Open Educational Resources (OER)

OER are educational teaching and learning materials that are published under a license allowing them to be freely used, downloaded, edited, and shared with others. Open educational resources include learning content, full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming media, tests, and software.

"The 5Rs of Openness" by opencontent.org is an adaptation of Defining the "Open" in Open Content and Open Educational Resources, which was originally written by David Wiley and published freely under CC BY NC 4.0.

• Traditionally published materials are often expensive and only allow students access to digital materials for a limited time
• OER offer more equitable access to knowledge and education
• Faculty can adapt, revise, and remix content to tailor it to their specific learning outcomes
• OER foster a collaborative community that shares, creates, and builds upon knowledge and ideas

HACC Student SmartEvals Spring 2025

The flexibility of OER allows for the inclusion of diverse perspectives and better representation of underserved student populations. This diversity within course materials impacts students' perceptions, engagement, retention, ultimately impacting their success.

• First-generation students who engage with diversified OER materials report improved sense belonging on campus (Sergiadis, A.,et.al., 2024).

• When instructors select diverse, relevant, and current content tailored to their students’ needs it not only enhances content diversity but also transforms their teaching practices (Sergiadis, A.,et.al., 2024).

• Culturally responsive and diverse representation is highly valued by students and essential for creating inclusive academic programs and fostering a diverse workforce (Sergiadis, A.,et.al., 2024)