Using open educational resources (OER) provides several benefits: OER are free to use and openly licensed, allowing users to access, reuse, and redistribute them. However, not all online educational resources are open or have a Creative Commons license. While OER avoid copyright restrictions and permissions, users must be careful as Creative Commons licenses are non-revocable and works will remain available even if the license is later changed. Finding high-quality, relevant OER may require searching through multiple resources online.

1. How To Use Open Educational
Resources

2. BENEFITS
Using Open Educational Resources

3. Benefits: Using Open Educational
Resources
Need an Educational
lesson, lecture, photo, or video?
• There are many quality Open
Educational Resources
available to choose from
online! What you need may
already exist!
• Open Educational Resources
are FREE and openly licensed!
• Public domain works are not
protected by copyright and
free to use without needing
permission!
Want to Change it to Make it
Your Own?
• An Open License, typically a
Creative Commons
License, grants permission to
access, re-use, and
redistribute an Open
Educational Resource with few
or no restrictions.
• Creative Commons copyright
licenses give everyone, from
large companies to
individuals, a
simple, standardized way to
grant copyright permissions to
their creative work.

4. CHALLENGES
Using Open Educational Resources

5. Challenges: Using Open Educational
Resources
Need a Quality OER?
Don’t Know where to find OER?
• Not all Open Educational
Resources are credible.
• Not all Open Educational
Resources easily translate to
be relevant for your needs.
• Not all online Educational
Resources are Open and/or
have a Creative Commons
License!
• You may have to surf the web
awhile to find what you need!
Want to Share Your Creative
Work Online?
• Creative Commons Licenses
are completely non-revocable,
so you cannot stop someone
who obtained your work
under Creative Commons from
using it according to the
license. Be Careful!
• You can stop using Creative
Commons Licenses, however,
it will not affect the rights
associated with copies already
in circulation under Creative
Commons. It’s always out
there!

6. How To Use Open Educational
Resources