In a nutshell – free to access.
Free of charge, free of most copyright and licensing, and available online.
This is unlike 'traditional' or 'closed systems', where a publisher controls access, copyright and subscription.
Important components include:
Authors keep their copyright.
Zero embargo period.
Share the research data with the article.
Add a Creative Commons license to the research article that enables text and data mining
Open Access focuses on research.
This means there are no paywalls when you find that perfect article for your paper. It is easy for an instructor to share an article with a class. A researcher can use the same data sets from a research paper to build their own research on.
OA allows access to the best information available and does not limit students and instructors to the selection of journals their institution subscribes to.
While OA is "free" to access, there are still costs for the author to publish the work.
OER are education materials that can be freely downloaded, edited, and shared to better serve all students.
The 5Rs include:
Retain – permission to make, own, and control copies of the content (e.g., download, duplicate, store, and manage)
Reuse – permission to 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 – permission to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself (e.g., translate the content into another language)
Remix – permission to combine the original or revised content with other material to create something new (e.g., incorporate the content into a mashup)
Redistribute – permission to share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others (e.g., give a copy of to a friend)
OER focuses on teaching and learning materials.
They are flexible and free to share, update, and build upon. OERs are a cost-saving resource that can replace textbooks costs for students and replace resources that teachers use and are paid for by the university with free, open access resources.
Instructors can customize to fit their class needs, update them to include the most up-to-date information, and add a variety of materials, such as video links.
OERs are available online for remote learning, and students continue to have access to an OER after taking the class.
OA and OERs share a common goal to make knowledge accessible for everyone.
This means removing the cost of educational materials, building in accessibility standards for learners with disabilities, and allowing instructors to build on previous OERs to customize to their classes.
Another commonality is the digital environment that makes information sharing and access to information easier.
Open Access is what allows the 5Rs of Open Educational Resources to work.
Some differences to note:
All OER are Open Access, but not all Open Access resources are Open Educational Resources.
Both OA and OERs can have Creative Commons licenses, but if a work has a ND (No Derivative) license, it can no longer be considered an OER.
