This document discusses the benefits and challenges of using open educational resources (OER). The key benefits are cost savings for students, being environmentally friendly by reducing printing needs, avoiding copyright infringement issues through creative commons licensing, and enabling collaboration. The main challenges are ensuring the integrity of materials from various authors and keeping OER materials up to date as knowledge advances.

1. Open
Educational
Resources
(OER)
Benefits and Challenges of
Using OER

2. Benefits of Using OER
 Cost Savings
 Environmentally Friendly
 No Worries about Copy Write Infringement
 Collaboration Opportunities

3. Cost Savings
 Using free and low cost OER educational
options can significantly the overall cost of
education and thus, open up educational
possibilities for many people who otherwise
might not be able to continue or begin with
higher education.

4. Environmentally Friendly
 Using OER resources can have a positive
impact on our natural resources. With OER,
students can print only the sections they need
without the need to print the entire set of
materials.

5. No Worries about Copy Write
Infringement
 By using materials created with a Creative
Commons license, authors know exactly how
these materials can be used and do not have
to worry about infringing any copy write laws.

6. Collaboration Opportunities
 OER allows for users to take an idea and run
with it allowing for intense collaboration and
the sharing of knowledge, ideas and
materials.

7. Challenges of Using OER
 Integrity of Materials
 Maintenance

8. Integrity of Materials
 As anyone can develop and make public their
materials, the integrity of the materials used
should be questioned. Users of OER need to
make sure that what they use is indeed
accurate.

9. Maintenance
 Textbooks are updated and new editions
published… as we move forward using OER
materials this may present difficulties for some
groups.