It would be remiss for a guide on copyright not to mention a growing option for instructors to turn to when considering incorporating digital materials created by others – the pioneering movement of openness and open education. The most “open” open digital materials are those that allow the user to do the “5 R’s” – retain, reuse, revise, remix and redistribute.^[1] There are several resources that we’ll identify here (as well as in our resources chapter) which do a bang-up job in illustrating how and why you might consider open materials, but we’ll provide a brief summary on open access and open education resources.

Open Access

Open Access Textbooks

The Internet made it possible for authors to publish open textbooks online, to be freely used by others. Open textbooks are licensed under open copyright licenses. The web version of open textbooks are free, with a cost-recovery price for printed versions.  For an instructor, they represent a flexible option for course materials, as they are able to customize according to their course needs, and for students they offer a more affordable alternative to traditionally-published textbooks. Open textbooks were identified in the New Media Consortium‘s 2010 Horizon Report as a key component in the rapidly progressing adoption of open content in higher education^[2]

Open Access Journals

A robust definition via the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition,  defines open access journals as the “free, immediate, online availability of research articles, coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment”.^[3]

The open availability of this research literature is beneficial for not only increasing the impact of the research findings but also widening the access to this work. In the video Open Access Explained, the creator argues that this availability increases the value as users can not become informed about the work, but also build upon it to further develop their research – and, foster innovation. As an instructor, this presents opportunities for your own research, but within the context of your teaching initiatives, OA journals can provide your students with easily accessible materials that can be used wherever, whenever – a key ingredient for learners who might not be physically at, or registered in, an institution.

Open Education Resources

Open education resources (OER) are teaching and learning documents and media that are created and made freely available online with the above “5 R’s” in mind. These  can include anything from videos, podcasts, readings, assignments, quizzes, games – in some cases entire curriculum! Instructors find that well-developed OER is equivalent (or in some cases, better) than the materials traditionally used.^[4] The OER movement provides instructors with quality alternatives to producing materials that complements their own curriculum, opening up time and resources for development and application of active learning strategies. For both students and instructors, the flexibility OERs offers permit free and accessible engagement with multiple resources without having to adopt and purchase multiple textbooks. We’ve included a list of more popular sources to help you find a suitable OER in our Resources chapter.

Creative Commons

Many creators and authors who want to openly share their textbooks, research and other teaching and learning resources look to Creative Commons licenses. The Creative Commons website better explains the various licenses and how they can best be used. As an instructor, is it important to familiarize yourself and your students on the various permissions that each license grants to the user.