Here's my presentation for OER 101: How to Use Open Educational Resources

1. The Benefits and
Challenges of OER
ADAM WICKERT|OER 101:HOW TO USE OPEN EDUCATIONAL
RESOURCES

2. Presentation Organization
 1) Preview the benefits of OER
 2) Preview the challenges of OER
 3) Dive deeply into each specific benefit of OER
 4) Dive deeply into each specific challenge of OER
 5) Answer the question: Should I implement OER into my classes?

3. Open Educational Resources: What
benefits do they bring?
 OERs offer significant cost-savings to students.
 Wide variety of perspectives in terms of course materials
 Digital friendly
 Allows access for students after completion of course
 Allows a course to be highly visible

4. Open Educational Resources: What
challenges do they bring?
 Finding credible resources from credible creators
 Confusion about OER
 Accessibility
 Sustainability of Funding for OER
 Students…

5. Cost Savings
 Textbook costs can vary easily from $40-200 per class.
 OER texts are much lower in cost to create.
 Students can have free web-access to materials, with printed out materials
having minimal charges.
 Many institutions are advertising certain classes as low-cost classes. OER
materials keep costs for materials down significantly.

6. Extra Perspectives
 Using the power of the internet, students can have access to materials
from experts all over the globe!
 Teachers can learn about best practices from other educators.
 Previously inaccessible materials from “elite” institutions are now available
to anyone with any internet connection.
 MIT Courseware, Harvard, Yale

7. Digital Friendly
 Easily accessible on phones, tablets, as well as computers.
 Multi-modal information: Youtube and other video software, Images, etc.
 Allows for materials to be easily updated as research changes. Publication
cycle is much quicker compared to traditional print course materials.
 Students can engage in material in a wide variety of ways. Active learning
vs passive learning (A textbook can easily be passive!).

8. Post-course Completion
 Students can continue to use materials after the course has completed!
 They can remind themselves about the things they learned in the course.
 Possibly use materials from the course for a job application or interview.
 Continue the conversation about a class after they have finished it.

9. High Visibility
 A publicly shared course and its subsequent materials can help an
instructor and institution gain valuable positive exposure.
 The greater the visibility, the greater potential for funding for that school or
department.
 Increased visibility allows for greater collaborations with other experts in
the field, thus benefiting the students that they instruct.
 More collaboration also means greater research possibilities for both
instructors and institutions.

10. Transitioning to Challenges
Now that we’ve looked at the benefits of
OER, let’s transition to some of the
challenges that come with OER.

11. Finding Credible Resources
 As we found this term, there’s not a shortage of materials available, but
how good are they?
 More colleges and universities are using OER materials, but what works
for them might not work for me or my classroom.
 What qualifies this teacher to create this material?
 Finally…do OER materials work better than traditional materials?

12. Confusion about OER
 What materials are allowed?
 Who owns these materials?
 Why are we going away from what worked before?
 Why can’t we just use the usual $150 textbook?

13. Accessibility
 Can everyone access these materials?
 Some OER materials have been designed without accessibility in mind, so
they need to be adapted accordingly.
 Some OER materials have been reviewed for accessibility, but not all.
More work is needed on that front.

14. Sustainability
 In many cases, OER materials are developed with one-time funding
initiatives. Once the funding runs out, what happens to the OER?
 Funding needs to be maintained in order to allow participants to review,
evaluate, and update OER materials.
 Developing OER materials for the first time takes a lot of time, talent, and
money.

15. Students
 The big one…will students use the material the way it was designed?
 Many students want a traditional text even if it is cost-prohibitive.
 If a student has limited internet access, accessing course materials will be
a challenge.
 Will students passively engage in the material? Many times, screens
encourage a casual experience from the user.

16. Should I Implement OER?
 After considering all of the benefits as well as challenges of using OER, I
have come to a few conclusions:
 It cannot hurt to seek out OER materials. The more exposure I get, the
better I will become as a teacher. I shouldn’t limit my teaching tool-kit to my
own experience and training as an educator.
 It is going to take an extensive investment of my own time, so the process
of slowly adding OER to my teaching will take time.
 As I add more OER, I will adjust my teaching to account for the challenges
that come with it.
 OER is the future.