Information about open educational resources (OER) for Students
What are OER course materials?

Educational content or materials that are available at no cost or low cost to the reader, student, or teacher and that are often openly licensed.

OERs can be used for teaching, learning, research, and other purposes. OERs include courses, course materials, content modules or learning objects, collections, and journals. OERs also comprise tools for delivering education content such as software that supports the creation, delivery, use, and improvement of open learning content; searching and organizing of content; content and learning management systems; content development tools; and online learning communities.

The costs associated with the creation and maintenance of OERs are often covered by grants or other funds, which make it possible for the content to be free of charge for readers and users.

How do I know if my course materials are OER?

When we include OER material in our listing of the course materials for a course, we designate the listing as Open Educational Resources. If we have an item available for purchase with this designation, you should only purchase if you would like a printed copy of materials that will be freely available to you online.

How do I access OER materials for my course?

Typically, your instructor will provide a link to the free resource in either the course syllabus or within Canvas.

Where can I find information about OER use at Pitt?

The Office of the Provost has additional information about OER and their efforts to encourage greater use of these resources here: www.provost.pitt.edu

The University Library System’s OER informational guide can be found here: pitt.libguides.com/openeducation