Overview of benefits and challenges surrounding creation and use of OERs specifically within the English Language Learning classroom.

1. Open Educational
Resources
CONSIDERATIONS FOR USE IN THE ELL COMMUNITY
LESLIE SOULE

2. Benefits of
using Open
Educational
Resources
(OER) in the
English
Language
Learning
(ELL) Classroom
Reduced cost
Variety of classroom materials
Peace of mind for instructors
Modification
Professional development for instructors

3. Reduced
cost for
students,
instructors,
and
programs
Students with limited incomes do not have the burden of class material
expenses
Instructors do not spend additional money on materials not provided by their
program.
OERs reduce the cost of community ELL programs that have restrictive
budgets.

4. Variety of
Classroom
Materials
Many ELL textbooks are restricted to particular
language skills. Without the restrictions of
cost, instructors can select content from a variety
sources to meet students' language needs.
Image and flashcard banks with photographs
can be particularly useful for programs serving
adult literacy students.

5. Modification
of materials
to meet
student needs
 With the proper license, teachers
can modify resources to be more
accessible or to be used with
immersive readers for students
learning the language.

6. Peace of mind
for instructors
Many instructors
feel overwhelmed by copyright
restrictions and fair use materials.
OERs give instructors freedom to
use the materials without wondering
if it’ll be a problem down the road.

7. Provides
professional
development
Using and developing OER encourages instructors to
become familiar licensing, copyright, and information
literacy.
Through OER creation, instructors can increase the
visibility of their work and contribute to their
professional community.
Instructors looking through OER materials can
find academic communities doing similar work or who
have similar approaches and make possible connections.

8. Challenges of
using OER in
the ELL
Classroom
Greater initial workload on instructors
Institutional investment
Finding relevant, high quality content in current OER
Checking the copyright of materials marked OER
Sustainability of OER on digital platforms

9. Greater initial
workload for
instructors
Writing and/or compiling a course
based on OER creates extra work
for instructors.
Instructors need to rely on their
peers and students for feedback
about their work.

10. Institutional
Investment
Institutions need to invest in the
creation of OERs by compensating
faculty for the extra workload.
For larger projects, institutions need
to invest in the platforms and
staffing for the upkeep of resources.

11. Finding
relevant, high
quality content
in current OER
There are many free resources in the ELL
world, but not all of it is high quality and much
of it is geared towards children or towards
passing language proficiency tests.
Instructors need to have good search
strategies to find the materials that best fit the
students in their language classroom.

12. Checking the
copyright of
materials marked
for free use
 Not all free materials posted on
sites are made by copyright
owners or licensed users.
Instructors should take extra care
when selecting materials.

13. Sustainability
of OER on
digital
platforms
 A final challenge is maintaining the availability
of OER on digital platforms in order to be freely
used. Not only do resources need to be housed
digitally, but with software changes there needs
to be the ability to update OERs so they remain
available to consumers.