2. Why create OER content?
• The Good
• Cost Savings
• Textbooks are not inexpensive for the student. With costs easily exceeding $100 per
textbook, this adds up for the student.
• Targeted content
• OER textbooks are tailorable to specific needs of the student. Instructors can add and
remove content to fir their specific needs.
• Up to date
• Technology is changing faster than ever, and content found in some of the more
affordable texts are outdated or irrelevant.
3. Why create OER content?
• The Good (cont.)
• All thing to all people.
• Ok, not really but OER content must be accessible . This means the content is built for the
learner who may find other textbooks challenging to read. OER manages colors, fonts and
structure for visual impairment as well and auditory impairment.
• Digital or Analog
• OER content is available in digital form or printed form. There are students who
desire having printed content. The digital form allows for more diverse content, for
example, video may be linked for better understanding.
4. Why create OER content?
• The bad
• Poor Quality Work.
• Content creators may not be authors or publicists. They are typically subject matter experts
(SMEs). You must have qualified people available to publish the final product.
• Frills and fluff.
• Quality textbooks emerging from the textbook industry typically has all the eye-catching
features which students rely on such as italicized texts for important words they are expected to
learn and color-coded paragraphs which make content stand out.
• Distributorship
• Publishers have web pages for displaying their goods to the instructor shopping for content.
Where do you find OER material? This is a challenge to overcome.
5. Why create OER content?
• The Bad (cont.)
• Making it Yours
• You will need to take the time to customize and improve the text to make it your
own. This will require time and material resources.
• No excuses
• If you are the type of instructor trying to get by doing the minimum, this may not
work for you. The very nature of OER is for you the instructor to add and create
something custom fit to your course and teaching style.
