for type of Creative Commons License)
- Did the author/creator provide legal permission to adapt the materials? (check for type of Creative Commons License)
OER might include openly licensed textbooks, content in the public domain, open course content including remixable assignments, disciplinary resources or guides, open access journal articles, audio-visual materials, info-graphics….the list goes on!
- If you’re looking for open resources to teach with, check out OpenEd CUNY and these OER resources by CUNY Campus
You can also use free materials available on the web to teach , such as YouTube videos and mainstream news articles. And while you can link to them, you cannot re-produce them or change (remix) their form or content. This is because while they are free, they are not open.
That PDF book chapter you scanned, or the article you’re linking to in the library database might be free to your students but they are probably not open(ly licensed). You can teach with those materials but — you should not make content available to the public if you do not have the rights to share it (e.g. providing public access to journal articles or book chapters).
You can share these materials with your students, but not the general public. There are ways to set up various levels of access on the Commons (e.g. a private page on a public site) – just ask us how!
You can also create and share your own OER on the CUNY Academic Commons. Everything on the Commons is shared under an open license of your choosing. Check out some of these examples:
- Natural Sciences OER https://lagccnsdoer.commons.gc.cuny.edu/
- Teacher Education: https://cunytedoer.commons.gc.cuny.edu/
- Music Theory: https://ycmusictheory.commons.gc.cuny.edu/
- General Bio Lab Manual: https://bioclimate.commons.gc.cuny.edu/
- Commons OER Showcase: https://commons.gc.cuny.edu/open-educational-resource-projects-on-the-commons/
Is all this OER stuff confusing? That’s okay! Many things are possible on the Commons – just get in touch with us!
- If you have questions about OER and using/creating OER on the Commons please contact our Open Educational Technologist through our help desk
- If you’re looking for open resources to teach with, check out OpenEd CUNY and these OER resources by CUNY Campus
- If you want to learn about OER resources and support on your CUNY campus, contact your OER Campus Rep
| Be aware: not all content on sites and groups tagged as OER is openly licensed. Please look for open licenses to determine which content can be shared, reused, and remixed. |
Searching for OER on the Commons
Commons users can now search site, group, and course directories using this tag to discover a site/group that uses, compiles or is an OER.
| Be aware: not all content on sites and groups tagged as OER is openly licensed. Please look for open licenses to determine which content can be shared, reused, and remixed. |
Adding the OER Tag Site or Group as OER
The OER tag can be added to groups or sites that “use, compile, or function as” an OER. Adding this tag means that your group or site
- Links out to OER (AKA free and openly licensed content on the web)
- Hosts and makes available openly-licensed content (i.e. open access articles or OER assignments)
- Offers original OER content
- For example: self-created course modules or open textbook sections you wrote
- Examples of OER on the Commons: https://commons.gc.cuny.edu/open-educational-resource-projects-on-the-commons/
…To an already-existing Site
Go to “Settings > General” in the site dashboard. At the bottom of the General Settings page, there is a section for “Additional Site Information”. Click the checkbox to indicate if the site uses, compiles, or functions as an OER.
…To an already-existing Group
Visit the “Manage” area of the group menu to view the Group “Details”. At the bottom of the Details page, you will see the “Additional Information” section to indicate that the group uses, compiles or functions as an OER.
…During Site or Group Creation
During the creation phase of a group or site, under “Additional Information” use the check box to indicate that the group or site uses, compiles or is (will be) an OER.
For more information about editing group/site information see the HELP pages below.
For more about OER on the Commons see here:
