Open Education Resource

Open Education Resource

Maureen Wilson, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Definitions and background

In 2001, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (MIT), openly discussed the online sharing of faculty-created courseware for free public use to allow for fair access to all. In 2002, UNESCO officially coined the term Open Educational Resources (OER). OER have since been defined as the “technology-enabled, open provision of educational resources for consultation, use and adaption by a community of users for non-commercial purposes” (Kanwar, 2010, p. 66). OER allow users to adapt, consult and share information and communication technology for personal use (Rolfe, 2012).

According to Chen and Panda (2013), OER provides a platform in which users can share knowledge, materials, tools and techniques encouraging open collaboration, communication and co-construction. OER are continually evolving and being amended to demonstrate the growth in productivity and “the sharing of best practices” (Rolfe, 2012, p. 1).

Wilson (2008) maintains that OER provide opportunities to people who are employed, travel extensively, are from differing educational backgrounds, or from differing socioeconomic circumstances. Wilson concludes that OERs have the potential to be life-changing and can lead to the advancement of lifelong learning and self-improvement (2008).