OER training assignment 9-1

1. Benefits and Challenges of
using Open Educational
Resources (OER)
BY GINGER CHAMPION, MOWINS COORDINATOR

2. Benefits
 Online textbooks
 First and far most, the cost saving to students
 Saves instructors time, the wheel is not being re-invented! Collaboration.
 Instructors can select assignments, chapters, videos, or an entire course from various
sources
 University and Community College enhanced reputation
 OER can be authored by anyone
 As more institutions become familiar with the process and benefits, more best
practices will become available to all.

3. Challenges
 Accessibility
 Will OER authors remember to consider the 5 main accessibility challenges?
 Deaf or hard of hearing
 Blind or visually impaired
 Color blind
 Learning disabilities
 Physical disabilities
 Technology
 Rural settings still have internet accessibility isssues. State Fair Community College has a large population of students without
internet at their home.
 Digital literacy is an issue with non-traditional manufacturing students.
 Quality Control
 Once materials has been uploaded, will authors keep them up-to-date
 So many places to store data, searching is time consuming

4. Thoughts about OER
 My feelings are mixed dues to the challenges that I faced during this training. I am not a faculty
member. Often the training was geared for their purposes. I don’t create instruction materials for
students. I use very little social media and often felt at a disadvantaged. I took this training hoping
to complete a TAACCCT grant requirement and needed to learn more about Metadata which was
not covered.
 Searching was time consuming. If I were 20 or 30 years younger, I believe my perspective would
be very different. Many of my 30 year old co-workers understood the assignments. However, for
me most of it was unfamiliar. Having said that, some non-traditional students will struggle with
OER, with attributing their work, while traditional students who have used digital media nearly
from birth will flourish.
 For those individuals who will upload instructional materials to OER, I hope they will take the extra
time and consider those with disabilities before completing the upload process.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.