1. PAT PICKERING, RN, MSN, PNP
THE ROAD AHEAD
OPEN EDUCATIONAL
RESOURCES
TOUTING BENEFITS
WHILE
RECOGNIZING CHALLENGES
Dream Road by James Dolan licensed CC BY NC

2. Open educational resources
(OER) are educational materials
that reside in the public domain or
have been released under an open
license that permits their free use
and re-purposing by others
(definition by Hewlett Foundation).
For educators, students and
others, courses utilizing OER offer
many benefits that can lead to
success in a variety of ways.
However, the road to
development, implementation and
ongoing monitoring of these
courses provides challenges,
some of which could derail the
process and even lead to failure.
Crossroads: Success or Failure by Chris Potter licensed by CC

3. Question Mark Yield Sign by One Way Stock
licensed CC BY ND
What are the key
benefits and
challenges of
OER?

4. OER BENEFITS
FOR STUDENTS
• Money saved
• Gone are expensive textbooks and
access codes
• Access increased
• Internet-based work expands
accessibility (location and tech tools
used)
• Resources broadened
• Exposure to a wide variety of
information, materials and tools both
for course and future use
• Review available
• Ability to go back and review course
material at a later date
• Engagement increased
• Allows for a course design that
incorporates more student
interaction, involvement and
engagement (For example, students
do the research to find the answer)
FOR INSTRUCTORS
• Eliminates course startup delay
• Students have immediate access to
course materials; no waiting for
textbooks resulting in late starts
• Eliminates frequent textbook updates
• Gone are the increasingly frequent
textbook updates and associated
course revisions
• Constantly current
• By not having to rely on textbook
content, some of which is outdated
before print, course materials can be
kept updated in real time; also
helps/encourages instructors to keep
current!
• Expanded learning and sharing
network
• Affords the opportunity to learn from
and share with other educators
outside the college’s “walls”

5. OER CHALLENGES
FOR STUDENTS
• Forces use of Internet-based
materials – no more printed texts
• A surprising number of students
prefer printed textbooks
• Barriers to access
• Some students are still on dialup;
military students or those using
government/work computers
cannot upload documents
• Here today, gone tomorrow
• Information on the Internet may be
available today and disappear
overnight
• Chronic hardware glitches
• Some students are operating
outdated computers that may not
be able to handle the course
materials
• Varying technology skills
• Not all students have adequate
technology knowledge and skills
FOR INSTRUCTORS
• Time!
• Developing an OER course will take
time and effort. It also will require
ongoing maintenance and updating
• Demystifying licensure
• Though the course has helped begin
the understanding of licensure, there
are still questions; going the wrong
direction on licensure could be a
problem
• Fighting fear of the unknown
• Reality is, in some ways this is just a
tad bit scary as it seems there is a lot
that could go so very wrong
• Lurking reluctance
• Many are ready and willing; others do
not want to share their work for a
variety of reasons
• Wildly varying quality of material
• Some materials are well done and
valid; others not so much

6. WITH OER THERE IS GREAT OPPORTUNITY
FOR STUDENTS AND INSTRUCTORS
Follow Path by Marsmettn Tallahassee licensed CC BY-NC-SA

7. Stop Sign by Danielle Scott is licensed under CC BY SA