What is OER

An Open Educational Resource (OER) is any content / media that can be used to create an educational resource that is open and free for educators to use.  The licensing makes provision for others to re-use, re-mix and re-distribute freely.

 
 
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which has supported the development of a worldwide OER movement provides the following definition of OER:
"OER are teaching, learning and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use or re-purposing by others.  Open Educational Resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software and any other tools, materials or techniques used to support access to knowledge."
 
Definition by OECD (2007)
Open Educational Resources (OER) are "digitised materials offered freely and openly for educators, students and self-learners to use and re-use for teaching, learning and research".