This document discusses arguments for considering education a basic human right and the benefits of open educational resources (OER). It notes that education should be a public right, not an economic privilege, and that societies function better when members are educated. While the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee education as a right, international laws like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights do. OER promote equal access to education globally by leveling barriers. However, challenges to OER include ensuring quality open content and equal access to content given limited Internet access worldwide.

1. Why Use
Open
Educational
Resources
Template use and presentation in honor of
Leonard Nimoy who Passed On 2/27/2015

2. I view education and educational resources as a public
right, rather than an economic privilege. There are
many arguments against this line of thinking:
● Education costs, and so it is something that must be
purchased in order to be valued.
● Public education offers no choice of content, only
private education offers true choice.
Education should be a public right

3. 2 significant arguments:
● Practical: well
functioning
communities need
educated members.
● Legal: mandated by
international law.
Why Education Should be Considered a Basic
Human Right
Image: "Declaration des droits de l'homme AE-II-3701 original" uploaded by
Christoph Braun - In the Public Domain.

4. Societies function better when
filled with educated members
who are vested in it’s success.
This investment starts with
education.
● Image: "Campaigning for the
2013 University of Nottingham
Students' Union elections" by
mattbuck Offered as CC as
3.0.
Practical Considerations

5. In order for a society to function well and in the best interest of the
majority, a principle of liberty is need - including equal access to
education and quality educational resources. According to
philosopher John Rawls, a principle of liberty "maintains that
everyone is to have as much liberty as possible, consonant with
everyone else’s having the same amount of liberty (Steinbock 19).
A principle of liberty promotes a principle of equality and
distribution. With these principles firmly established, with regard to
education, we have a better chance of collectively creating a well
balanced society, one that functions optimally and smoothly, and in
the interest of humanity as a whole.
Investment: John Rawls

6. Although the US Constitution does not guarantee a right to an
education, Article 26 of the international Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, does. As does Articles 13 and 14 of the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
“Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at
least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary
education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional
education shall be made generally available and higher education
shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit” (Article 26).
Legal Arguments For Education as a Right

7. ● Rights: Open Educational Resources (OER) promote
our basic right to a free and quality education.
● Liberty: In a world where liberty, distribution, and
equality is nonexistent, OER encourages a principle
of liberty, leveling the playing field for humans
globally.
● Law: Offering more Open Educational Resources
help us better reach the ideals laid out by the United
Nations, and encourages a direction toward equality
and equal distribution.
Benefits of OER - and rights to Education

8. 2 main Challenges to OER:
● Quality Content that is
truly free and open.
● Equal access to
content.
Challenges to Open Educational Resources
Image: “Global Open Educational Resources Logo” Uploaded by Jonathasmello
licensed under CC BY 3.0

9. Defined by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation:
"OER are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in
the public domain or have been released under an intellectual
property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by
others. Open educational resources include full courses, course
materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software,
and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support
access to knowledge."
Definition of OER

10. Most OER are not totally free and open,
because they use Creative Commons
restrictions that limit use and distribution.
The two main culprits are:
● NonCommercial Use Restriction
● NoDerivatives Restriction
Truly Free and Open Quality Content

11. Encourage all OER use of the open
CC license. This License allows for:
● “Share — copy and redistribute
the material in any medium or
format
● Adapt — remix, transform, and
build upon the material for any
purpose, even commercially”
(Creative Commons).
Solution?
Image: “Wikipedystka Nova (Agnieszka Kwiecień)
promujaca Creative Commons podczas obchodów
5.” Uploaded by Lestath CC BY-SA 2.5

12. Approximately only 42.3% of the world has
access to the Internet, and this number does
not concern itself with the type of access
(dial up vs cable, for example) people have
to the Internet, and thereby to digital content
such as such as OER (Internet World Stats).
Equal Access to Content

13. Access is a problem of humanity. We must widely
promote:
● The principal of liberty
● The principle of equality
● The principle of equal distribution
People must be put before profit. It is as simple as
that.
Solution?

14. ● Badash, David. "Fox News: 'There Really Shouldn't be Public School' Anymore, Kids Taught 'Meaningless
Liberal Crap.'" (2/20/2015). in http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com. Retrieved February 27, 2015 at
http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/davidbadash/fox_news_there_really_shouldn_t_be_public_sch
ools_anymore_kids_taught_meaningless_liberal_crap
● Creative Commons. "CC Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States." (ND). At
Creativecommons.org. retrieved February 27, 2015, from http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/
● Creative Commons. "NoDerivatives" (10/24/2013). At Creativecommons.org. Retrieved February 27,
2015, from http://creativecommons.org/tag/noderivatives
● Creative Commons. "Defining Noncommercial." (9/14/2009). at Wiki.Creativecommons.org. Retrieved
February 27, 2015, from https://wiki.creativecommons.org/Defining_Noncommercial
Citations

15. ● Internet World Stats. "Internet Users in the World Distribution by World Regions - 2014 Q2." (2014). In
Internetworldstats.com. Retrieved February 27, 2015, from http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
● Lurie, Stephen. "Why Doesn't the Constitution Guarantee the Right to Education?" (10/16/2013). in
TheAtlantic.com. Retrieved February 27, 2015, from
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/10/why-doesnt-the-constitution-guarantee-the-right-to-
education/280583/
● Right to education. (2015, February 25). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19:23, February
27, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Right_to_education&oldid=648765661
● United Nations, "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights." (1948/2015). In UN.org. Retrieved February
27, 2015, from http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#ap
Citations Continued

16. ● United Nations, "International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights." (1966/2015). in
www.ohchr.org. Retrieved February 27, 2015 from
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CESCR.aspx
● Steinbock, Bonnie. Ethical Issues in Modern Medicine, 8th Edition. McGraw-Hill Learning Solutions, 2012-
03-29. VitalBook file.
● William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. "Open Educational Resources." (ND). In Hewlett.org. Retrieved
February 27, 2015 from http://www.hewlett.org/programs/education/open-educational-resources
Citations Continued

17. This presentation is distributed under CC by
4.0 by Rebecca Lea McCarthy
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