Open Educational Resources and Collaborative Content Development: A Practical Guide for State and School Leaders

Abstract

Designating new materials and tools as OER by assigning open intellectual property licenses to the materials that promote — instead of stifle — educator and student collaboration and access could help support a state’s successful transition to the new standards. The transition to the Common Core State Standards also provides an opportunity for states to better coordinate, share, and align the acquisition and development of educational content. In fact, leading states, new federal initiatives, and major philanthropies are already encouraging greater development and use of OER as a core strategy for ensuring that all students have access to the best possible resources and tools for individualizing instruction and helping provide greater digital resources for teachers. The purpose of this report is to provide state educational leaders with a guide describing the benefits of OER, how they might approach OER policies in their states, options for content acquisition, and strategies for successful collaborative content development across state and other political boundaries. The report also includes an appendix with more details on OER licensing, a link to a useful guide for finding, vetting and using OER, and an example Memorandum of Understanding for sharing.