OER(Open Educational Resources) & Opening Copyright: What, Why and How

You can choose a textbook, use it, and then edit it to be more useful the next time.

You can tailor the textbook with more relevant examples and discussions.  

You can make sure the textbook is up-to-date and relevant.

You can even get students involved in editing the textbook.

5R activities/permissions were proposed by David Wiley, which include:

• Retain - the right to make, own, and control copies of the content (e.g., download, duplicate, store, and manage)
• Reuse - 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)
• Revise - the right to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself (e.g., translate the content into another language)
• Remix - the right to combine the original or revised content with other material to create something new (e.g., incorporate the content into a mashup)
• Redistribute - 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)