---
title: 'What is Open Education?'
url: 'https://demo.hibbittsdesign.org/grav-open-publishing-quark2/open-education-essentials/what-is-open-education'
markdown: 'https://demo.hibbittsdesign.org/grav-open-publishing-quark2/open-education-essentials/what-is-open-education.md'
date: '2026-10-05'
description: 'Open education is built on a simple idea: learning materials should be as accessible and adaptable as the knowledge they contain. The 5Rs Framework The most widely used framework for open educational resources describes five essential permissions – the 5Rs: Retain – keep a copy of the resource Reu…'
taxonomy:
  archives_month:
    - oct_2026
  archives_year:
    - '2026'
---

Section 1

# What is Open Education?

 Learning Objectives

- Define open education and explain its core principles
- Identify the 5Rs of open educational resources
- Describe the benefits of educator-owned course content

Open education is built on a simple idea: learning materials should be as accessible and adaptable as the knowledge they contain.

## The 5Rs Framework

The most widely used framework for open educational resources describes five essential permissions – the **5Rs**:

1. **Retain** – keep a copy of the resource
2. **Reuse** – use it in your own context, unchanged
3. **Revise** – adapt, adjust, modify, or translate it
4. **Remix** – combine it with other open resources to create something new
5. **Redistribute** – share copies of the original, revised, or remixed version

When a resource carries a Creative Commons license, it grants some or all of these permissions explicitly.

## Why Content Ownership Matters

Most LMS platforms store course content in proprietary formats tied to an institutional account. When you leave the institution – or when the platform changes – your content can become difficult or impossible to recover in a usable form.

Open course design addresses this by keeping content in portable, human-readable formats (like Markdown) backed up in version-controlled repositories. The content belongs to you, not the platform.

 Tip

Markdown files stored in a GitHub or Codeberg repository are readable in any text editor and will outlast any platform or vendor.

## A Spectrum of Openness

Open education isn't all-or-nothing. You can start by making one module of your course openly accessible, or by publishing your syllabus as a public Markdown file. Every step toward openness makes your content more durable and more useful to others.

This work by [Your Name](#) is licensed under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

- Open Education
- [What is Open Education?](https://demo.hibbittsdesign.org/grav-open-publishing-quark2/open-education-essentials/what-is-open-education)
- [A Spectrum of Openness](https://demo.hibbittsdesign.org/grav-open-publishing-quark2/open-education-essentials/what-is-open-education/a-spectrum-of-openness)
- [Creative Commons Licenses](https://demo.hibbittsdesign.org/grav-open-publishing-quark2/open-education-essentials/what-is-open-education/creative-commons-licenses)
- [Getting Started with OER](https://demo.hibbittsdesign.org/grav-open-publishing-quark2/open-education-essentials/what-is-open-education/getting-started-with-oer)

- [Tools for Open Course Design](https://demo.hibbittsdesign.org/grav-open-publishing-quark2/open-education-essentials/tools-for-open-course-design)
- [Getting Started with Open Authoring](https://demo.hibbittsdesign.org/grav-open-publishing-quark2/open-education-essentials/getting-started-with-open-authoring)
- Publishing with This Site
- [Growing Your Guide](https://demo.hibbittsdesign.org/grav-open-publishing-quark2/open-education-essentials/growing-your-guide)

---

## Navigation

- Parent: [Open Education Essentials](https://demo.hibbittsdesign.org/grav-open-publishing-quark2/index.md)
- Next: [Tools for Open Course Design](https://demo.hibbittsdesign.org/grav-open-publishing-quark2/open-education-essentials/tools-for-open-course-design.md)
- Children:
  - [A Spectrum of Openness](https://demo.hibbittsdesign.org/grav-open-publishing-quark2/open-education-essentials/what-is-open-education/a-spectrum-of-openness.md)
  - [Creative Commons Licenses](https://demo.hibbittsdesign.org/grav-open-publishing-quark2/open-education-essentials/what-is-open-education/creative-commons-licenses.md)
  - [Getting Started with OER](https://demo.hibbittsdesign.org/grav-open-publishing-quark2/open-education-essentials/what-is-open-education/getting-started-with-oer.md)