An introduction to some benefits and challenges of using OERs

1. OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES:
BENEFITS & CHALLENGES
David Herman
Washington State University
January 2017
This presentation is a derivative of “OERs: Benefits
and Challenges” by Kelli White-Mellish licensed
under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

2. INTRODUCTION ▶ Open educational resources
(OER) could be the solution to
issues faculty members face
when selecting low cost, high
quality materials for their
courses.
▶ At the same time, the use of
OER, as with any new concept,
brings challenges to faculty,
students, and developers.
"OER_Logo" is in the Public Domain

3. BENEFIT: COST
▶ Prices of published textbooks
continue to rise, causing
financial challenges for
students.
▶ OER sources are free for
students to use online, and in
some cases, download.
"Money - Savings" by 401(K) 2012 is licensed
under CC BY-SA 2.0

4. BENEFIT:
CUSTOMIZATION
▶ Although some publishers
allow instructors to create
custom texts, omitting materials
they don’t want to include,
most texts are “one size fits all.”
Sections of the book that the
student pays for may not be
used.
▶ OER allows instructors to select
and use materials in whole or in
part. They can pick and
choose information to support
their courses’ learning
objectives.
"IMG_1713" by Daren is licensed under CC BY 2.0

5. BENEFIT:
AUTHORSHIP
▶ Many instructors who do not
aspire to write and publish texts
DO create a variety of
materials for their own students:
exercises, exams, videos, and
more.
▶ OER allows instructors to share
their work with a wider
audience, benefitting other
students (and instructors) as
well"Copyright.svg" is in the Public Domain

6. BENEFIT:
GROWTH &
CHANGE
▶ Traditional textbooks are static.
Once an edition is published, it
is set in stone (at least until the
next edition).
▶ OER allows instructors to grow
and change materials from
quarter to quarter (or even
week to week). If something
isn’t working, it can be
changed. If material in the field
changes, the course material
can easily be altered.
"This work" is in the Public Domain, CC0

7. BENEFIT: EQUITY ▶ Attending college and
obtaining an education is
expensive. Exploring interests
and learning “for fun” can be
expensive, too.
▶ OER allows students in all
income brackets, all over the
world, to access high quality
materials in a multitude of
subjects—for free!
"hands-culture-diversity-equity-157947" is in the
Public Domain, CC0

8. CHALLENGE: TIME ▶ As exciting as it is for
instructors to create and
share their own materials or
have the ability to freely
access OER materials,
▶ THIS TAKES TIME (and I used
to think reviewing new texts
was time-consuming!)
"alarm-clock-clock-time-minute-hour-590383" is in
the Public Domain, CC0

9. CHALLENGE:
QUALITY
ASSURANCE
▶ Although published textbooks
are not without flaws, because
publishers invest a ton of
money in them, the authors are
generally experts in their fields,
investing time and research in
their subject areas.
▶ Many OER developers are also
instructors in higher education,
but it’s up to users to be sure
the information is correct."approved-control-quality-stamp-147677" is in the
Public Domain, CC0
"control-quality-rejected-stamp-147678" is in the
Public Domain, CC0

10. CHALLENGE:
ACCESSIBILITY
▶ Again, because publishers
have deep pockets, instructors
adopting course materials can
be reasonably assured that
accessibility standards will be
met.
▶ Although many OER materials
do meet accessibility
standards, instructors need to
be aware that some do not
and to personally confirm that
they do.
"Handicapped Accessible sign" is in the Public
Domain, CC0

11. CHALLENGE:
SUSTAINABILITY
▶ As OER is a “brave new world,”
institutions and organizations
are funding the development
of OER, encouraging faculty to
participate, resulting in a
steady growth of available
materials.
▶ Over time, funding may
decline, possibly decreasing
the quality and availability of
OERs.
"Sustainability graphic on Performance.gov" by
neetalparekh is licensed under CC BY 2.0

12. CHALLENGE:
NON-REVOCABLE
LICENSING
▶ Creative Commons licensing is
non-revocable, meaning that
once the author releases
his/her work this way, he/she
cannot stop people from using
it—even if he/she decides to
no longer make it available.
▶ This is not a problem for users
of OER, but it may make
potential contributors of works
hesitant in sharing, resulting in
fewer materials shared.
"no-u-turn-roadsigns-traffic-u-turn-26528" is in the
Public Domain

13. THE FUTURE OF OER
▶ The future of OER, though
unknown, is exciting. It gives
students, instructors, and
material developers the
opportunity to create, learn,
and share—for free!
▶ Instructors interested in OER
should invest a little time into
learning more about it and
consider if it could be right for
their courses and students.
"the-future-next-exit" by Buck is licensed under CC
BY-SA 2.0