OER Benefits and Challenges

1. Benefits and Challenges of
Open Educational Resources (OER)
Martin Sauer
OER 101
May 2016
Washington State Board of
Community and Technical Colleges

2. OER Benefits
• Cost: In my classroom the textbook cost is $210 vs $39 for
OpenStax (OER).
• Long-Term Retention & Resource: At the end of the course,
students are less likely to sell their books. They now possess a
heavily used reference to draw back on in the future.
• Less Copyright Concerns: Since the copyright issues are easier
to handle, course materials will be easier to use on the job.
• Large Selection of Materials: There is a tremendous amount of
materials that have already been vetted by institutions such as
Yale, Harvard, John Hopkins, etc.
• Easy Customization: Instructors can easily customize course
materials.

3. OER Challenges
• Incomplete Research: There has not yet been adequate
research in comparing OER materials to professionally
produced corporate materials.
• Lack of Complete Standards: Agreed upon standards for all
subjects are incomplete.
• There are Still Copyright Concerns: Even though materials may
be marked with a Creative Commons license, it may be invalid.
• Lack of Availability: In countries where internet access and
computer availability is limited, hard copies of materials may
be required.
• Stepping on Toes: Many existing business enterprises have
deep roots in this domain and may fight vigorously against
OER.