Open Access: Open Source Software and Open Educational Resources
This page helps you find out more about open source software and open educational resources (OER), so that you can use them in your teaching and learning.
Open Source Software and Open Educational Resources
Open source software and open educational resources (OER) share a common heritage and philosophy - they are both about giving everyone access and permission to use, change and re-use material. They both share the same benefits:
- Low or no cost to users, as products are generally free to access and download;
- Shorter development cycle due to the collaborative, parallel efforts of developers;
- Adaptability to suit own conditions.
Benefits of open source for teaching
So how can open source help you in your teaching? With the high costs of purchasing software, teachers always need to on the lookout for cheaper access to it. Click on the Open Source Software link to find out more.
Benefits of open educational resources for teaching
So how can OER help you in your teaching? With the high costs involved in developing materials for on campus and especially for online teaching, teachers always need to on the lookout for smarter ways to work. Click on the OER link to find out more.
More information on open source
Use this link to find programs and schools near you.
Use the search facility on this site to find more about open source.
Open source asp.net
In April 2009, Microsoft released the ASP.NET MVC source code under the Microsoft Public License (MS-PL). MS-PL is an OSI-approved open source license. This is Microsoft open access - the MS-PL contains no platform restrictions and provides broad rights to modify and redistribute the source code.
Open Educational Resources
Open educational resources (OER) are "digitized materials that are offered freely and openly for educators, students and self-learners to use and re-use for teaching, learning, and research." OER are extremely important for assisting institutions to get online programs up and running easily and quickly - and within the small budget that they are often working with.
Hip Hop Genius: Remixing High School Education
UNESCO Free & Open Source Software Portal
The UNESCO Free Software Portal gives access to documents and websites which are references for the Free Software/Open Source Technology movement. It is also a gateway to resources related to Free Software. With the Free Software Portal, UNESCO provides a single interactive access point to pertinent information for users who wish to acquire an understanding of the Free Software movement, to learn why it is important and to apply the concept. Visitors to the UNESCO Free Software Portal can browse through pre-established categories or search for specific words. They can add a new link or modify an already existing link.
Go to the UNESCO Free & Open Source Software Portal
A vision for open educational resources
Richard Baraniuk is a Rice University professor with a giant vision: to create a free, global online education system. In this presentation, he introduces Connexions, the open-access publishing system that's changing the landscape of education by providing free coursework and educational materials to everyone in the world. (Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, CA.)
