Open Educational Resources in E-Learning

According to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's definition (Deshpande & Mugridge, 1994), Open Educational Resources (OER) are based on the philosophical view of knowledge as a collective, social product. In the last years the relevance of OER has been widely acknowledged and a high magnitude impact is to be expected for OER in the near future (Atkins et al, 2007), (Wiley & Gurrell, 2009), especially as a masterpiece in e-learning development. The aim of this chapter is to present an overview of OER in e-learning, focused on two fundamental aspects: (i) technical issues, mainly standards, and (ii) socio-economic and legal questions. This way the chapter deals with the most relevant issues in this matter: Which is the OER's role in education, especially for e-learning performance? Which are the technical resources and current standards needed for them? Which socio-economics and legal aspects influence the diffusion and use of OER?