iCommons.org describes the origin and meaning of the word as follows: "The phrase ‘open education resources' was first coined in 2002 at UNESCO's Forum on the Impact of Open Courseware for Higher Education in Developing Countries. It encompasses several different types of resources, including learning content (courses, lesson plans and learning objects), tools (software that supports the development, management and re-use of content) and implementation resources (the intellectual property licences that promote open licensing and other principles of best practice)."

You can follow the following video-clips to learn more about Open Educational Resources: