The increased use of the internet has facilitated a movement towards the use of Open Education Resources (OER). Open Education Resources are openly licensed media, text, and other digital resources that are useful for teaching and learning (“OER Pros/Cons and Evaluation Methods,” 2019). These resources are freely available, thus allowing anyone to access them. Open Education Resources are an effective way for educators to promote creativity and in-depth learning of a topic while keeping costs for the students down. These types of resources help eliminate boundaries that have been put in place by traditional education systems. However, before these resources are fully implemented into the education system, teachers need to be aware of the fact that Open Education Resources do come with some negatives. Throughout this research post, the negative and positive aspects of Open Education Resources will be closely examined.
The use of Open Education Resources is a highly controversial topic within the education system. Although, OERs are highly disputed they do have many positive aspects. For instance, Open Education Resources can reduce the cost of education by eliminating the need for students to purchase expensive textbooks. Year after year publishing companies come out with a new version of a textbook, which many instructors will use. If instructors decide to use a textbook for their class it may cost students upwards of $400, thus promoting a divide amongst the individuals who can afford to pay $400 for a textbook and those who cannot (Stommel, n.d.). As Jesse Stommel in Textbooks, OER, and the need for Open Pedagogy (n.d) said: “students should never have to decide between buying a textbook for a class or eating.” Many would argue that purchasing the online version of the textbook can be a better and more cost-effective option, however, this is not the case (Stommel, n.d.). Online textbooks only give students temporary access to information and are not able to be resold (Stommel, n.d.). These problems have fuelled the movement of open learning (Stommel, n.d.). By having Open Education Resources, such as open textbooks, it allows materials to be accessed not only at a lower or no cost but also allows these resources to be accessed by everyone at any point in time (“OER Pros/Cons and Evaluation Methods,” 2019). OERs come in multiple types of resources, such as text and videos, thus allowing all types of learners to have the opportunity to absorb the material (“OER Pros/Cons and Evaluation Methods,” 2019). For example, some students are visual learners and learn best when information is presented to them via videos. Other students may be kinesthetic learners and OERs can be used to accommodate this learning style by presenting information in video format with the accompaniment of audio and text (Major, 2015; “OER Pros/Cons and Evaluation Methods,” 2019). OERs are not just restricted to being implemented into the traditional classroom setting but, can also be used for online courses. For instance, asynchronous learning is a new form of teaching where course work is done online and the course work can be completed from anywhere around the world at any point in time (Kask, 2009). In order to facilitate this kind of learning, OERs can be used to not only help reduce the cost but also to make sure that everyone has access to the same resources. OERs are a useful tool which can accommodate various learning styles and preferred learning environments.
OERs also do not require the same extensive and constrictive licensing as conventional textbooks and other educational resources, thus allowing for information to be circulated quickly (“OER Pros/Cons and Evaluation Methods,” 2019). Conventional textbooks and education resources can take months or even years to become available, and by that time it may no longer contain relevant information (“OER Pros/Cons and Evaluation Methods,” 2019). Also, because OER’s licensing is more flexible compared to traditional resources, they are more likely to continuously improved and at a quicker rate (“OER Pros/Cons and Evaluation Methods,” 2019). This is done by the allowance of editing by users as well as the incorporation of users’ feedback. Additionally, when OERs are implemented into the classroom, they can help enhance and promote the creativity of the students, as well as allow students to engage deeply in the content that is being presented to them (“OER Pros/Cons and Evaluation Methods,” 2019). Another benefit of using OERs is that it can reduce the amount of environmental impact. For example, conventional textbooks use paper, thus contributing to climate change by playing a part in deforestation (“Pros and Cons of Using Open Educational Resources,” 2018). Whereas, open textbooks or other forms of Open Education Resources limit the use of paper and are more environmentally friendly than conventional resources (“Pros and Cons of Using Open Educational Resources,” 2018).
Although there are many positives to using OERs in classrooms, there are also some negatives. For instance, there might be quality issues that arise. Creative Commons is a website that uses the OER methodology, which allows anyone the legal right to edit, reuse, revise, or remix educational resources, therefore potentially compromising their quality (Kortemeyer, 2013). Also, they typically do not have editorial staff like traditional textbooks and other educational resources, which may also contribute to the quality issue (“OER Pros/Cons and Evaluation Methods,” 2019). Although OERs are known to help reduce barriers such as cost, they ultimately have barriers of their own. For instance, many of these resources are usually in English, limiting the access of these resources to people that do not speak English (“OER Pros/Cons and Evaluation Methods,” 2019). Likewise, since OERs are usually provided through the internet, technology mishaps can occur, as well as the requirement of the internet in order to access these resources. This requirement can limit some people from accessing them, as not everyone has internet (“OER Pros/Cons and Evaluation Methods,” 2019). Some Open Education Resources also require software, which may not be able to be downloaded or may not be affordable (“OER Pros/Cons and Evaluation Methods,” 2019). With the use of OERs comes the increased concern of intellectual property and copyright. OERs that are created on websites such as, Creative Commons, can have many authors, making it difficult to know to whom credit should be given (“OER Pros/Cons and Evaluation Methods,” 2019). Also, because of the openness of these resources and the unlimited access that is granted, plagiarism can be an issue (Kortemeyer, 2013). This may cause teachers to turn to programs like Turnitin. Turnitin is meant to help stop plagiarism, however, it makes students sign over their intellectual property and causes them to never be able to redeem the rights to their work (Morris & Stommel, n.d.). Turnitin then sells the student’s work to third party companies without the author benefitting (Morris & Stommel, n.d.). Educators need to be cautious of any breach in privacy that these resources, such as Turnitin, may come with. Teachers should make sure the resources that they are assigning are safe and protect the students from potential harm. Some have also noted that OERs are not sustainable since the resources are free and the people who are designing and maintaining OERs are not receiving payment for this labour-intensive work (Phillips, 2018).
OERs have a large range of benefits, and as a future educator, I believe that the implementation of OERs is key to being able to accommodate all types of student learning styles, allowing for growth and creativity in the classroom, while being more environmentally friendly than traditional resources. They allow everyone the right to an education and promote a learner-driven classroom where students are encouraged to be creative and collaborative (Hegarty, 2015). OERs give everyone equal access to information by removing barriers such as payment that could otherwise limit the availability to students (Carolan, 2019). If teachers promote these types of learning platforms instead of expensive textbooks, every student will be able to have the same information at their disposal (Stommel, n.d.). The use of OERs can also reduce the environmental impact that comes with conventional resources (“Pros and Cons of Using Open Educational Resources,” 2018). Although OERs are important in the classroom, educators need to be aware of the negatives that can arise from using these types of resources. For example, the openness of these resources means anyone can revise, remix or edit them, potentially leading to inaccuracies (Kortemeyer, 2013). Although the use of open textbooks has been known to reduce the cost for students, some Open Education Resources can also require expensive additional software which may limit access to these resources for some people(“OER Pros/Cons and Evaluation Methods,” 2019). Although OERs have some negative aspects, I believe that the positives outweigh the negatives. Open Education Resources are important to implement into the education system because they help facilitate everyone’s right to an education.
References:
Carolan, C. (2019). Focus for this unit. Retrieved October 10, 2019, from https://coursespaces.uvic.ca/mod/page/view.php?id=1297505
Hegarty, B. (2015). Attributes of open pedagogy: A model for using open educational resources. Educational Technology. Retrieved from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Ed_Tech_Hegarty_2015_article_attributes_of_open_pedagogy.pdf
Kortemeyer, G. (2013). Ten Years Later: Why Open Educational Resources Have Not Noticeably Affected Higher Education, and Why We Should Care. Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2013/2/ten-years-later-why-open-educational-resources-have-not-noticeably-affected-higher-education-and-why-we-should-care
Major, C. (2015). Teaching Online : A Guide to Theory, Research, and Practice. John Hopkins Univeristy Press. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=3318874.
Morris, S., & Stommel, J. (n.d.). A Guide for resisiting EDTECH: The case against Turnitin.
OER Pros/Cons and Evaluation Methods. (2019). Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/oer/pro-con-oer.html
Phillips, A. (2018). Open Resources in an Age of Contingency. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/views/2018/01/31/oer-movement-poses-risks-time-and-resource-starved-contingent
Pros and Cons of Using Open Educational Resources. (2018). Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://blog.gutenberg-technology.com/en/pros-cons-open-educational-oer
Stommel, J. (n.d.). Textbooks, OER, and the need for open pedagogy. PressBooks.
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