1. BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES
OF USING OPEN
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
By Ruth Muschinske
Northcentral Technical College
October 2014

2. BENEFIT #1:
Resources can be available at
little to no cost to the student or
the faculty.

3. BENEFIT #2:
OER materials may be used to
supplement existing texts and
other proprietary items.

4. BENEFIT #3:
Students can review OER
materials before the class
begins, leading to better
preparation for the course.

5. BENEFIT #4:
Materials are available to a
larger number of people, not
just the group of students in a
class.

6. BENEFIT #5:
A wide variety of materials for
learning use are available as
open education resources.

7. CHALLENGE #1:
Quality of the materials may be
inconsistent from one source to
another.

8. CHALLENGE #2:
It can be difficult to find exactly
what is being sought to suit class
needs.

9. CHALLENGE #3:
Not all students have access to
the technology necessary to
acquire the resources.

10. CHALLENGE #4:
Keeping the materials relevant
and up-to-date can be time-consuming.

11. CHALLENGE #5:
In the absence of suitable
material, developing one’s own
OER materials consumes time
and resources.

12. FINAL THOUGHTS
There are more benefits and
challenges than those listed here.
Each instructor must decide for
him/herself if the benefits of OER in
his/her classroom outweighs the
challenges.