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 Digital Resources Librarian at jparsons@centralmethodist.edu, or the Library faculty at library@centralmethodist.edu.
