What are OERs and MOOCs and what have they got to do with prep?

As technology advances and becomes more accessible, it offers midwives a greater variety of ways to meet prep (continuing professional development (CPD)) standards (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2011) and, at the end of 2015, its successor, revalidation. The concepts of online learning and open educational resources (OERs) have developed rapidly in the last two decades owing to advances in, and the massification of, information technology. The term massive open online courses (MOOCs) was devised by Dave Cormier in 2008 in response to the development of free, open, online courses which allow for an unlimited number of participants (Cormier, 2010). As OERs and MOOCs are free and easily accessible, could they be useful resources for midwives to access to meet CPD requirements? This article will explain what they are; suggest how they might be useful and recommend some resources to consider.