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Open Access and Copyright

An introduction to open access and copyright.
Open Access and Open Educational Resources

Open Access (OA) and Open Educational Resources (OER) are closely related concepts that both aim to increase the accessibility and sharing of knowledge by removing financial and access barriers for learners, educators, and researchers.  Both OA and OER rely on open licensing models, such as Creative Commons (CC) licenses, which allow users to retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute content without traditional copyright restrictions.

  • OA focuses on making scholarly research freely available, benefiting students and educators by providing access to up-to-date academic studies, journal articles, and other research outputs.
  • OER provides freely accessible teaching and learning materials, such as textbooks, lesson plans, and course content, which often incorporate OA research.

This table illustrates the differences between the two models.

Feature OA OER
Primary purpose Freely available research and scholarship Freely available teaching and learning materials
Content type Journal articles, research papers, dissertations, data Textbooks, lesson plans, lecture slides, quizzes, videos
Audience Researchers, scholars, faculty, students Educators, students, institutions
Licensing Usually allows reading and sharing, but may limit modification Encourages adaptation and reuse under open licenses

 

Click below for more detailed information.

Open Access (OA)

Open Educational Resources (OER)