OER and ZTC by Subject (A-Z)

OER: Open Educational Resources

Image Source: Skyline College. "Zero Textbook Cost."

Open Educational Resources (OER)* are instructional materials that are fully accessible and reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others.

Open educational resources can include full courses, course materials, or modules. Specific items may include:  textbooks, quizzes, articles and journals, course packs, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge
* DOERS3 definition of OER, adapted from the Hewlett Foundation definition of OER. It is reused here thanks to a Creative Commons-Attribution license.

What makes something an OER?

The terms "open content" and "open educational resources" describe any copyrightable work (traditionally excluding software, which is described by other terms like "open source") that is either (1) in the public domain or (2) licensed in a manner that provides users with free and perpetual permission to engage in the 5R activities.

The 5R Activities:

1. Retain - the right to make, own, and control copies of the content (e.g., download, duplicate, store, and manage)
2. Reuse - the right 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)
3. Revise - the right to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself (e.g., translate the content into another language)
4. Remix - the right to combine the original or revised content with other material to create something new (e.g., incorporate the content into a mashup)
5. Redistribute - the right to share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others (e.g., give a copy of the content to a friend)

Creators often use Creative Commons licenses to clearly define what is and is not allowed. 

This explanation was created by David Wiley and published freely under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license at http://opencontent.org/definition/.

ZTC: Zero Textbook Costs

Image Source: Skyline College. "Zero Textbook Cost."

Zero textbook cost (ZTC) also means that students do not incur any costs for purchasing course materials. Zero-cost to the students does not guarantee zero-cost to the institution. Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) course materials may include:

• OER 
• library databases
• library books and items for checkout
• equipment or technology available for students to checkout from the library
• institutionally licensed campus library materials that all students enrolled in a course have access to 
• other properly licensed and adopted materials (e.g. items in the public domain, instructor or student-created materials, etc.)

Additional resources providing more information and background on OER and ZTC