Benefits and Challenges of using Open Educational Resources (OER)

1. Benefits and Challenges
of
Open Educational Resources
BY: RICHARD RAFFERTY

2. Benefits
Allows flexibility in curriculum development
Allows instructors to select materials that:
 can tap into student learning styles
 help motivate students
 take advantage of students’ multiple intelligences
 Provides cost savings to students
Promotes collaboration among educational institutions/organizations
Allows use of up-to-date (up to the moment) materials

3. Challenges
Long-term sustainment of the OER initiative
Time consuming to locate, evaluate, and select materials
Verifying materials are in the public domain or under a common license
Convincing leadership to allow the use of OER
Convincing leadership that instructors should be compensated for time spent searching for,
evaluating, revising, and incorporating OER