Publication. Some of the platforms that are freely available to distribute OERs online are OER Commons and MERLOT. Based on the type of OER, it may be more appropriate to add your materials to YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr or other websites for video/audio.
Permissions. Free access does NOT always equate to OER. While EU users can freely access the library's licensed databases and ebooks, those are copyrighted with all rights reserved and are not OER.
For a work to be considered an OER, it is necessary to distribute it online and permit users to retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute the resource. These permissions are usually granted by a Creative Commons (CC) license or because a resource is in the public domain. The six different Creative Commons licenses tell users exactly what they are allowed to do with the content. OER can't have an ND (No Derivatives) element in the CC license because that does not allow revisions to be shared. ND content is still free to use, but it cannot be customized. The Creative Commons "Choose a License" tool helps in finding a license that supports how you want others to use your work. If you assign a CC license, you are not relinquishing your copyright but giving permissions on how your work can be used. Licensing can be complicated when you adapt multiple materials published under different licenses and copyright. A Creative Commons Chart and Marking Your Work with a CC License provide guidance in this area.
