This document discusses the pros and cons of open educational resources (OERs). It notes that while OERs improve access to educational materials, their quality is not always guaranteed and instructors must carefully review content. OERs can be misunderstood as providing official degrees. However, they offer minimal or no costs and allow peer review and sharing of best practices worldwide. While OERs increase accessibility, reliable internet access remains a challenge in some areas. Licensing terms can confuse users and intellectual property issues are a concern, though OERs reach wider audiences. Future challenges include ensuring the sustainability of OER sites and conducting more research on learning outcomes.

1. Pros and Cons of
Open Educational
Resources
By Ursula H.

2. Quality Issues
 Quality assurance is not guaranteed
 Information can be tangential and requires
careful review by instructor
However:
 Greater access to quality choices from various
universities
 Standard might be improved by gathering of
more contributors
 Allows for peer review

3. Perception by Users
 Students might use OER’s more because they
appear (and sometimes are) more interactive
 OER’s make use – and indirectly teach –
current technology
However:
 OER courses can be misunderstood as
providing degrees, diplomas, etc. when this is
not an option

4. Economic Matters
 Costs are minimal or nonexistent
 OER’s offer more access to quality choices for
more students
 Educational choices are made available to
more students

5. Accessibility
 OER’s require reliable access to internet
 This is challenging in technologically
underserved areas
However:
 Those areas probably don’t have academic
brick-and-mortar infrastructure either – OER’s
are potentially more accessible
 Course content is available for more extended
periods of time

6. Licensing & Copyright Issues
 Terms can be confusing for users (think “cage-
free” compared to “free-range”)
 The non-revocable nature of Creative
Commons licenses can become an issue
 The OER-concept can be perceived as a threat
to the ownership of intellectual property

7. Academic Matters
 Authors/faculty have access to a wider
audience for their work
 OER’s can function as showcases for research
 Enhancement of learning institutions’
reputation as well as that of instructors
 Best practice approaches can be shared
worldwide

8. Current and Future Challenges
 Sustainability of sites offering OER’s is not yet
guaranteed
 OER’s are not yet widely understood by the
public, students, and instructors alike
 Research needs to be conducted to evaluate
learning results