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Open Educational Resources & Open Access

The skyrocketing cost of student textbooks has contributed to the growth and adoption of open educational resources. This guide is designed to help you learn more about these types of resources and where to begin in locating possible OER course resources

OER vs. OA: A Distinction

Open Educational Resources (OER) are free materials for teaching and learning that can be reused and/or modified (based on the creative commons copyright license).  Resources may include textbooks, articles, videos, and other multimedia materials.

Open Access (OA) is access to scholarly material such as publications, journals, and articles. The material is free to use depending on the creative commons license. They cannot be modified; however.

The resources provided in this guide are a mix of OER and OA resources.  The main difference between Open Educational Resources and Open Access Resources is whether material can or cannot be modified; both models are openly available to use.

Degreed (2012). Why Open Education Matters. https://youtu.be/gJWbVt2Nc-I 

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