Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) - Open Educational Resources

Although learning resources are often considered as key intellectual property in a competitive higher education world, more and more institutions and individuals are sharing their digital learning resources over the Internet openly and for free, as Open Educational Resources. The OECD’s OER project asks why this is happening, who is involved and what the most important implications are of this development."

The project analyses and maps the scale and scope of initiatives regarding “open educational resources” (OER) in terms of their purpose, content, and funding. It looks into different sustainable cost/benefits models and intellectual property right issues linked to OER initiatives. Furthermore we address questions regarding incentives and barriers for universities and faculty staff to deliver their material to OER initiatives and how to improve access and usefulness for users of OER initiatives.

The main output of the project is the publication Giving Knowledge for Free: The Emergence of Open Educational Resources, issued in May 2007.  A Swedish version and a Catalan version of this publication are now also available.

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The rapidly changing phenomenon of Open Educational Resources and the challenges it poses for higher education.

Giving Knowledge for Free: The Emergence of Open Educational Resources

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