This document discusses the benefits and challenges of open educational resources (OER) at both the community and global levels. The benefits include reducing financial barriers to education for students and educators by adapting freely available OER materials, as well as enabling international collaboration among educators through sharing course materials. However, using OER successfully poses challenges for both educators and learners - educators must understand licensing, be familiar with OER sites and materials, and be able to adapt course content technologically. Meanwhile, learners require reliable internet access, appropriate technology, and self-motivation to navigate various online platforms for OER courses and materials.

1. B Y A L Y S S A R E I L
O E R 1 0 1
W A S H I N G T O N S B C T C
J U L Y 2 0 1 6
THE BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF
OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

2. COMMUNITY LEVEL GLOBAL LEVEL
 Financial barriers to education
for students, such as the cost of
textbooks, can be reduced or
eliminated
 Educators can reduce their
personal spending on materials
by adapting OER to suit their
needs
 International collaboration of
educators is made possible
through the sharing of course
materials
 Financial and/or location
barriers to higher education
can be reduced or eliminated
 Instructional material can
evolve from international
influences to be more inclusive
OER BENEFITS

3. FOR EDUCATORS FOR LEARNERS
 In order to use OER
successfully, educators must:
 understand the different types
of licenses and how to properly
attribute materials
 be familiar with OER sites and
their materials
 be capable of adapting course
material with the necessary
technology
 Learners using OER courses or
web-based materials must:
 have reliable access to the
internet
 have access to appropriate
technology
 be self-motivated and able to
navigate various online
platforms
OER CHALLENGES

4. REIL THE BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF OER JULY 2016