Open Educational Resources (OER) are learning materials of all types that are meant to be used and reused freely by educators. They are not only freely accessible, but also openly licensed or in the public domain so that they can be reused and redistributed for teaching and learning purposes.
Traditionally, educational materials, including textbooks, course materials, scholarly journals, instructional videos, etc. are protected under copyright terms. If you want to use them beyond CityU or beyond a traditional teaching environment, you need to seek permission from the copyright owner of the materials. Creative Commons is an alternative to copyright, allowing the content creators to release some of their rights using Creative Commons licenses. Under these licenses, other people can reuse, remix and redistribute these works.
In this guide, major resources for finding various types of public domain or Creative Commons licensed materials are highlighted for your teaching and learning. Always check the Creative Commons license or the terms of use for a material before reusing it. For more about Creative Commons licenses, refer to the "Creative Commons licenses" page of this guide.
* OER logo Open Education Resources by Markus Busges is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0
Disclaimer: The contents in this guide about Creative Commons licensing and copyright are for information purposes only. This guide does not contain or constitute legal advice.