There are several benefits to using Open Educational Resources (OER) according to the document. OER allows students to save money on textbooks and materials. It gives instructors flexibility to create their own course materials or modify existing open resources. OER also makes education accessible to anyone in the world for free or at low cost. However, the document also notes some challenges to OER including a lack of research on its effectiveness, inability to withdraw materials once published, potential lack of funding, and lack of awareness among instructors and the public.

1. What are the benefits
and challenges of using
Open Educational
Resources (OER)?
By Tricia Fromm

2. Five benefits of using OER:
 Students save money
 Instructors can create their own course materials
 Provides education to anyone
 Educational materials are easier to obtain
 Benefits college reputation
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Book_cover_The_Open_Education_Handbook_2014.jpg by Open Knowledge
The content of this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (all jurisdictions)

3. Students save money
With cost of living and education
expenses rising each year, students have
trouble paying for course textbooks and
materials. With OER, instructors are able
to offer free or low-cost course materials
to their students.No money by gabreleiros
CC Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

4. Instructors can create their own course materials
Instead of an instructor using a costly
textbook that most students can’t
afford, instructors can find course
materials through OER. Instructors can
use the OER materials as is, make
changes to fit the needs of their
students, or combine materials for
enhanced learning.
http://creativecommons.org.nz/2012/10/the-oer-university/

5. Provide education to anyone
OER offers free online courses that is
available to anyone in the world.
Many well-known colleges offer OER
courses. People who may live in
remote areas, can get a quality
education, at little to no cost.Picture by: eady https://openclipart.org/user-detail/eady
https://openclipart.org/detail/134599/stories-of-the-
world

6. Educational materials are easier to obtain
Educational materials found on OER are free
to reuse, change, and distribute. They have
an open license for anyone to use. Students
and instructors can benefit from this. You do
not have to contact the owner to use the
materials. If instructors use OER course
materials, students can access the
information easily and at any time. Picture by cliparteles https://openclipart.org/user-detail/cliparteles
https://openclipart.org/detail/140473/books-and-mouse-orange-silhouette

7. Benefits college reputation
Colleges can benefit from having their
instructor’s materials in OER.
Materials can be shared with anyone
and the college name/instructor will
be seen. It shows that their instructors
are reputable and that the materials
have been found to be quality
resources to others.
Picture by ousia https://openclipart.org/user-detail/ousia
https://openclipart.org/detail/185204/online-presentation-male

8. What are the challenges of OER?
Lack of Research
There is no data that
shows whether a student
learning from OER is better
than from tradition
published materials.
Materials Cannot be
Withdrawn Once
Published
Once a resource has been
published, a person can’t
revoke their material.
They can stop offering the
material, but can’t take it
back from someone that
has already obtained it.
Funding for OER
Due to the lack of public
knowledge, funding to
keep OER going may be
jeopardized. Keeping OER
funded may become a
problem and so will
maintaining the resources.
Lack of Public
Knowledge
There is a lack of public
knowledge in the
community and to
students. Students may
not know that OER courses
exist and is available to
them.
Lack of
Instructor Support
Some instructors may be
hesitant to use OER
because they don’t fully
understand the benefits to
themselves, students, and
to the college. They may
also see this as a threat to
textbook publishers.
http://www.learningtojuggle.com/2012/06/project-10-week-1-frustration.html

9. Spread the word about OER!
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