Open Education encompasses resources, tools and practices that are free of legal, financial, and technical barriers and can be fully used, shared and adapted in the digital environment. Open Education maximizes the power of the Internet to make education more affordable, accessible and effective.
Open Library
The Open Library is the home of open educational resources (OER) in Ontario. The platform is easy to access and search, and is full of resources to get started with an OER project at your institution. The library maintains timely data on reported adoptions, resources, and student savings for the province. Visit the Open Library and use our savings calculator to see just how much OER adoptions can help your students.
Open Publishing Infrastructure
The Open Library is more than your standard library, it also provides an Open Publishing Infrastructure that makes available a series of tools enabling the community of educators of Ontario to build, adapt and use Open Educational Resources.
eCampusOntario’s IT team maintains and develops the Open Library on a day–to–day basis. The Open Publishing Infrastructure project will be developed with open source software from Pressbooks, DSpace, Limesurvey and WordPress. Overall, the Open Library and the Open Publishing Infrastructure are vital additions to the expansion of the capabilities for OER in the province of Ontario.
About Creative Commons Licensing
What is a Creative Commons (CC) license? It is a simple, standardized way to grant copyright permissions to creative work. Creative Commons licensing provides the foundation on which Open Education can grow, ensuring that knowledge is accessible and available to individuals around the world.
Creative Commons and the Open Library
Knowledge is in a constant state of renewal. New discoveries, innovations and perspectives are constantly changing the content taught in higher education. With Creative Commons licensing, educators who contribute open educational resources to the library can ensure their work is easily accessible to students and available for review and adaptation by colleagues. Through this continuous peer review process, resources held in the library maintain a high standard of quality.
Need more information about Creative Commons and the Open Library?
Please don’t hesitate to contact eCampusOntario by email.