Open Educational Resource University Is Launched

Free, credit-bearing online learning has become accessible for students worldwide. The Open Educational Resource university, or OERu – a project of the UNESCO-Commonwealth of Learning OER Chair network – was unveiled on 1 November, promising to “revolutionise tertiary learning”.

The new initiative would appear to be the open educational resource movement’s answer to MOOCs, massive open online courses, offering somewhat more structured, credit-bearing learning in partnership with a university network and including mOOCs, or micro-open online courses.

Coordinated by the New Zealand-based not-for-profit network Open Education Resource Foundation and launched by open learning guru Sir John Daniel, OERu will provide more affordable ways for students to gain academic credits towards qualifications from recognised institutions.