The document discusses the benefits and challenges of using open educational resources (OERs) for skilled trades education programs. Some key benefits include lowering costs for students compared to expensive textbooks, allowing for more flexibility to combine various resources to cover latest topics, and providing digital access to resources even after graduation. However, some challenges are that much of the relevant multimedia content is not openly licensed, third-party equipment videos and code forums cannot always be attributed as OERs, and OERs do not always undergo the same rigorous review process as textbooks.

1. Benefits and Challenges of OERs: A Skilled
Trades Education perspective
Aman Gill, PhD
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Robotics : Electronics,
Robotics, and Automation (ERA) program
Centralia College, Centralia, WA
5/23/2022 aman.gill@centralia.edu 1/6

2. What is an OER?
As defined by Creative Commons, Open Educational
Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research
materials that are a) in the public domain, b) licensed
in a manner that provide everyone with a free and
perpetual permission to engage in 5R activities:
•Retain – make, own, and control a copy of the
resource
•Reuse – use your original, revised, or remixed copy of
the resource publicly
•Revise – edit, adapt, and modify your copy of the
resource
•Remix – combine your original or revised copy of the
resource with other existing material to create
something new
•Redistribute – share copies of your original, revised,
or remixed copy of the resource with others
Robot by e-lame licensed under
CC BY NC 2.0
5/23/2022 aman.gill@centralia.edu 2/6

3. Downsides of using Textbooks
• In the skilled trades programs, a first hand latest edition textbook on a topic such as
Programmable Logic Controllers, or Industrial Robotics or Fundamentals of Electronics can cost
any where from $100 for a single textbook to $200 if the textbook is accompanied by an
activity/lab book. If students are required to buy four such books each quarter, they can cost up to
one fourth the tuition cost. This significantly increases the cost of attending college.
• The utilization of a textbook during a quarter is not 100% or cover to cover.
• With a typical textbook, there is typically a lower usage since the students may not prefer to carry
around a bulky book around campus and on the commuted to and from campus.
• Some textbooks are one time use textbooks which implies that they will only be used for a one
quarter and not be referred to again for the rest of the degree.
• In some cases, holding back the textbooks after the quarter is done may not be as useful because
the technology changes, or the there may not be one to one overlap between the contents of the
textbook and the day to day work of the now former student.
5/23/2022 aman.gill@centralia.edu 3/6

4. Benefits of using OERs
• In the skilled trades programs OERs allow for a lot of agility. Multiple different
resources such as open course content, books, and multimedia content can be
combined to educate the students about the latest technology, with minimal cost.
• Multimedia OERs can keep things interesting and also helps students visualize
concepts. For example Fluke 60 Series Handheld Infrared Thermometers by Fluke
Corporation licensed under CC BY 4.0 .
• A digital compilation of OERs can easily be handed to the students via Canvas and
they can download it and have access to the OERs even after they graduate.
• Since the skilled trades programs are run under the advisement of an Advisory
Board, that meets each quarter to ensure the skills being taught are up to date. If
minor changes to the curriculum are made, it is easier to find OERS to fit the
curriculum than scope out textbooks that satisfy all the needs.
5/23/2022 aman.gill@centralia.edu 4/6

5. Challenges of using OERs
• A lot of the relevant and interesting material is not OER: Quite a few time there is very
well done multimedia resources that are not licensed under Creative Commons. For
example this video animation on flow of electrons is not licensed under Creative
Commons.
• Multimedia (OEM / third party) are sometimes essential to demonstrate the working of
a piece of equipment or the library of code that will make the equipment work. An
example of this is the Fluke Corporation video shown in the previous slide. However,
most of the videos produced by Fluke Corporation are not licensed under Creative
Commons but are available on YouTube on their channel. This applies to other OEM
(Original Equipment Manufacturers) too.
• Help forums for third party equipment sometimes have information/code on them that
are directly used as part of demonstration of troubleshooting. Posters are usually
anonymous or are company representatives. Hence it is hard to attribute their work
since none of this is covered under Creative Commons.
• Quality control can be an issue sometimes since OERs do not always go through a
rigorous publishing process like textbooks do.
5/23/2022 aman.gill@centralia.edu 5/6

6. Thank You !
Questions?
5/23/2022 aman.gill@centralia.edu 6/6