3. Benefit – Overcoming Boundaries
Support 1st generation
college students by
providing easy access to
course material.
4. Benefit -
Customization
Allows instructor flexibility and
personalization/creativity in course
design.
The instructor can focus on
students’ needs, and add or
subtract material depending on a
particular group of students is
processing course material.
5. Benefit –
Options
OER can offer more options for
individual students (let them choose
among readings, for example)
OER can be used to create
assignments — have students
analyze material from two different
OER sources covering the same
material.
6. Challenge –
Require online
format
Some students don’t like to
read online
Solution: can print out
material, can download pdf
or e-pub versions for off-line
access.
7. Challenge –
May Not be
Accessible
Solution: If the source CC license
allows for derivatives, instructor
can convert the material to an
accessible format.
OER resources may not be ADA
accessible.
8. Challenge –
Quality
Quality of OER material can
vary.
Solution: Instructor can use
selections from a variety of
OER materials, rather than
using the whole of a single
source.
9. Challenge -
Time
Searching for quality OER
materials can be time-
consuming, creating more work
for the instructor.
Once material is collected and
embedded into the course, the
work is done, possibly making
the initial effort worthwhile.
10. Challenge – Links
Using more links to a variety of OER resources can cause issues when copying
Canvas courses — links can be broken when imported, and need to be fixed.
Similarly, links may become out of date, and no longer valid.
On the positive side, Canvas course can check link validity, but they still need
to be individually fixed by the instructor.
