Spurred by the publication of Massachusetts Institute of Technology
OpenCourseWare in 2002, the open educational resources (OER)
movement, which has rapidly expanded and captured the imagination
and energy of millions of creators and users throughout the
world, now faces many opportunities and substantial challenges
as it moves to become an integral part of the world's educational
environment. The confluence of the Web and a spirit of sharing
intellectual property have fueled a worldwide movement to make
knowledge and education materials open to all for use. OER are
content (courses, books, lesson plans, articles, etc.), tools
(virtual laboratories, simulations, and games), and software
that support learning and educational practice. OER are free
on the Web, and most have licenses that allow copyright holders
to retain ownership while providing specified rights for use
in original and modified forms. At the least, OER have helped
to level the distribution of knowledge across the world. A second
promise of OER is to help transform educational practices. This
article explores the history of and promises and challenges
for OER.
