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Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER)

The 5 Rs of Open Resources

The 5Rs of Open Resources

Open content is licensed in a way that grants users the permission to:

  • Retain: Make, own, and control copies of the content (e.g., download, duplicate, store, and manage)
  • Reuse: Use the content in a wide range of ways (e.g., in a class, in a study group, on a website, in a video)
  • Revise: Adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content (e.g., translate the content into another language)
  • Remix: Combine the original or revised content with other material to create something new (e.g., incorporate the content into a mashup)
  • Redistribute: Share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others (e.g., post a copy of the content online for others to download)

This material is based on original writing by David Wiley, which was published freely under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license at: Defining the "Open" in Open Content and Open Educational Resources.

Evaluation of OER Resources

Criteria for Evaluating OER

  • Accuracy / Quality of Content 
  • Relevance
  • Production Quality
  • Accessibility
  • Interactivity
  • Cultural Relevance & Sensitivity
  • Licensing
  • Ease of Adaptability

Source: "Selection Criteria & Evaluation of OER." Austin Community College Library.

Faculty Quick Start Guides

Sample Rubrics & Evaluation Tools

  • Achieve's OER rubrics
Source: "Open Educational Resources (OER): Evaluate OER." University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University Library.

If you are experiencing problems with our guides and databases, please contact ProfessorJanet S. Ward, jward@limestone.edu, Assistant Director of the Library and Web Services Librarian.