OER Project
Product by Big History Project, LLC
Facts checked: Not yet checked
Our take (not a Learning Standard rating). This label applies to learning-science judgments throughout this overview.
Our take (not a Learning Standard rating)
While OER Project has not yet been formally evaluated by The Learning Standard, its curriculum strongly aligns with evidence-based practices like interdisciplinary learning and primary source analysis. It provides robust, free resources for educators, but its effectiveness depends entirely on teacher implementation rather than standalone student interaction.
Pros
- Integrates primary source analysis to build critical thinking and historical inquiry skills.
- Connects historical events across vast time scales, promoting schema building and deep conceptual understanding.
- Provides comprehensive scaffolding for teachers, including reading materials leveled for different lexile scores.
- Uses structured writing assignments to force active retrieval and synthesis of complex historical concepts.
Cons
- Requires significant teacher facilitation to be effective, lacking mechanisms for independent student practice.
- Fails to provide automated feedback loops to correct student misunderstandings in real time.
- Heavy reliance on text-based resources overwhelms students with lower reading comprehension without direct teacher intervention.
What Do We Know About OER Project?
OER Project is highly effective for building historical comprehension when guided by an educator, though it is not a standalone app your child can use independently. This platform functions as a comprehensive curriculum rather than a direct-to-student tutoring tool. Because it relies on teacher-led instruction, your child will not find adaptive algorithms or instant feedback loops here. Instead, it provides high-quality text, video, and writing assignments designed to be facilitated in a classroom setting. The curriculum emphasizes macro-level history, connecting scientific, sociological, and historical events to help your child build a strong mental model of how the world evolved. By encountering primary sources and writing argumentative essays, your child engages in higher-order thinking rather than simple fact memorization. Parents should know that OER Project requires active engagement. If your child is using this at home for enrichment or homeschooling, you will need to step into the role of the teacher to guide discussions, grade essays, and sequence the lessons. The materials are entirely free and highly rigorous, but they demand significant adult involvement to translate into actual learning.
How Does OER Project Work?
OER Project uses a narrative-driven, interdisciplinary pedagogical approach that combines direct instruction with guided historical inquiry. The platform delivers structured lesson plans grouped by major historical eras or themes. Rather than clicking through interactive quizzes, students read leveled articles, watch expert videos, and analyze primary source documents. The curriculum is built around essential questions that require students to synthesize information from multiple disciplines, including astronomy, biology, and anthropology. To demonstrate mastery, students complete structured writing assignments and collaborative projects. Teachers use the platform to download materials, assign specific readings based on a student's lexile level, and access professional development resources to guide classroom discussions. The mechanics rely on teacher facilitation to introduce concepts, guide the analysis of evidence, and evaluate student writing, rather than using software to automatically grade or advance students.
Strengths and tradeoffs of OER Project
The biggest strength of OER Project is its rigorous, interdisciplinary approach to schema building, while its biggest weakness is the complete lack of automated feedback or independent student practice mechanisms. Strengths: OER Project excels at contextualizing knowledge. By framing history as an interconnected narrative across billions of years, it helps students build strong mental frameworks. This prevents the common pitfall of rote memorization. The platform also heavily utilizes worked examples and leveled texts to scaffold reading comprehension, allowing students of varying abilities to access complex primary sources. Furthermore, its emphasis on essay writing forces elaboration and retrieval practice, which are proven methods for cementing long-term memory. Weaknesses: Because OER Project is a curriculum repository rather than an interactive software platform, it lacks adaptive learning algorithms. Students cannot log in and receive immediate, corrective feedback on their historical knowledge. There are no built-in spaced repetition flashcards or interactive assessments to verify that a student has mastered a concept before moving on. Consequently, the burden of assessing mastery and identifying knowledge gaps falls entirely on the educator.
Who Might Benefit From OER Project?
OER Project is best for middle and high school social studies educators who need a rigorous, free curriculum to drive classroom instruction. It is highly effective for 6th through 12th-grade students who are developing critical reading and historical writing skills. Because the materials require heavy facilitation, it is ideal for traditional classrooms, co-ops, or dedicated homeschooling parents who are willing to lead discussions and grade essays. It is not suitable for students looking for an independent, game-based learning app or parents seeking a hands-off digital tutor for their child.
Data Transparency
Does Not Meet Data Transparency Standard
OER Project does not meet our data transparency standard. Its privacy policy does not document basic protections, including parents' right to see their child's data and parents' right to delete their child's data.
15 of 35 checks passed
Evaluated September 2026
OER PROJECT PRIVACY POLICY →Level 1 · Basic protections
Does not sell data or target ads at students, limits sharing, and lets parents see and delete their child's data.
Not documented: parents' right to see their child's data, parents' right to delete their child's data
Level 2 · Parent control (meets the standard)
Families can get their data out, know who processes it, and know how long it is kept.
Not documented: users' right to access their data, data export, a data retention timeline
Level 3 · Direct data access
Families or schools can pull their own data through an API, in a stated format.
Not documented: an API for retrieving their own data, a named export format
View all 35 checks
Parent Access4/8
Does the policy mention parents specifically?
“If you are a Student User, or a parent of a Student User, please contact your School if you have questions about the School’s use of educational service providers like us.”
Can parents view their child's data?
The policy does not give parents a right to view their child's data; it only tells parents to contact the School with questions.
Can parents modify their child's data?
The policy does not give parents a right to modify their child's data.
Can parents delete their child's account?
The policy only offers to delete a child's data that was collected by mistake and does not give parents a right to delete their child's data or account.
Is there a dedicated Children's Privacy section?
“Protecting the privacy of Student Users who are under the age of 13 (a “ **Child**” or “ **Children**”) is especially important to us.”
Does it reference COPPA compliance?
“We require Schools to provide any required notice to parents of the School’s use of third party service providers like us, and to obtain any required consent and authorization for our limited collection of Student Data relating to its Student Users who are Children, as permitted by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“ **COPPA**”).”
Does it reference FERPA compliance?
The policy does not mention FERPA.
Is parental consent required for child accounts?
“BEFORE INVITING STUDENTS TO USE, THE SITE, PLEASE BE AWARE THAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING ANY NECESSARY NOTICES TO PARENTS AND OBTAINING AND MAINTAINING ALL REQUIRED CONSENTS TO OUR COLLECTION AND USE OF INFORMATION PERTAINING TO STUDENT USERS, INCLUDING STUDENT USERS WHO ARE UNDER THE AGE OF 13.”
Data Portability0/5
Can users access their personal data?
The policy lets Schools and Teacher Users update, correct or delete Teacher User account information but does not state a right to access personal data.
Can users download/export their data?
The policy does not address downloading or exporting data.
Is there a self-service data access tool?
The policy does not describe a self-service tool for accessing personal data.
Is a specific data format mentioned for export?
The policy does not mention any export format.
Is there an API for data access?
The policy does not mention an API for data access.
Data Minimization1/6
Is data collection itemized?
“At registration, Teacher Users are asked to supply information about their School (to the extent not yet received), the grade level and subjects they teach, and other information we require to establish and operate Teacher User accounts, such as school email address, account name, and user-generated password.”
Can the app be used without a real name?
The policy says students cannot create accounts but also refers to collecting Student Data and to Student User accounts, and it never states that students' real names are not collected.
Can the app be used without an email?
The policy never states that students' email addresses are not collected, and it refers to collecting Student Data and to Student User accounts.
Does it state collection is limited to what is necessary?
The policy calls its collection of Student Data "limited" but does not say collection is limited to what is necessary.
Is IP address anonymized or truncated?
The policy says it collects IP addresses and does not say they are anonymized or truncated.
Is location tracking explicitly excluded?
The policy does not explicitly exclude location tracking.
Third-Party Protection6/7
Does it explicitly state no selling of data?
“We do not sell or rent Student Data with anyone for marketing purposes.”
Are third-party providers named?
“We collect analytics data using third-party analytics tools such as Adobe Analytics and Google Analytics, to help us measure traffic and usage trends on the site.”
Are providers contractually restricted?
“We may share information with our trusted third-party service providers strictly for the purpose of carrying out their work for us. Contractors and service providers who may have access to Student Data when performing their services are subject to confidentiality and data security requirements.”
No-targeted-advertising commitment?
“We DO NOT use Student Data for targeted advertising.”
Is AI/ML data sharing addressed?
The policy does not address AI or machine learning.
Child-specific sharing restriction?
“We do not facilitate the sharing of any Student Data with third parties on the Site or via the Services.”
Cookies/tracking limited or opt-out?
“You can learn more about Google’s privacy practices at [https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en](https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en) and view its currently available opt-out options at [https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout](https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout).”
Deletion & Retention2/5
Can users delete their account?
“Schools and Teacher Users may update, correct, or delete their associated Teacher User account information.”
Self-service deletion mechanism?
“Schools and Teacher Users may update, correct, or delete their associated Teacher User account information. Most changes can be made on the Teacher User account settings page.”
Specific data retention timeline?
The policy says information may be kept or disposed of at the vendor's discretion and gives no specific timeline.
Auto-deletion of inactive accounts?
The policy does not address automatic deletion of inactive accounts.
Post-deletion handling described?
The policy does not describe what happens to data after an account is deleted; it only says anonymized or aggregated data may be kept for analytics.
Advertising2/4
Advertising model explicitly disclosed?
“We DO NOT use Student Data for targeted advertising. However, the data that we receive through pixels and other tracking technologies allows us to effectively promote the Site and, and to optimize external advertisements about the Site and Services that appear on third-party websites, which are directed at teachers.”
Free from third-party advertisements?
The policy does not state that the product is free of third-party advertisements.
Children excluded from ad targeting?
“We DO NOT use Student Data for targeted advertising.”
Ad-free option available?
The policy does not state that the product has no ads or offer an ad-free option.
What This Means
The policy review did not meet our data transparency standard. The checks above show the documented findings and unknowns. A missing statement does not establish how the app handles data in practice.
About this evaluation: Based on automated analysis of OER PROJECT PRIVACY POLICY against 35 policy-disclosure questions, including questions adapted from the Common Sense Privacy Program's published evaluation questions. TLS is not affiliated with Common Sense Media, and this is not a Common Sense rating. Quoted text is copied from the policy; unquoted notes are our summary. Results describe what the policy documents, not the company's actual practices. Privacy policies can change: this review reflects the version we analyzed and does not determine legal compliance.
Sources and review method
TLS combines product information and editorial analysis to explain how OER Project works, its tradeoffs, and the questions to ask before choosing it. Product features, an instructional rationale and evidence of learning outcomes are different kinds of information.
Formal Learning Standard assessment: not yet completed. Data Transparency findings are reported separately and do not establish learning effectiveness. Read our methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions About OER Project
Is OER Project free?
Yes, OER Project is completely free for both teachers and students. Big History Project, LLC provides full access to all curricula, lesson plans, articles, and professional development resources without any subscription fees or paywalls. There are no premium tiers or hidden costs, making it a highly accessible option for underfunded school districts or homeschooling families looking for a comprehensive, rigorous social studies program without financial barriers.
Is OER Project good for middle schoolers?
Yes, OER Project is highly appropriate for middle schoolers, particularly those in grades 6 through 8. The platform offers leveled reading materials, allowing teachers to adjust the text complexity to match a student's reading ability while still conveying the exact same core historical concepts. This scaffolding ensures that younger students can participate in rigorous historical inquiry and primary source analysis without becoming overwhelmed by dense academic language.
What does OER Project teach?
OER Project teaches comprehensive social studies and history through a macro-level lens. It includes specific courses like the Big History Project, which covers the history of the universe from the Big Bang to the modern era, incorporating science and anthropology. It also features the World History Project, which focuses on global historical events, teaching students to analyze evidence, evaluate differing perspectives, and understand historical continuity and change over time.
How does OER Project compare vs Khan Academy for history?
OER Project is designed as a complete teacher-led curriculum, whereas Khan Academy is better suited for independent student review. While Khan Academy uses short videos and automated quizzes to provide immediate corrective feedback, OER Project relies on long-form reading, primary source analysis, and teacher-graded essays to build deeper historical comprehension. If a student needs quick test prep, Khan Academy is superior, but for full-scale historical instruction, OER Project provides far more depth.
Has The Learning Standard evaluated OER Project?
TLS has not yet completed a Learning Standard evaluation of how well OER Project teaches. Its privacy policy has been reviewed for Data Transparency and does not yet document the basic protections (Level 1).
Is OER Project COPPA compliant?
The reviewed privacy policy references COPPA. A policy reference alone does not establish COPPA compliance. Policy review note: The policy names COPPA as the basis for how it handles children's data.
Is OER Project FERPA compliant?
A FERPA reference was not found in the reviewed privacy policy. This does not determine whether the app complies with FERPA. Policy review note: The policy does not mention FERPA.
Does OER Project have a children's privacy policy?
The reviewed policy includes a dedicated children's privacy section. Policy review note: The policy has a section headed "2. Children's Privacy".
Does OER Project sell student data?
The reviewed policy states that the app does not sell data. This is a policy statement; actual data practices were not verified. Policy review note: The policy says it does not sell or rent Student Data for marketing purposes.
Can you delete your data from OER Project?
The reviewed privacy policy describes account deletion. We have not tested the deletion process. Policy review note: Schools and Teacher Users can delete Teacher User account information.
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