Our Mission

OERColorado is a dynamic library of openly licensed digital collections and resources. The platform is taggable, searchable and collaborative, making it easy to find the ideal resource. At the OERColorado Microsite you can:

• Search, save, share and create new open access educational resources,
• Find online and blended learning tools,
• Customize resources to fit the needs of diverse learners,
• Collaborate with peers on shared curriculum,
• Explore new teaching strategies,
• Make dynamic connections between curriculum, lessons and assessment,
• Direct learners to resources to guide their own learning,
• Engage with resources that foster learning and growth and spark the interest of curious learners,
• Differentiate learning levels,
• Explore professional development opportunities,
• Create and share quality open educational resources

What is OER?

OER stands for Open Educational Resources. Our collections house lessons, classes, simulations, games, rubrics, icebreakers, and many other educational tools, free for teachers to use in their classrooms. OER describes teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits repurposing by others. OER using Creative Commons copyright licenses (CC) promotes the use, sharing, revision and adaptation of OER content. OER encourages the "Five R's" of shared use, allowing educators to retain, reuse, revise, remix and redistribute Open Educational Resources. OERColorado supports access, collaboration, and training to promote the creation and use of OER teaching and learning resources in preK-12+ classrooms throughout Colorado. These resources can be created and shared by institutional providers or locally by an individual teacher, a district or even You!

Our Mission and Directive

The mission of OERColorado is to support Colorado educators, administrators, and other educational stakeholders in PK-12+ in using Open Educational Resources (OER) materials, share ideas, and create collaborative spaces and high quality learning resources at no cost to educators.

OERColorado is a Colorado Empowered Learning (CEL) initiative administered by the Colorado River Board of Cooperative Educational Services (CR BOCES) that provides digital collections of openly licensed resources for PK-12+ educators. Pursuant to Colorado Revised Statute (C.R.S. § 22-5-119), the CR BOCES was designated to administer the statewide supplemental and blended learning program and ensure public access to a digital repository of content and resources for Colorado educators.

Guidelines for Use

Note that not all resources in the OERColorado Collections align with Colorado state standards, state guidelines, or local guidelines. We advise all OERColorado users to consult with their district and/or school Curriculum Specialist if there are any questions or concerns about use of these resources.

Accessibility

Many OER resources already meet accessibility guidelines for screen readers and low-vision. However because these resources come from a variety of providers and sources, accessibility standards may vary from resource to resource. Educators are encouraged to be mindful of the accessibility needs of their student population when searching, selecting and using OER resources from OERColorado. General accessibility guidelines promote access for the most common barriers, however in practice what makes curriculum accessible may vary from one student to another. A benefit to OER is that if you find something that does not currently meet the accessibility needs for your learners, many OER licenses permit you to adapt that resource to fit your needs. We encourage you to check the license for each resource to verify accepted uses.