The Benefits and Challenges of Open Educational Resources.pptx

A short discussion of the benefits and challenges of OER.

1. OER Benefits & challenges Audra healey

2. benefits

3. Benefit #1: COST OER is free in its digital form and much more affordable than textbooks when printed. Students can decide which courses to take based on what they need, not based on the price of the textbook. "Piggy bank with coins around it vector graphics"  by  OpenClipart  is in the  Public Domain

4. Benefit #2: ACCESSIBILITY OER is accessible to people all over the planet. Learners around the world can engage with materials regardless of where they live. This improves access to education in rural communities and regardless of proximity to a school. "Vector graphics of little world"  by  OpenClipart  is in the  Public Domain

5. Benefit #3: Good for the planet Most OER can be accessed online. This saves a lot of paper! Less waste is created by not printing materials that students may only look at once. Printed copies of textbooks need to be frequently updated and revised and older, outdated texts get sent to the landfill. "Green power vector illustration"  by  OpenClipart  is in the  Public Domain

6. Benefit #4: variety of resources There are many resources available about a wide variety of topics. Resources can be viewed right away so teachers can see all their options without requesting sample copies of printed textbooks. Teachers can also pick and choose what they like from various resources to create something entirely new and relevant to their class. "Boy holding books vector image"  by  OpenClipart  is in the  Public Domain

7. Benefit #5: Peace of MIND Teachers can feel comfortable using materials without worrying about whether they are infringing on authors’ rights With OER, instructors don’t have to worry about photocopying and violating ‘Fair Use’ rules. "Photocopy Machine"  by  OpenClipart  is in the  Public Domain

8. Challenges

9. challenge #1: time consuming There are so many resources in OER repositories that it can be overwhelming to look through them all. Given the chance to edit, it is easy for teachers to get caught up in trying to make the materials perfect. "Sandglass Vector Graphics"  by  OpenClipart  is in the  Public Domain

10. challenge #2: quality Since most materials don’t go through a professional editing process, the quality may not be as good as printed textbooks. Some material may contain errors, so it is important to proofread before assigning. "Vector image of quality control vegetarian approved stamp"  by  OpenClipart  is in the  Public Domain

11. challenge #3: outdated resources Since authors aren’t being paid, they may not be motivated to update their materials. Some resources were created through one-time only grants so they haven’t been revisited lately. There may be inconsistencies in accuracy of materials. "No button. Boton no."  by  OpenClipart  is in the  Public Domain

12. challenge #4: lack of research Since OER is relatively new, there hasn’t been much research on its effectiveness. There haven’t been enough studies to really know how OER compares to standard texts. "Question mark vector image"  by  OpenClipart  is in the  Public Domain

13. challenge #5: Accessibility Some people may not have reliable enough internet to access materials. Others may not have access to a printer to print resources. Finally, not all OER has been created with accessibility in mind. It doesn’t always work with screen readers or other accessibility tools. "Dancing People"  by  OpenClipart  is in the  Public Domain