LIDA103 Definition of OER

Courses Learning in a digital age
42

Hi @Maruff

Its important not to confuse “Openly accessible resources” with “OER”

It is possible to publish a downloadable version of an all rights reserved text. In this example, the resource would be accessible at no cost, however it would not meet the requirements of the OER definition.

OER must provide the user with permissions to revise and remix the materials, in addition to the rights to use and redistribute freely. This is achieved by applying an open license with the appropriate permissions or dedicating the work to the public domain.

As far as I know, the APA reference guide is all rights reserved and does not provide the 5R permissions. (Although they do provide no-cost access to the introduction of the guide.)

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#LiDA103 Thank you for this detailed explanation. So, it presupposes that open licencing is the hall mark of a typical OER. Once a resource is tagged ‘all rights reserved’, it will not meet the 5Rs. I am still learning here.

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Correct - OER requires:

  1. No cost access plus
  2. 5R permissions (eg through open licensing)

This is why we incorporate learning pathways on copyright and Creative Commons licensing. This is foundational knowledge to implement OER.

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#LiDA103
I have a question
I have created a course on a flexible hybrid pedagogical practices. I am concerned about licensing issues. Is getting a copyright a prerequisite to apply for CC license?

46

Great question! In most places in the world, copyright exists for your creations (your ‘expressions’ of ideas) by default. You don’t have to do anything beyond creating something. Listing a copyright notice is just a reminder, because many people don’t know much about copyright. CC licenses allow you to use that implicit copyright to explicitly exclude some rights you claim.

47

Thank you for the clarification.