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Open Education Resources (OER): Home

AOER is an acronym for Affordable and Open Educational Resources. These are course materials, such as textbooks, course modules, lesson plans, or media that are created for educators to use with their students.

  • Smiley Memorial Library defines "affordable" as "costing no more than $40, including tax and/or shipping, to the student"
  • Open educational resources are free. What makes these materials "open" is that they are under Creative Commons Licenses
    • Creative Commons is different from traditional copyright in that it gives permissions for a work to be used in specific ways, without the user having to pay royalties
    • These uses can include copying, sharing, modifying for another use (e.g., writing a lab manual for a textbook), or remixing.
    • Be careful! Just because material is free on the internet, this does not mean that it is open. Most free material on the internet, such as photos or videos, is under traditional copyright.

If you're curious about AOER, or have questions about copyright and education in general, please contact the Access Services Librarian at jparsons@centralmethodist.edu, or the Library faculty at library@centralmethodist.edu.

OER Description

Open Education Resources (O.E.R.) provides faculty the ability to offer their students no-cost options toward, otherwise, purchasing high-priced textbooks and other learning, and research materials. Often available in many different modes and formats, using O.E.R. can offset the cost of tuition for students who would not ordinarily be able to afford the costs of supplemental materials required for each class. Access to O.E.R. are gained through open access publishers who provide, both instructor-based, and student-based materials related to curriculum development, research, and study-learning.

UNESCO - OER VIDEO

  • By 2018, it was found that the cost of college textbooks had risen at four times the then-current rate of inflation. (Source.)
  • A 2018 Florida study found that the cost of textbooks was so high, over 64% of students did not purchase a textbook for their course. (Source: 2018 Student Textbook and Course Materials Survey) This resulted in:
    • 18% of students withdrawing from the course
    • 22% of students dropping the course
    • 17% of students failing the course

Your Library Staff

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Smiley Memorial Library
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Central Methodist University
411 Central Methodist Sq.
Fayette, MO 65248
library@centralmethodist.edu
660-248-6271

Smiley Memorial Library

Central Methodist University
411 Central Methodist Square
Fayette, MO 65248

660-248-6271
library@centralmethodist.edu