If a resource is not free or openly licensed, it cannot be described as an OER. For example, most materials accessed through your library’s subscriptions cannot be altered, remixed, or redistributed. These materials require special permission to use and therefore cannot be considered “open.” Table 1 below explains the difference between OER and other resources often misattributed as OER.
Note: Although some materials are free to access for a library’s users, that does not mean that they are free to access for everyone (including the library). Similarly, while some open access resources are made available under a copyright license that enables modification, this is not always the case..
The above content is adapted from OER and Alternative Textbook Handbook by Ariana Santiago licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
It is very important that you license your work to prevent unauthorized usage, and make it clear what others can do with your work. Although we covered this in a class session this is a reminder to choose a license and add that license to your review.
Use the CC License Chooser to ensure that you understand what your license will allow others to do. You can also use this tool to generate the wording for your license which you can then add to the review you write for the class Reader.
Thank you for sharing your work and contributing the global community of learning!