Open Educational Resources (OERs) are learning materials that can be modified and enhanced because their creators have permitted others to do so. Internet provides vast amounts of OER for use and reuse. Educational institutions usually produce it (sometimes by individuals too) and published online to the general public for their immediate use or repurposing according to the user’s needs. Individuals or organizations that create OERs can include materials like presentation slides, podcasts, syllabi, images, lesson plans, lecture videos, maps, worksheets, and even entire textbooks, typically via legal tools like Creative Commons licenses, so others can freely access, reuse, translate, and modify them.
Few perspectives towards OERs-
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation-
"OER is teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others. Open educational resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge."
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)-
"Digitised materials offered freely and openly for educators, students, and self-learners to use and reuse for teaching, learning, and research. OER includes learning content, software tools to develop, use, and distribute content and implement resources such as open licenses."
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)-
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."
The Cape Town Open Education Declaration-
"Open educational resources should be freely shared through open licenses that facilitate use, revision, translation, improvement, and sharing. Resources should be published in formats that facilitate both use and editing, and that accommodate a diversity of technical platforms. Whenever possible, they should also be available in formats accessible to people with disabilities and people who do not yet have access to the Internet."