OER – What is it?

Open working practices and sharing are becoming increasingly important in the context of future key competencies such as critical thinking, dialogue, participation and media literacy. The basic idea is simple: knowledge grows when it is shared. Openness in research and teaching makes an important contribution to educational equity and the democratisation of knowledge, and is closely linked to movements such as Open Science, Open Access and Citizen Science.

Open educational resources, known in the German higher education context primarily by the English term Open Educational Resources (OER), are teaching materials that are freely accessible to everyone. They can be used, edited, redistributed and adapted to individual learning needs, entirely legally and without much red tape. A participatory approach to teaching using open tools and the active involvement of learners in the development of open educational resources are hallmarks of an open learning culture, known as Open Educational Practices (OEP). OER and OEP are closely intertwined and promote inclusive, equitable and high-quality education in line with the guidelines of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. The national OER Strategy (2022) defines OER as “an essential tool for cultural change in an increasingly digital education system.”

Formats of OER

The UNESCO defines Open Educational Resources (OER) as “educational materials of any kind and in any medium that are available under an open licence.” (2024). These include, for example, lecture slides, worksheets, videos, interactive exercises, podcasts, entire course concepts or examination questions. They are available for all subject areas and on various platforms – from regional repositories to international collections. To ensure that educational materials can be reused, they should be created in open file formats.

Further links:

General information on the topic: OERinfo

Dossier by the Higher Education Forum on Digitalisation on current developments and information regarding OER

Information on Creative Commons licences

Portal and think tank on copyright issues and related legal topics: iRIGHTS.info

Introduction to Open Educational Resources (DHBW)