The 5 R’s of OER’s - THE 5 RIGHTS OF OPENNESS

Outside of the benefits of free, no cost, up-to-date and easy access resources, why should you consider Open Educational Resources?  Within the bounds of Creative Commons licensing there are 5 rights to consider when using OERs:

1. Retain – the right to retain copies of a resource for personal archives or reference via downloading, duplicating, storing, and managing.

2. Reuse – the right to unaltered, original resources that can be reused in various ways, such as: in a class, in a study group, on a website, in a video or in online instruction.

3. Revise – the right to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter a resource so that it will suit a specific need (e.g., translate the content into another language, tailor the resource to the specifics of a course, etc.).

4. Remix – the right to take an open resource and combine it with other related open content to make something new or improved. For example, adding music, graphics, PowerPoint, video, and research from various sources to create an improved presentation.

5. Redistribute – the right to share copies of the original or remixed resource with anyone else from friends, to colleagues, to your students.

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