Why our course materials are open on internet – NOUN

"The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) yesterday explained why her academic materials are made available on the internet. The university said its course materials were openly available on the internet to offer opportunity for people everywhere to share, use, and reuse knowledge. The university’s Head, Open Educational Resources (OER) Dr Jane-Frances Agbu, made the remarks at the training workshop on OER organized in conjunction with the UNESCO in Abuja. She said the university was funded by the government and its educational materials made available online to enhance instructional innovation and give chance to learners to share best practices free of charge. She said, “Independent learner who has access to the internet can access material from some of the best universities in the world. OER can promote informal learning where credential is not needed.” UNESCO’s Programme Specialist, Abel Caine, said academic materials were released on the internet under an intellectual property license that permits their “free use, revision, remixing and redistribution.” He said the purpose of OER was to encourage the open licensing of materials produced through public funding."