Benefits and Challenges of Using Open Educational Resources (OER)

By Grace KimLicense: CC Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License

Benefits1.OER can greatly reduce and even eliminate the

cost for students by not having to buy expensive textbooks.

2.OER allows for free use of information without the need to ask for permission from the creator.

3.OER provides quality material from top universities and colleges.

4.OER allows students to continue to learn by having access to material that are of interest to them or may be relevant in their future careers.

5.OER is available to people all over the world and can have a significant global impact.

Challenges1. There is no central database to access OER.2. Since OER is relatively new, the resources are not

abundant and may be limited in some subject areas.3. Many educators still do not fully understand OER in

terms of what it is and how to access the information.

4. Since there is no standard or system of review, there is no current way to ensure the quality of the information in OER.

5. Since OER looks to have a global impact, not all communities have the technology to access the resources.

Resources What is OER?

https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/What_is_OER%3F What is a creative common license?

http://creativecommons.org/ How do I create a creative common

license? http://creativecommons.org/choose/

Where do I find OER? http://www.openwa.org/find-oer/