The Benefits and Challenges of OER

2. Benefits of OER

3. Cost and Availability
0 Saves Money
0 Not only for students but for instructors
0 Levels the playing field
0 Resources are available no matter your income level or
locale

4. Accessibility
0 Students and instructors worldwide have access to an
incredible wealth of resources
0 Information can be found at the click of a mouse
0 Reaches a greater audience with the opportunity for
peer review and greater improvement of information

5. Independent Learning
0 Learning can take place on your schedule through
open online courses
0 Quality courses are available for free for those people
that just want to learn more about a topic or prepare
for an upcoming course
0 Low income students and those in countries and areas
where education is limited can access resources
through the internet

6. Challenges

7. Quality
0 Who is vetting the resources?
0 Is the source valid?
0 Determining the quality and relevance of the work can
be challenging.

8. Understanding OER
0 The licensing of OER materials can be confusing
0 Knowing what and how materials can be used will help
to rectify this.
0 Does there need to be an OER course on OER before
resources can be used? (insert wink and smirk here)
0 Who is going to fund the creation of OER and it’s
upkeep?

9. References
Chae, B. (2013). How to Use Open Educational Resources (OER) – Winter
Cohort 1. January 2013
Open; Open Professionals Education Network (2013). Find OER. Found on
the World Wide Web at open4us.org/find-oer/