Learn About OERs at Smith During Open Education Week

March 3-7, 2025

An annual celebration, Open Education Week is an opportunity for actively sharing and learning about the latest achievements in Open Education worldwide. During this week—and every week!— the Libraries are excited to promote Open Educational Resources (OERs) and celebrate the different ways OERs can be used in and outside the classroom.

OERs are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and repurposing by others. OERs include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.

With 43% of Smith students reporting experiencing financial hardship, and 74% of those experiencing financial hardship having difficulty purchasing books and course materials, OERs speak to the college’s commitment to equity and accessibility in education. Learn more about OERs in action at Smith and how to get involved.

The Libraries also have Open Education Initiative (OEI) Grant Awards available. These grants provide funding for instructors to adopt or review OERs. Learn more about available grants.

OEWeek was launched in 2012 by Open Education Global as a collaborative, community-built open forum. Every year, OEWeek raises awareness and highlights innovative open education successes worldwide. OEWeek provides practitioners, educators, and students with an opportunity to gain a greater understanding of open educational practices and be inspired by the wonderful work being developed by the community around the world.

Contact

Jessica Ryan, Scholarly Communications Librarian: jryan@smith.edu