How to Share and Adapt Open Educational Resources with Your Peers

12 August 2026

In today’s digital age, education has gone beyond the traditional classroom. With the rise of the internet and technology, students and educators alike can access an endless supply of learning materials online. One of the key players in this revolution is Open Educational Resources (OER). But what exactly are OERs? More importantly, how can you share and adapt these resources with your peers effectively?

If you're an educator, student, or simply someone passionate about learning, this guide will walk you through how to share and adapt OERs in ways that can not only expand your own knowledge but also benefit those around you.

What Are Open Educational Resources (OER)?

Before diving into the how, let’s first understand the what. Open Educational Resources (OER) are learning, teaching, and research materials that are freely available for anyone to use, adapt, and share. These resources are typically licensed under open licenses, such as Creative Commons, allowing users to remix, revise, and redistribute the content.

We’re talking about textbooks, lesson plans, videos, quizzes, simulations—pretty much anything you can think of that can help improve education. The best part? It’s free, and with the right licenses, you can modify it to better suit your needs.

So, how can you make the most of these resources? Let’s find out.

Why Should You Share OER with Your Peers?

Why should you bother sharing OER with others? Well, the beauty of open educational resources lies in their collaborative nature. By sharing OER with your peers, you’re not just passing along useful information; you’re contributing to a global learning community. Think of it as the educational version of crowdsourcing.

When you share OER, you’re helping to:

- Reduce educational costs: OER eliminates the need for expensive textbooks and paid resources, making education more affordable.
- Promote collaboration: Sharing resources fosters teamwork and collective knowledge-building.
- Facilitate innovation: When different minds come together, new ideas and approaches are born.
- Provide equal access to education: Not everyone has access to high-quality education, but with OER, knowledge becomes accessible to anyone with an internet connection.

Now that you’re convinced of the importance of sharing OER, let’s talk about how to do it.

How to Find and Select OER

1. Know Where to Look

Before you can share or adapt OER, you need to know where to find them. Fortunately, there are many platforms and repositories dedicated to providing quality OER:

- OER Commons: A digital library offering free teaching and learning content.
- OpenStax: A platform providing free, peer-reviewed, openly licensed textbooks.
- MIT OpenCourseWare: Offers free lecture notes, exams, and videos from MIT courses.
- Khan Academy: While not technically OER, it offers free instructional videos and exercises.
- Creative Commons Search: A tool to find openly licensed materials across various platforms.

2. Evaluate the Quality and Relevance

Not all OERs are created equal. It’s important to critically evaluate the resources you find. Ask yourself:

- Is the content accurate and up-to-date?
- Is it relevant to your subject or the needs of your peers?
- Is the resource engaging and easy to understand?

Always double-check the source and the licensing terms to ensure the resource is both credible and modifiable.

How to Share OER with Your Peers

1. Share Via Digital Platforms

The easiest way to share OER is through digital platforms. You could simply email a link to your peers, but that’s just scratching the surface of what’s possible.

- Collaborative Learning Platforms: Tools like Google Classroom, Edmodo, or Moodle allow you to share OER while creating an interactive learning environment.
- Social Media: Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook groups dedicated to education are great places to share OER with a broader audience.
- OER Repositories: If you’ve adapted an OER for your own use, consider uploading it to public repositories like OER Commons. Not only does this help others, but it also allows you to receive feedback and improve your own materials.

Think of this as the digital equivalent of a community bulletin board. You’re not just sharing with one person; you’re sharing with an entire community.

2. Organize a Peer-Review Group

We all have blind spots, right? Sometimes the best way to ensure the quality of an OER is by getting feedback from your peers. You could organize a peer-review group where you and your colleagues evaluate, adapt, and improve OER together.

This is especially useful if you’re working on a large project or course. By collaborating, you can harness the collective expertise of your group to create a more polished and effective resource.

3. Host a Workshop or Webinar

If you’ve found or adapted an OER that you think could benefit a wider audience, why not go the extra mile and host a workshop or webinar? This way, you’re not only sharing the resource but also teaching others how to use and adapt it.

Workshops and webinars are especially useful for educators who need hands-on guidance. You can walk your peers through the process of finding, adapting, and using OER in their own classrooms.

How to Adapt OER for Your Needs

1. Understand the License

Before adapting any OER, you must first check the licensing terms. Most OER are licensed under Creative Commons, but there are different types of licenses that dictate what you can and can’t do:

- CC BY: Allows you to use, adapt, and share the resource as long as you give credit to the original creator.
- CC BY-SA: Same as CC BY, but any adaptations you make must be shared under the same license.
- CC BY-NC: You can adapt the resource, but you can’t use it for commercial purposes.
- CC BY-ND: You can share the resource, but you can’t adapt it.

Make sure the OER you choose is compatible with your intended use.

2. Customize the Content

Once you’ve selected an OER and verified the license, it’s time to adapt it to your needs. This could involve:

- Rewriting sections: Tailor the language to suit your audience. For example, if you’re teaching younger students, you might want to simplify complex language.
- Adding new materials: Maybe the original OER doesn’t cover a specific topic that your peers need. Go ahead and add extra chapters or sections.
- Reformatting: You could change the layout, add multimedia elements like videos or quizzes, or even translate the content into a different language.

The key here is to make the resource as useful as possible for your particular context.

3. Cite the Original Source

Even though OERs are free to use and adapt, it’s important to give credit where credit is due. Always remember to cite the original creator(s) when you share an adapted resource. This not only acknowledges their hard work but also maintains the integrity of the OER community.

Best Practices When Using and Sharing OER

1. Always Check the License

I know I’ve mentioned this already, but it’s crucial. Always check the licensing terms to ensure you’re using the resource legally. Some licenses may have restrictions that you need to follow.

2. Keep It Updated

If you’ve adapted an OER, make sure to revisit it periodically to keep it up-to-date. This is especially important in fast-moving fields like science and technology.

3. Share Your Work

Once you’ve adapted an OER, don’t keep it to yourself! Upload it to OER repositories, share it with your peers, or even publish it on social media. The more people who have access to your resource, the greater its impact.

4. Encourage Feedback

Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback. Whether it’s from your peers or students, constructive criticism can help you improve the quality of the OER you’ve adapted.

Conclusion

Sharing and adapting Open Educational Resources is not just about saving money or finding free textbooks. It’s about building a global community where knowledge is freely available to all, and where collaboration leads to innovation. Whether you’re an educator looking to enrich your classroom or a student seeking to deepen your understanding, OER offers endless opportunities to learn, teach, and grow.

So, what are you waiting for? Dive into the world of OER, start sharing with your peers, and don’t forget to adapt resources to fit your unique needs. After all, education is at its best when it’s a team effort.