1 The Five Rs of Open Education

OER differ from traditional educational resources in their licensing and permissions. Namely, the “open” aspect of OER can be defined by David Wiley’s 5R Framework:

• Retain: (keep) the right to make, own, and control copies of the content. This means that you can find, save, and use OER content. Download what you need, and keep the content on your own devices.
• Reuse: (copy) 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). Use OER content as it exists currently and put it to use as often as you need.
• Revise: (edit) the right to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself (e.g., translate the content into another language). This means you can make small- or large-scale changes to suit your needs.
• Remix: the right to combine the original or revised content with other open content to create something new (e.g., incorporate the content into a mashup). You can combine multiple pieces to make something new or blend existing material and add in your own touches.
• Redistribute: (share) 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).

These 5R permissions are what make OER different from material which is copyrighted under traditional, all-rights-reserved copyright.  Another way to frame this is that open in open educational resources doesn’t simply equate to being free; in fact, it more accurately can be described as: open = free + permissions.