Open educational resources are public domain materials that can be used, adapted, and shared without infringing copyright.
Can you imagine as a teacher being able to access high-quality teaching materials, legally and for free? Digital books, infographics, teaching units, and videos are available at meeting points for education professionals. They allow cost savings while promoting pedagogical innovation and equity in learning access.
In this article, you will discover what OER are in detail, what types exist, where to find them with concrete examples, and a small guide to implement them in the classroom.
Thanks to all the information we have prepared, you will understand their importance in promoting a legal framework that ensures knowledge becomes a common good.
What are Open Educational Resources (OER)?
In general terms, Open Educational Resources are open-license materials that anyone can use for teaching, learning, or research completely free of charge. This type of license allows those who use these educational resources to access, adapt, reuse, and redistribute them.
Open Educational Resources definition
UNESCO describes OER as “teaching and research materials in any format and medium that reside in the public domain or are under copyright that have been released under an open license, that permit no-cost access, re-use, re-purpose, adaptation, and redistribution by others.”
In other words, beyond simply sharing materials and resources, it is a way to share knowledge with freedom of use and transformation to democratize education and offer accessible solutions to different contexts and realities.
These materials have 5 main characteristics:
- Free: To access and use them at no cost, they must be published with an open license. It is important to note that not all free resources are OER, as we will see later.
- Digital: They are usually online resources, which facilitates access and availability, although they can also be physical materials.
- Multiple formats: They can take all types of formats that serve communication. For example, they can be videos, infographics, courses (including MOOCs or massive open online courses), digital books, complete units, etc.
- Versatile: They can cover any educational level, subject, or adapt to any teaching style.
- Adaptable: They can be transformed to meet the educational needs of each professional.
Origin and principles of OER for shared knowledge
The concept of open educational resources emerged with initiatives like MIT’s OpenCourseWare, which in 2001 published complete courses online for free.
This movement of liberalizing materials was a revolution that has continued to be supported by organizations like UNESCO and the OECD, based on 4 fundamental principles:
- Free access: Anyone can access the content.
- Reuse: Resources can be used freely without modification in any educational context.
- Adaptation: They can also be translated, reorganized, or updated as needed.
- Distribution: They can be shared with other teachers and worked on collaboratively.
For example, a teacher can download a resource in English, translate it into Spanish, and modify it to adapt it to the special educational needs of their students.
As you can see, OER are not just free resources; they are materials that can evolve and grow depending on the creativity and needs of each teacher, generating a multiplying effect.
Types and examples of Open Educational Resources
OER include all types of material designed to support teaching, learning, and research that is freely accessible and can be adapted and redistributed.
In the following points, we have compiled the most common types you can find.
Interactive digital resources
These are software and applications that facilitate personalized learning for students, motivate them, and promote collaborative environments that also help develop digital skills.
Audiovisual content
This includes videos, animated stories, or visual explanations that enhance motivation and multisensory learning, one of the principles of neuroeducation.
Digital Learning Objects (DLOs)
These are part of a wide range of educational resources, from textbooks and manuals for educational purposes to maps or structured guides that organize knowledge, detailed documents including objectives, skills, and competencies to develop, complementary materials, etc.
You can also find assessment tools such as exams, quizzes, or methodologies.
Virtual environments and digital platforms
These are repositories hosting all types of adaptable material collections for each educational stage, as well as free and open courses for self-study, such as OpenCourseWare (OCW).
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Where can you find Open Educational Resources? Most popular repositories
Next, we present international Open Educational Resources so you can start exploring them.
International repositories
Here are some international OER you can access:
- Open Educational Resources – OER Commons: Offers a large repertoire of resources in multiple languages, also organized in collections or by providers. They have been reviewed and cataloged by the educational community.
- Europeana: Contains more than 60 million items forming the European cultural and educational digital heritage. You can also share your collections if you work in an institution.
- MERLOT: A directory with more than 30,000 resources created by California State University, along with other institutions. A qualified community performs peer reviews across different disciplines.
- MIT OpenCourseWare: Offers free and open access to materials from its official courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from class notes to assignments, exams, study guides, recommended readings, etc.
- Internet Archive: A large nonprofit library providing free access to millions of resources under open licenses. You can find digital books, educational documents, all types of multimedia, and even software and historical website versions.
Additionally, universities such as Yale or Stanford also provide materials for users to consult, use, or redistribute.
OER in Early Childhood Education: examples
These resources in early childhood education promote active learning, making it relevant to the student and adapting it to different learning styles in the classroom.
It is assumed that one of the strategies when working with these materials is brain-based learning, advocating inclusive and differentiated teaching.
In this aspect, OER can play a significant role in early childhood education due to their versatility and effect on learning. You can see it in the following examples:
- Interactive multimedia games and simulators: Facilitate gamification in the classroom, an effective approach to develop skills such as critical thinking and creativity while energizing content creation.
- Story and song videos: Can be used to introduce vocabulary, values, and good habits and routines for younger ages.
- Printable worksheets and graphic resources: Activity models for cutting, matching, and coloring are useful for both independent and group learning.
Ideally, as mentioned, these valuable resources should be adapted to children’s learning styles (active, reflective, theoretical, or pragmatic) and interests. Their variety allows for renewing and improving the student experience.
How to implement OER in the classroom step by step
Rather than just talking about implementing OER in the classroom, it is necessary to focus on a different perspective: adapting OER to the needs of your strategies and classroom diversity.
The large variety of content can be overwhelming, so we share some recommendations to get the most out of them. To provide maximum value, we base this on the basic guide proposed by UNESCO.
Analyze your students’ needs and plan your strategy
The first step for effective instructional design is understanding your students’ knowledge and needs. Ask yourself what their strengths and weaknesses are, which knowledge blocks them, what activities suit the skills they need to develop, etc.
Then, with this valuable information, carefully plan how you will introduce open educational resources. Select the most relevant resources and test them before adapting them. Remember, personalization is key for meaningful and effective learning.
Sequence and vary activities
Continuing with personalization, one advantage of OER is that they allow addressing diversity in learning paces and styles.
It is advisable to alternate different resource formats and combine them sequentially, ensuring equal opportunities for students to learn, explore, acquire, and manage knowledge.
Promote interaction, participation, and experimentation
In active learning strategies, OER gain even more relevance because they help promote interaction, participation, and experimentation.
This is because active participation and co-creation place the student as an agent in their own learning, which beneficially increases motivation and engagement.
Guide and assess OER success
One major challenge for teachers in information societies is balancing the roles of guide or facilitator and supervisor or evaluator. OER can help. For example, digital portfolios can be used in classes to allow students to self-assess their progress.
Feedback guides, rubrics, worksheets, and quizzes can help teachers evaluate students in different contexts.
You can also find OER platforms for peer assessment, self-assessment, and instant feedback. All are valuable for monitoring student progress and adjusting strategies.
Leverage technology and enhance accessibility
Digital platforms and open technologies expand personalized learning possibilities. They also promote ubiquitous learning, ensuring all students and families have the necessary support for using resources.
Focus on renewal and personalization
OER allow students to learn and create based on their specific needs. They align with institutions’ missions to prepare critical, autonomous, creative, and collaborative citizens.
Another advantage is online modules and courses designed for each educational community member. For example, teachers can access materials to develop skills for active learning or implementing open and varied assessments. They can also find open repositories and communities providing access to case studies, workshops, and best practices in using OER.
In short, incorporating open educational resources in the classroom improves student performance, promotes digital and strategic skill acquisition, and strengthens their confidence and engagement in learning.
Benefits of Open Educational Resources that reinforce their importance
Before continuing, let us share some of the most relevant benefits of OER, showing their importance in current education for students, teachers, and institutions:
- They help remove economic and copyright barriers by providing free access to educational materials.
- They adapt to any context, level, or learning style, offering a high degree of personalization in education.
- They promote continuous content updating and improvement, engaging students with relevant and meaningful learning.
- They reduce the costs of acquiring attractive content and licenses, supporting small-budget projects, institutions, and organizations, promoting economic sustainability in education.
- They enhance academic collaboration among teachers worldwide.
- They facilitate educational inclusion, both in classrooms and in underserved populations or those with geographic barriers.
- They support professional development for teachers and improve the reputation and visibility of institutions using OER, as well as sharing resources they create.
Given these advantages, you can recognize the global transformative power of these resources.
How to evaluate if an OER is high quality? Evaluation checklist
Now that you know how useful OER can be, one challenge is choosing them. You need to determine if the resource is high-quality and useful.
We have prepared a small checklist that you can adapt to your activity:
| Check | Aspect to Consider | Resource Verification |
| Relevance and suitability | Aligns with learning objectives and student context. | |
| Accuracy and currency | Contains precise, valuable, and updated information. Cites sources and is based on scientific evidence or proven pedagogical methods. | |
| Appropriate license | Clearly indicates an open license (such as Creative Commons) and specifies permissions for use, adaptation, and redistribution. | |
| Ease of access | Material is easily found, accessible via different devices, and available in multiple formats. | |
| Technical quality | Clear, logical, and relevant structure, facilitating content comprehension. | |
| Adaptability | Can be easily adapted without undue restrictions. | |
| Author credibility | Created by recognized authors or reputable educational institutions. Ideally peer-reviewed or evaluated by the teaching community where applicable. |
Open Educational Resources summarized in 4 questions
The following questions help consolidate what you have learned in this article.
How can Open Educational Resources be defined in one sentence?
OER are materials for teaching, learning, and research, freely accessible with licenses that allow them to be used, adapted, and distributed freely.
What types of Open Educational Resources exist?
You can access countless OER such as interactive digital resources (applications, software, or simulators), audiovisual content (videos, podcasts, or infographics), curricular materials (open textbooks, guides, and best practices), educational tools and platforms (Google Classroom, open Moodle, etc.)
Examples of Open Educational Resources for Early Childhood Education
For early childhood education, you can find interactive stories, themed digital games, materials for promoting inclusivity in the classroom, resources to create learning corners, etc.
What benefits do Open Educational Resources provide?
OER promote universal access to quality educational materials and tools, reduce costs for students and institutions, and promote equal opportunities.
They also allow personalized learning and foster classroom innovation, helping develop strategic skills such as creativity, autonomy, and critical thinking.
OER and proctoring: integrity of digital transformation
OER enhance accessibility and learning quality in digital environments: they offer flexible, free, and customizable materials that support teaching and self-learning.
However, this digital transformation poses challenges, such as ensuring the integrity and reliability of assessment processes based on OER.
In this important aspect, Smowltech has proven experience offering professional remote monitoring systems to clients.
Our proctoring plans provide remote, real-time exam supervision, ensuring results accurately reflect student learning.
Request a free demo to see in detail the solutions we offer to create respectful and effective learning environments for your students.
Essential links about OER
The following links allow you to deepen your knowledge of these open resources:
The Dubai Declaration on Open Educational Resources (2024) is a document addressing digital public goods and emerging technologies for equitable and inclusive access.
Preamble of the World OER Congress (2012).
Open Education Global (OEGlobal) is an international network of institutions and OER experts.
