Open Educational Resources

What are Open Educational Resources?

Resources that are available for direct use, sharing, and remixing as long as they are in the public domain or contain an open license

Includes: pictures, text books, course materials, videos, etc.

What are the benefits of OER?1. Low cost to students - OER textbooks can range from $0 to $40

2. Diverse sources of information - OER sources range from university programs such as Carnegie Mellon’s Open Learning Initiative to open licensed videos on You Tube.

What are the benefits of OER?3. Creative remixing of material - As long as the license permits alterations the resources can be changed for each instructor’s vision of their course

4. Accessible to everyone - From the independent student who wants to learn a new subject to a student in another country getting a course translated into their own language, OER can provide access in ways that traditional educational resources may not be able to

What are the benefits of OER?5. Open licensing permits authorship - Creative commons licensing permits attribution to the original author of OER materials even if the content is permitted to be altered

What are the shortcomings of OER?1. An abundance of OER resources - Scouring OER websites and materials can be time consuming for an already busy instructor

2. Quality control of resources - Although most OER materials are peer- reviewed there is still concern about some materials being inaccurate

What are the shortcomings of OER?3. Limited OER materials for specialized disciplines - Availability of quality animations and simulations for many STEM concepts are limited

4. Global regions with limited internet infrastructure - Not all students/instructors may have access to OER materials online

What are the shortcomings of OER?5. Reduced enrollment to specific courses, departments, and/or colleges who may not be able to provide numerous OER-driven courses - If courses are advertised as low cost, students will always choose them over courses that may not be. This creates a disadvantage to instructors who may not be able to convert to OER due to departmental standards.